London, April 05: Millions of British women are suffering from poor vision because they are too vain to wear spectacles, a study has revealed.
The research revealed a quarter of females who need glasses refuse to get their eyes tested and would rather squint or suffer blurred vision than ‘ruin their appearance’ with spectacles, reports dailymail.co.uk.
Approximately 7.5 million women are struggling with eyesight which they know is well below 100 percent.
Nearly half of women said they believed wearing glasses would make them feel unattractive, and would therefore avoid wearing them at all costs.
The study of 3,000 women by the Sight Care Group, an organisation for independent opticians, also showed a quarter of all women haven’t been for an eye test for over two years.
“What seems ridiculous is that girls would much rather damage their eyesight permanently than visit their local independent optician for a quick check. Deteriorating eyesight can have a terrible effect on quality of life, causing symptoms such as headaches, a squint or pain behind the eyes,” said Paul Surridge of the group.
“Without regular check-ups, these can lead to much more serious conditions such as Glaucoma, pressure in the eyeballs, so cannot be rectified early enough. Unfortunately, vanity seems to be one of the main reasons why girls don’t want to go for an eye test, or wear glasses,” he added.
The research also revealed women who have been prescribed glasses don’t wear them as often as they should.
Two thirds of those who wear glasses refuse to wear them during a night on the town, while 50 percent wouldn’t wear them on the date.
A further 15 percent leave their glasses in the case when on public transport and 16 percent leave them at home when meeting a boyfriend.
Seven percent don’t bother putting their specs on to read, one in ten spend all day at work without wearing them, and another seven percent would feel uncomfortable wearing them in a meeting.
Sixtynine percent of females with imperfect eyesight say the only place they feel truly comfortable with their specs on is at home.
Half of all girls wearing specs claim to feel ugly with their glasses on, and 48 percent say they over-compensate with the rest of their outfit and appearance to make themselves feel more attractive.
Half of the girls say they think wearing glasses would make them less popular, and 40 percent have been bullied as a direct result of wearing glasses.
–IANS–