Can Glasses Correct Vision to 20/20?

23-04-2020

Refractive errors are one of the top reasons that people wear glasses. Astigmatism, hyperopia, myopia, and presbyopia can make your vision blurry at different distances, and often, prescription eyewear is the fastest solution.

Once you get corrective lenses, you’ll wish you had them sooner, as they can make many symptoms of refractive errors disappear. But can glasses correct vision to 20/20? Let’s find out. 

Can glasses correct vision to 20/20?

In many cases, glasses can correct vision to 20/20. If you had adequate vision from the start, sometimes corrective eyewear can even give you 20/15 vision or better. 

However, keep in mind that while glasses can improve your visual acuity, your eyes won’t experience any physical changes. Therefore, your vision correction may only happen while you’re wearing your prescription lenses. After you take them off, your vision may go back to what it was before.

Due to this, don’t be surprised if your vision is blurry when you remove your glasses. This is common, as glasses are meant to correct your vision temporarily. 

What happens if you have low vision?

Complete blindness is rare. A large portion of people have some level of vision intact and may have what we call “low vision.” This means that even if you’re wearing prescription lenses, your vision may not improve all the way. 

20/200 vision indicates a high level of low vision. According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), if the vision in your dominant eye can’t improve beyond 20/200 while wearing corrective lenses, you may be “blind” by legal standards.

For those with low vision, it’s unlikely that glasses will correct your eyesight to 20/20. We recommend getting your eyes checked every year, continuing to wear your prescription lenses to enhance your vision as much as possible, and discussing other options with your eye doctor if you’re concerned. 

How can you get 20/20 vision without glasses? 

If you’d like to find out how to get 20/20 vision naturally without vision correction, we recommend starting with healthy eye care habits. One of these habits should be eating more foods containing antioxidants, such as fruits and vegetables, as some research has shown a connection with antioxidants and ocular health.

We also recommend using the 20-20-20 rule when working with screens. That means glancing away from the screen for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. The goal is to refocus your eyes, so you’ll need to look at a distant object (20 feet away from you). This should give your eyes a little break and help you get back on track when you return to your computer or another electronic device.

Please bear in mind that neither of these two eye care tips may give you 20/20 vision by themselves. However, they can support your eyes, which may benefit your eyesight over time. 

For other, long-term solutions to correct your vision, please consult your optometrist. Our team would love to review your options. 

Summary: Will prescription lenses give you 20/20 vision? 

Glasses are one of the best tools to improve your eyesight. They can clear up your field of view, especially if you have a refractive error, and they can make it easier to see at various distances. 

But can glasses correct vision to 20/20? In general, yes, they can. However, this won’t happen to everyone’s eyes. People with low vision, for instance, may not get 20/20 vision while wearing corrective lenses, whereas those with refractive errors might. 

Glasses also don’t affect your actual eyes, which means that vision correction might only occur while you’re using your prescription lenses. Once you take them off, the vision correction may be gone. 

To improve your eye health, which may support your vision in the long run, try more eye-healthy habits. Two of our favorite eye care tips are having more produce (which is rich in antioxidants) and implementing the 20-20-20 rule during screen time. These tips may not change your vision, but they can start your path toward better eye health.