Pinhole Glasses: Beneficial For Those With Myopia And Eye Strain

By Author: Mike Lamb
Total Articles: 62
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Pinhole glasses are believed to help cases of myopia, cataract, and strain through constant computer use. The nifty looking glasses are made of plastic and look like dark sunglasses with pin-sized holes spread all over its lens. While opinion about its efficacy is divided, it is worth looking at some of its more popular claims, since it is quite affordable and easy to find in the market.

The glasses are said to prevent and help the condition of myopia. Myopia is a condition where the person with myopia can clearly see objects that are nearby, but have blurred vision when it comes to viewing far-away objects. The eyeball, in this case, gets too long so the images do not get focused on the retina as they should.

Traditionally, optometrists would recommend the use of concave (glasses with negative optical power) lenses to correct myopia. Refractive surgeries are also performed on severe cases of myopia. However, milder cases--especially when myopia is just beginning to manifest itself--are said to respond well to pinhole glasses.

How pinhole eyeglasses ...
... help in cases of mild myopia is by letting light rays to enter to their small apertures. This, in turn, is said to decrease the retinal blur of myopia and improve vision in the wearer. So, effectively, by training the vision to see broader images through the small apertures is said to be beneficial for myopic vision.

This science can also be applied to cases of cataract. In a cataract, there is cloudy haze in the lens of the eye that obstructs light entering the eye and causes it to scatter. With the ability of the pinhole eyeglasses to reduce some of this scattering, cases of cataract can also be helped with the use of these glasses.

Constant use of visual display units in recent times is adding considerable strain to users' eyes. The principle that the pinhole glasses work on can be effectively used to reduce some of this strain on the eyes of computer users.

However, since the peripheral vision is diminished or cut off when wearing these glasses, they should not be used when driving. They may look like sunglasses, but they do not offer any UV protection, so they must not be used as standalone sunglasses. Research is ongoing to prove the efficacy of some of their benefits to vision. However, since they are harmless and affordable, the pinhole eyeglasses can be used as a safe way in preventing acquired myopia and eye strain.


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.