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People who wear eyeglasses may have lower risk of contracting COVID-19: Here’s why

People who wear eyeglasses may have lower risk of contracting COVID-19: Here’s why
Despite being one of the most exposed parts of the body and an important infection route for Covid-19, eyes usually lack protection.

Coronavirus can also enter your body through the eyes. That's the reason why it's important to wear eyeglasses apart from following other precautions like frequent hand washing and wearing a face mask.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : September 18, 2020 9:38 AM IST

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus virus that spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. Therefore, people have been advised to wear a mask, maintain social distance, and also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, coughing into a flexed elbow) to stop spreading the virus.

Since the virus is airborne, you can catch the infection when you breathe in contaminated air particles, and that explains the need for wearing a mask in public places. But the deadly virus can also enter your body through the eyes. That's the reason why global health experts suggest wearing eyeglasses apart from following other precautions like frequent hand washing and wearing a face mask. In fact, a new study from China has suggested that people who wear eyeglasses may be at lower risk of contracting COVID-19. The study is published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

Eyeglasses prevent wearers from touching their eyes

For the study, the researchers looked at the data of 276 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Suizhou, China. They found that the percentage of infection was lower among daily wearers of eyeglasses than that of the general population who don't wear glasses regularly (5.8 per cent vs 31.5 per cent).

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The researchers hypothesized that eyeglasses may prevent or discourage wearers from touching their eyes, and thus help avoid transferring the virus from the hands to the eyes. We can't agree more as research has shown that normal people involuntarily touch their eyes about 10 times per hour. Despite being one of the most exposed parts of the body and an important infection route for Covid-19, eyes usually lack protection.

Coronavirus detected in tears of COVID-19 patients

Highlighting the importance of wearing eyeglasses, the researchers cited reports of the novel coronavirus being detected in tears or the conjunctival sacs of patients with COVID-19. There been cases of ophthalmologists getting infected with COVID-19 during routine treatment.

An abundance of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 has been found on the ocular surface, through which the virus can enter the human body. The ocular surface comprises the outer layer of the cornea, the tears, the conjunctiva, and the margin of the eyelids.

Available statistics suggest that nearly 1 per cent to 12 per cent of patients with COVID-19 have ocular manifestations, the researchers noted.

"Therefore, the eyes are considered an important channel for SARS-CoV-2 to enter the human body. 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," IANS quoted researchers as saying.

Many Covid-19 guidelines also recommend people to frequently wash their hands and avoid touching the eyes with dirty hands to prevent infections through the eyes, but most people only focus on wearing masks and home isolation.

The findings of this study further substantiate the importance of these two recommendations.