Eye Myth Busters #2 – Pinhole Glasses to Train Your Eyes to Not Need Glasses

You remember.  1973.  You see the ad in the back of a comic book.  X-ray glasses!  Every young man’s fantasy.  As an adult, you think, “Ugh, some things are better left unseen.”

Some things just seem to be too good to be true, until you waste your money and find out the product doesn’t end up to do what was advertised.  Remember Blue Blocker Sunglasses?  “As Seen on TV!”  They did actually help the contrast by blocking the blue end of the light spectrum but were so cheaply made and the reddish-orange color was not very cosmetically appealing.  They also skew the way colors look.  It made your grass look really green though!

Pinhole glasses.  That one has been around for quite some time too but they have made a resurgence in the last decade.  Lenses that have multiple holes in them that help train your eyes so you don’t need glasses.   Sure….  And I’ve got some swampland I will be willing to sell you…for a bargain price!

Looking through a pinhole will help you see better if you need vision correction, not a medical eye problem.  It works by eliminating all the light rays that are coming into your eye at an angle.  The only light that can enter through the small aperture is coming in perpendicular to your pupil and will land on your retina to see without needing to be bent.  The only problem is….YOU HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH A SMALL HOLE FOR IT TO WORK!

You cannot “train” your eyes or brain to get better vision.  It’s simple physics and anatomy.  Blurry vision either comes from refractive error or a medical problem.  If it’s refractive error, that comes from the shape of one or more parts of the eye not being optimal (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism) or by the lens of the eye not being able to accommodate or flex any longer (presbyopia).  You cannot affect the shape of eye parts to see better by wearing glasses.  Period.   Technically, you CAN temporarily improve your vision by wearing certain hard contacts (orthokeratology) at night to mold the eye to a certain shape for during the day but I don’t recommend that.

In the end, there is no way to get better vision except to put a lens in front of the eye to help bend light to a sharp focus in your eye or do some kind of surgery (Lasik, cataract, etc.) to change the shape or refractive power.

So the next time you see some kind of ad with some salesman with an Australian accent for Super Specs from Ronco promising to get rid of glasses, just laugh and switch on by.    Maybe save your money for those new fat burner pills that make your lose weight without eating less and exercising!

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist and Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.    Serving the Dumas, Texas,  Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 23 years.   Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment.  Visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information.  Like our Facebook business page:  Dumas Vision Source  and you can also connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas

Tory Moore, OD  – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”