If you think you might need glasses, but don’t, you’re not alone.

According to new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association, there are millions of Americans with vision impairment.

The most common reasons for vision impairment, fortunately, are refractive errors--when the lense of the eye doesn’t focus the image sharply on the retina, the seeing part of the eye. That’s where glasses and contact lenses come in. But you have to wear them to correct your vision.

“I wear glasses but only when I am in class to see the board.” Natalie admits what happens when she doesn’t wear her glasses: “It is all blurry.”

Hopefully all Natalie is nearsighted--meaning, she can’t see far away.

Now, there are plenty of reasons for impaired vision, but refractive errors--.being nearsighted or farsighted--also known as hyperopia--are the most common. You’re considered to be vision impaired if you have a visual acuity of 20/50 or worse in the better seeing eye.

Around six and a half percent of the American public has some sort of vision impairment. But around eighty percent could have their vision improved if they wore glasses or corrective lenses.

And there’s no shame in that!

Of the estimated two million people with visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better seeing eye, 3/4ths of them could achieve good vision with some sort of corrective lenses.

Dr. Douglas Lazzaro, Chairman of Opthalmology at Long Island College Hospital, says, “Most vision impairment develops after the age of 40. And most of the serious diseases occur after the age of 40 and 50. Unfortunately people do neglect the eyes, they don’t come in for routine exam unless they have a problem frequently so we may be catching patients at middle of disease or end of disease or end stage of the disease when they’ve had a problem al along developing slowly over five to ten years.”

Serious conditions like diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and glaucoma can creep up silently.

The good news is that 94% of Americans ages 12 and older see well enough to pass the visual acuity test required by most states to get a driver’s license.

The bad news: rates of vision impairment were highest among those who were Hispanic, were poor, had diabetes, lacked private health insurance, and had fewer hears of education. The authors say that lack of access to healthcare may be a reason for some people not getting the corrective lenses they need.

And because the U.S. population isn’t getting any younger, vision impairment in our society is only going to continue to become more prevalent.

Natalie says, “I have high blood pressure in my left eye and I am too young for that, and that I have to keep getting the checkups.”

Natalie hasn’t been in two years! Maybe she should go, based on what the eye doctor told her the last time she went.

And that’s why the authors say the most important take home point is get routine eye examinations.

“Annual exams are essential for the ophthalmologist whether you think you have a problem or not,” says Dr. Lazzaro.

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