Pinhole Eyeglasses: Bringing The Facts Into Focus

By Author: Mike Lamb
Total Articles: 62
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An alternative to traditional prescription eyeglasses, pinhole eyeglasses are appropriate for a variety of ocular conditions. By selectively reducing the amount of light beams that enter the eye, pinhole glasses offer relief from blurred vision. It is important to understand how they work, and what they can and cannot do.

Because vision problems are most often the result of a flaw in the way the eye is formed, it is important to understand the functioning of a healthy eye. The eye is a fascinating organ, composed of many different parts which work together to collect data from the surrounding world, and process it into a cohesive image. Individual beams of light first pass through the cornea, or clear outer layer of the eye. The cornea is responsible for combining beams of light. Once these beams of light are combined, they pass through the pupil, essentially a hole which allows light to enter the back of the eye. A circular muscle called the iris expands and contracts ...
... to adjust the amount of light the eye takes in. In very bright light the pupil narrows, and it dilates in darkness. Light then reaches the lens, which is a thicker, clear structure that focuses the light on a single point in the retina, or central back of the eye. At this point, the light entering the eye is coming from a variety of angles. The lens functions much like a peephole. Its curved shape causes the light to converge in a single direction, aimed towards the central back of the eye, or retina. The optic nerve behind the eye translates this into the image we see.

Vision problems occur when the lens is unable to focus light exactly on the retina. Hazy or blurred vision is actually the result of more than one image being presented to the brain. Light focusing to far to the front of the retina or to far behind it results in a halo effect, or fuzzy edges. It is necessary to eliminate these secondary images to obtain proper vision.

Surprisingly, pinhole eyeglasses function in much the same way as squinting. Many people who suffer from near-sightedness are tempted to squint in an effort to bring the world into focus. Squinting reduces the range of vision to a more centralized point. Beams of light entering the eye from the edges are effectively blocked, and focus seems to improve. Pinhole glasses take this a step further. Unlike traditional glasses, which are transparent, and shaped to correct the way beams of light enter the eye, pinhole glasses are opaque. Light enters the eye through a variety of small holes or slits. Instead of bending existing beams of light, pinhole glasses simply eliminate excess beams of light that are not already directed towards the center of the eye. This allows for improved focus.


Mike has been writing and publishing articles about health products. He recently came across a website on pinhole glasses which gave information about this old technique of using pinhole glasses for eyesight correction. Here's an article about pinhole glasses.