About Eyeglasses

I know of several people who refuse to wear eyeglasses because they are in denial about their refractive error and would prefer to tolerate blurred vision just so they won't need to wear spectacles and thus "look old". This should not be the case, because there are a now a variety of eyeglasses which don't look "old" at all and can actually be stylish additions to one's wardrobe.

Now, if your concern is cost, rest assured that a lot of optical shops, including online ones like ZenniOptical, now offer affordable spectacles. Would you believe that this pair costs only 8 dollars?
Seriously, a lot of people think that wearing glasses are an admission that there's something "broken" or "damaged" with their eyes. Contrary to that popular belief, error of refraction is simply because of the image not falling directly on the retina, causing the image to look blurred. This is due to either the size or shape of the eyeball, or the power of the lens, or the combination of the above. For older people, the reason why reading seems to become more difficult is because the eyes no longer "accommodate" very well for near distances, hence the problem with reading.

Another popular misconception is that wearing of eyeglasses somehow "improve" your condition over time. Another one, which directly clashes with the former statement, admonishes people not to always wear their glasses since their problem would worsen. Neither of these statements are true. The size and shape of our eyes change through time. These changes are not influenced by spectacle wearing or non-wearing.