Britain is a nation of Mr Magoos who are too proud to wear glasses and get into perilous scrapes like the short-sighted cartoon character. Almost seven in 10 specs wearers confess to ditching their bins in an effort to look “cooler” despite the dangers. Opticians warned the habit had led to patients taking nasty tumbles and even walking into swimming pools because they were not sporting their spectacles.
And unlike the squinting TV hero, who miraculously benefited from his blindness with the catchphrase “Oh, Magoo! You’ve done it again!”, ordinary folk who refuse to put on their goggs face serious injury, warns Optical Express. It found 66% of glasses and contact lens wearers avoided putting on their eyewear while on summer getaways, with playing in the pool and looking good in holiday snaps the top reasons. The figure jumps to eight in 10 - some 79% - for fashion-conscious under-25s, with Gen Z worried about what they will look like on social media.
Britain’s estimated 27million glasses wearers also risked potentially worsening their vision by discarding their blinkers, said the firm. Seven in 10 of 2,000 respondents who wear glasses or contacts said travelling would be much easier without specs or lenses. Some 28% said switching between specs and sunglasses was their biggest bugbear.
The study warned the searing sun could also have long-term impacts such as cataracts, macular degeneration and photokeratitis - a condition caused by exposure to UV rays. Optometris.
