Wearing Glasses Reduces Risk of Catching Coronavirus by 500%

A new study has found that wearing glasses daily may reduce the risk of infection with the novel Coronavirus ( COVID-19).

Researchers in China found that patients with the Coronavirus are about five times less likely than the general population to wear glasses.

The team, from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, says they believe this is because the ACE-2 receptors, which the virus attaches to enter and infect human cells, can be found in the eye.

The findings also provide more evidence on why health care workers should wear eyeglasses to protect the eyes, and why more attention should focus on preventive measures such as washing their hands frequently and avoiding touching their faces.

In the new study, the team looked at 276 patients diagnosed with "Covid-19" between January 27 and March 13.

Only about 6% of the 276 patients hospitalized with "COVID-19" at Suizhou Zengdu Hospital in China required to wear glasses every day due to their nearsightedness. But the proportion of people with myopia in Hubei Province, where the hospital is located, is much higher, at around 32%, according to the study.

Dr. Yiping Wei, from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, and his colleagues speculated that glasses may thwart the "COVID-19" infection because "they prevent or discourage the wearer from touching their eyes, thus avoiding transmitting the virus from the hands to the eyes."

In a report published online September 16 in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, the study authors said that eye protection can also reduce the risk of coming into contact with airborne and virus-laden droplets.

However, the results showed that eyeglass wearers who had already contracted "Covid-19" contracted the disease as well as those who had normal vision.

Although this is an observational study and you cannot conclude anything definitive from it, there is a suggestion that eye protection might reduce the risk of infection," said Dr. Amish Adalga, a senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center.

The researchers pointed out that regular eyeglasses do not cover the eyes completely like goggles or face shields, and they explained that: Glasses may provide some protection, but it is clear that regular use of them can allow the particles in the air, in theory, to enter the eye easily."

According to Dr. Lisa Maragakis, Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, people should not wear glasses if they do not need them.

The researchers pointed out that the study was based on a relatively small sample, which means that more future research involving a larger number of participants is needed to prove the results.

On the other hand, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) publishes daily updates of confirmed deaths due to COVID-19. We rely on this data as explained above.

In an ongoing outbreak the final outcomes death or recovery for all cases is not yet known. The time from symptom onset to death ranges from 2 to 8 weeks for COVID-19.

This means that some people who are currently infected with COVID-19 will die at a later date.

This needs to be kept in mind when comparing the current number of deaths with the current number of cases.

To understand the risks and respond appropriately the world must know the mortality risk of COVID-19 the likelihood that someone who catches the disease will die from it.