Can wearing 3D glasses harm your eyes?

Watching a movie in 3D is a very thrilling experience for sure. But if you are among those, who believe that watching 3D movies or playing 3D games can harm your eyes and lead to vision problems and eye infections, then keep reading. According to Dr Prachi Agashe, paediatric ophthalmologist and squint specialist, Iconic Eye Hospital, Mumbai, wearing 3D glasses doesn’t have any negative impact on the eyes.

Some people can experience headache, nausea or dizziness while watching 3D movies, which are temporary symptoms and usually go away once they take a break. It is just like experiencing motion sickness once you are inside a moving car or bus. This happens because while watching a 3D movie, the images appear too close and are constantly moving, which exerts pressure on the eye muscles and affects the movement of the eye, causing headache or nausea. However, there are no studies that report the use of 3D glasses causes long term effect or potential damage to the vision or the eyes.

How to prevent infection and eye strain?

If you are wary of contracting an infection from 3D glasses available at theatres, then buy your own 3D glasses. If this is not feasible, then make sure that the glasses are cleaned properly and don’t have any visible damage. If the 3D glass has scratches, the quality of the vision is affected, straining the eyes. Also, if a person suffering from conjunctivitis has used a pair of glasses which have not been sanitised after use, then the wearer after that is at a risk of contracting the infection. Hence, always clean 3D glasses before using them to be safe. Also, read about things your ophthalmologist wants you to know.

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