People who wear glasses are two to three times less likely to be infected with COVID-19, a new study finds.
Indian researchers studied 304 patients whose wearing glasses were examined through a questionnaire and compared with existing studies of the general population, according to research published in medRxiv, which has not been peer-reviewed.
“This current study showed that the risk of COVID was two to three times lower in the population wearing glasses than in the population not wearing glasses,” said Amit Kumar Saxena in the findings, the British Mirror reported.
“The protective role of the glasses was found to be statistically significant when used for (a) long period of the day,” he added. “Touching and rubbing the eyes with contaminated hands can be a major route of infection.”
The researchers said that people touch their face an average of 23 times an hour and the eyes an average of three times an hour.
“Nose and mouth touching is significantly reduced when a face mask is worn correctly. But wearing a face mask doesn’t protect the eyes, ”the study said.
“The nasolacrimal tract may be a route of virus transmission from the conjunctival sac to the nasopharynx,” said the study.
According to the authors, a total of 58 patients wore glasses continuously during the day and during outdoor activities.