Can wearing glasses protect you from coronavirus?

By Tara Parker-Pope


When researchers in China were analyzing hospital data from Covid-19 patients, they noticed a strange trend: very few of the sick patients wore glasses regularly.

At a hospital in Suizhou, China, 276 patients were admitted over a period of 47 days, but only 16 patients (less than 6%) had myopia or myopia that required them to wear glasses for more than eight hours a day. By comparison, more than 30% of people of similar age in the region needed glasses for myopia, previous research showed.

Since the myopia rate appeared to be much higher in the general population than in the COVID ward, scientists wondered: Could wearing glasses protect a person from being infected with coronavirus?

“The wearing of glasses is common among Chinese of all ages,” the study authors wrote. “However, since the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019, we observed that few patients with glasses were admitted to the hospital ward.”

The observation “could be preliminary evidence that daily eyeglass wearers are less susceptible to Covid-19,” the authors speculate.

Experts say it is too early to draw conclusions from the research, or recommend that people start wearing eye protection in addition to masks in hopes of reducing the risk of infection.

The glasses may act as a partial barrier, protecting the eyes from the splashes of a cough or sneeze. Another explanation for the finding could be that people who wear glasses are less likely to rub their eyes with contaminated hands. A 2015 report on touching the face found that, over the course of an hour, students watching a lecture touched their eyes, nose, or mouth, on average, about 10 times, although the researchers did not analyze whether the use wearing glasses made a difference.

The current study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, was accompanied by a comment from Dr. Lisa Maragakis, infectious disease specialist and associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who urged caution when interpreting the results.

The study was small and involved fewer than 300 COVID-19 cases, a tiny fraction of the nearly 30 million reported cases of coronavirus infection worldwide. Another concern is that the data on myopia in the comparison group were obtained from a study that took place decades earlier.

And Maragakis noted that several factors could confuse the data, and it is possible that the use of glasses is simply associated with another variable that affects the risk of COVID-19. For example, it could be that people who wear glasses tend to be older, more careful, and more likely to stay home during a viral outbreak than those who do not wear glasses. Or perhaps people who can afford glasses are less likely to contract the virus for other reasons, such as having the means to live in less crowded spaces.

“It’s a study,” Maragakis said. “It has some biological plausibility, since in health centers we use eye protection”, such as masks or glasses. But what remains to be investigated is whether eye protection in a public setting would add some protection beyond masks and physical distancing. I think it’s still not clear. ”

Healthcare workers wear protective equipment over the eyes to protect them from droplets that can fly when coughing and sneezing, as well as aerosol particles that form when patients undergo medical procedures, such as intubation. But for the vast majority of people, that extra level of protection is probably not necessary if a person wears a mask and maintains physical distance in public spaces. There is also the possibility of introducing risks when wearing glasses: Some people may touch their face more when they put the glasses on, rather than less, Maragakis noted.

That said, more studies are needed to see if the trend holds up in other study populations, said Dr. Thomas Steinemann, spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and professor of ophthalmology at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

“I think it’s provocative and it’s extremely interesting,” Steinemann said.

But Steinemann noted that the study shouldn’t cause concern among people who don’t wear glasses. “It probably doesn’t hurt to wear glasses, but does everyone need to do that? Probably not, ”he said. “I think you have to consider the practicality of wearing eye protection or a face shield. People in certain occupations, first responders, caregivers of someone who is sick, those are people who maybe should pay special attention.

The findings also raise interesting questions about how often the eyes can be the portal of entry for the virus. It has long been established that viruses and other germs can enter the body through the facial mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, and mouth. But the nose appears to be a main entry point for the coronavirus, because it has a large number of receptors that create a friendly environment in which the virus can replicate and move through the respiratory tract.

But doctors are seeing a small percentage of patients with eye symptoms, such as pink eye or pink eye, suggesting that the virus may also be entering the body through the eyes. Although eye symptoms are less common than other symptoms such as cough or fever, several studies have reported that eye discomfort can be a sign of COVID-19 infection.

Last month, researchers reported on a study of 216 children hospitalized with COVID-19 in Wuhan. Among those patients, 49 children, or nearly 23% of the cases, had ocular symptoms such as conjunctival discharge, eye rubbing, and conjunctival congestion. In addition to conjunctivitis, COVID-19 patients have described itchy eyes, excessive tearing, blurred vision, and the sensation of having something in the eye.