Does wearing glasses really protect you from Covid-19?

Analysis: Researchers find that people wearing glasses appear to be at lower risk of getting infected, although more data is needed before adding goggles

Along Simon Corstow, University of Portsmouth

Chinese researchers have found that people wearing glasses appear to have a lower risk of being caught. COVID-19.. Study author, Published in JAMA OphthalmologyIt turns out that few eyeglass patients have been admitted to hospitals suffering from Covid-19 since the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in December 2019. To further investigate, they collected data on eyeglass wear from all Covid-19 patients as part of their medical history.

Their small study found that only 16 (5.8%) of the 276 patients admitted to Covid-19 wore glasses for more than 8 hours a day. They determined that all these patients were short-sighted, so they then examined the proportion of people Myopia (Myopia) Hubei Province, where the hospital is located. They found this to be much larger (31.5%), indicating that the rate of admission to Covid-19 hospitals with myopic eyes was more than five times lower than expected from the population.

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This is a fascinating observation, but like any single study, the results should be treated with caution. While protecting the eyes I’ve been doing it all the time The magnitude of the differences reported in this study, which is an important component of personal protective equipment (PPE), raises suspicion. This does not mean that this is not a real result, but that advice on large-scale behavioral changes (such as wearing goggles with a face mask) should not be started until individually confirmed.

Are your eyes a window of viruses?

One of the important steps of a viral infection is the first entry into the body. Most of our bodies are covered with protective skin, which is very effective in preventing viruses and bacteria from entering the body, but a much thinner “membrane” is in the respiratory tract, digestive system, I’m covering my eyes. The role of these thinner membranes is to get oxygen, food, and, in the case of the eye, external things such as light into our bodies. Unfortunately, the virus has learned to take advantage of these entry points.

This is why PPE is designed to protect these entrances with face masks, goggles and protective clothing. However, while you might imagine that the main attacks on these areas come from viral particles that are transmitted through the air as aerosols, the main way virus particles reach these weaknesses is actually Our hands.. Therefore, Covid-19 recommends that you wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your face.

Therefore, covering our eyes with eyeglasses may provide additional protection not only from viruses carried by others’ breathing, but also in preventing the wearer from seeing them. That makes sense. Indeed, it dates back to February It was a report Percentage of people who catch Covid-19 by not properly protecting their eyes in the medical setting. Similar entry points (ACE-2 receptors) into the body that coronaviruses prefer are also known. Also present in the eyes..

Do I need to wear goggles?

An important part of interpreting the evidence from observational studies is to remember that correlation (two things happen at the same time) does not necessarily mean causality (one causes the other). To test causality, you need a controlled or test.

We need more data before giving any advice on wearing goggles with a face mask.

Ideally, follow two carefully matching groups (the one with glasses and the one without) to see which group is infected more often. Evidence from such controlled trials is always much stronger than evidence from observational studies such as recent papers.

It should also be noted that the authors of this study list some weaknesses. It was a very small survey on one site. Researcher data on the general population came from a long time ago study of samples that did not exactly match (in terms of age, demographics and other factors) samples admitted to the hospital at Covid-19. .. Nor could we guarantee that everyone with myopia in the general public would wear glasses for more than 8 hours a day.

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So while this new study is very interesting, there are many reasons to be cautious about this result. More data is needed before giving advice on wearing goggles with a face mask.

Simon Corstow Is a senior lecture on evidence-based healthcare, University of Portsmouth.. This article was first displayed conversation