New research suggests glasses could provide protective barrier

Recent research from scientists in China suggests that people who wear glasses are less likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19, however, due to the limited sample size and lack of other research on the matter, there is no conclusive answer to this question.

New research suggests glasses could provide protective barrier

As fears of a second wave of coronavirus continue to mount, it’s more important than ever to take preventative measures against the virus.

Many of these precautions, such as regularly washing your hands and wearing a face mask are now second nature to most, but is there anything else you can do to protect yourself and others? One emerging theory is that wearing glasses could prevent people from catching Covid-19. Is there any truth in these claims?

Do glasses offer any protection against coronavirus? Recent research from scientists in China suggests that people who wear glasses are less likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19, however, due to the limited sample size and lack of other research on the matter, there is no conclusive answer to this question.

The study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that just 10.9% of  276 patients admitted to hospital between January 27 and March 13 wore glasses, while 5.8% of them wore glasses for more than eight hours a day.

Researchers from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University then compared the findings with the proportion of people with shortsightedness in the Hubei Province, which they stated to be 31.5%. Sunglasses on?

The authors of the study wrote: ‘For daily wearers of eyeglasses, who usually wear eyeglasses on social occasions, wearing eyeglasses may become a protective factor, reducing the risk of virus transfer to the eyes and leading to long-term daily wearers of eyeglasses being rarely infected with Covid-19.’

Others have refuted this theory including glasses brand Specsavers. ‘A recent review found that eye protection alone does not prevent the transmission of COVID-19, so it’s unlikely that your glasses will offer you any protection from coronavirus,’ their website states.

‘The surface of the eye (conjunctiva) could still be susceptible to droplets from an infected person, so it’s best to continue following the two metre social distancing and regular hand washing.’ Logic also dictates you should wear glasses if you need them, and avoid wearing them if you don’t.

Jason Manford reassures fans as filming location is placed on quarantine list Sadiq Khan ‘wants to impose tougher London lockdown by Monday’ Matt Hancock warns UK is at ‘tipping point’ for more lockdown measures The thinking behind the theory is that glasses could provide a partial barrier, protecting eyes against respiratory droplets from an infected person.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) state coronavirus is primarily spread through ‘infectious droplets’ getting into people’s mouth, nose or eyes.

The WHO website states: ‘Current evidence suggests that COVID-19 spreads between people through direct, indirect (through contaminated objects or surfaces), or close contact with infected people via mouth and nose secretions. These include saliva, respiratory secretions or secretion droplets.

‘These are released from the mouth or nose when an infected person coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings, for example. People who are in close contact (within 1 metre) with an infected person can catch Covid-19 when those infectious droplets get into their mouth, nose or eyes.’

Originally published at Metro