Prescription eyeglasses and/or contact lenses are worn by over 60% of the nations population today. The end of the year 2006, it is estimated that 176 million people will be in need of vision correction.

A survey conducted by the Vision Council of America showed that over 40 percent of the subjects surveyed would wear either prescription eyeglasses or fashion eyeglasses whether they needed to or not. The survey also showed that 39% of the people surveyed perceive people that wear eyeglasses to be smarter than those who do not. The biggest complaints, found in the survey, were dirty eyeglasses and scratched lenses.

Only 53% of the people surveyed that they knew what polarized lenses were on prescription eyeglasses. The function of Polarized lenses is to reduce the glare. They are especially helpful to people who have just undergone cataract surgery and are very sensitive to bright lights. They are popular among boaters, skiers, drivers and any other hobbyist that the glare cannot only be annoying, but dangerous.

The survey conducted also showed that 45% of the people surveyed over the age of 40 had to wear prescription eyeglasses. Out of those people 17% still had problems even while wearing prescription eyeglasses.

Cataracts seem to big a big problem. Statistics show that cataracts affect 20 million Americans. It also shows that cataract are more prevalent among black men. Cataracts are a clouding over the surface of the eye’s lens. The first symptom to a cataract is a little blur vision. Like looking through a smudged piece of glass. Then as time goes the smudge just keeps growing.

Other diseases that require a person to wear prescription eyeglasses are Myopia, which is nearsightedness, Hyperopia, which is farsightedness and Glaucoma. Glaucoma has no symptoms, therefore, stressing the importance of routine eye exams by a licensed optometrist.