For the regular glasses-wearer, a scratch on your eyeglasses can feel as irritating equally having something in your eye. What starts out looking like a smudge can speedily become ingrained in your lenses, obstructing your vision.

It's natural to want to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. Merely most methods to get rid of scratches on your eyeglasses just won't work — and they might even make the issue worse. This includes popular DIY fixes, which range from blistering soda to auto wax.

Do this showtime

Before trying anything, gently clean your glasses with a microfiber cloth designed for eyeglasses. Employ minimal force per unit area and eyeglass cleaner or dish soap and water.

Read this how-to article for an easy way to clean your eyeglasses.

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Why do eyeglasses scratch then hands?

If you experience similar your eyeglasses get scratched no matter what you do, you're non lonely. There are a few things that make them decumbent to scratches.

  • Most lenses aren't drinking glass. Modern eyeglasses are made of sophisticated plastic. These materials are durable and more than resistant to everyday wear and tear. Plastic is also safer than glass to wear shut to your optics, as in that location'southward little risk of cracking or shattering. Plastic does tend to scratch somewhat easily, though.
  • Dust clings to lenses. Grit mites and lint tend to cling to plastic material. Rubbing your spectacles when clay, lint, or dust is on the lens tin crusade scratches. For this reason, toothpaste and baking soda, which have gritty textures, won't fix scratched lenses.
  • Tissue and fabrics are harsher than they look. When cleaning their glasses, many people brand mistakes that really end upwardly scratching them. Using a shirt, facial tissues, towels, or toilet paper to wipe lenses clean can leave them covered in lint.
  • Household cleaners are abrasive. Likewise, cleaning your glasses with a household glass cleaner, such as Windex, strips your lenses of their protective coatings. This can leave glasses more susceptible to damage.

Q: Can yous asking lenses fabricated from glass? Is drinking glass still used for lenses?

A: Drinking glass lenses are nevertheless made for eyeglasses, only they aren't used very frequently because they aren't as safe. If a glass lens breaks, it shatters and can injure the eye. Too, drinking glass lenses are much heavier than plastic lenses, so they tin make your eyeglasses less comfortable to clothing.

— Ann Marie Griff, OD

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Is it bad to have scratches on your glasses?

If you notice a small scratch on your glasses, Ashley Katsikos, an optometrist in San Francisco, says to "leave it alone."

For small-scale scratches that don't affect your vision, taking steps to prevent more than scratches is the best style to care for your eyeglasses moving forward.

Consider getting new glasses if scratches on the lenses are:

  • causing visual disturbances
  • obstructing your vision
  • giving you headaches

What well-nigh DIY fixes?

According to Katsikos, you should avert using household ingredients like blistering soda or toothpaste to try to clean off or fill up in a scratch on your glasses. "You'll end up scratching your glasses permanently," she says.

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When to supersede your spectacles

Katsikos says, "When the visual distortion is causing pregnant enough blur that the patient is unable to perform their activities of daily living," it'south time to get new lenses. She notes, "Many patients tend to observe this most when driving."

If looking through your lenses obstructs your vision, causes visual disturbances, or gives you a headache, it's time to look into replacements.

Can a professional help with eyeglass scratches?

  • In terms of repair, probably non. Katsikos doesn't advise going to an optician or optometrist to try to ready a small scratch. Chances are, they won't exist able to go rid of small scratches.
  • For replacement and prevention, aye! When yous choose your eyeglass lenses, brand sure to ask your provider about scratch-resistant coating options that tin exist added to them. If your glasses tend to go scratched, the coatings might save y'all coin in the long run.

Q: Can a coating be added to eyeglasses to protect them from further scratches? Why or why not?

A: A protective coating can't exist added to a lens after it's scratched. The coating is applied when the lens is manufactured and tin can't be put on later on. I recommend adding a scratch-resistant coating to the lenses when you purchase them. Near coatings have a 1-year warranty, and then if they practice scratch, even with the coating, y'all can get them replaced at no charge. Check with your eye care provider almost details for your item lenses.

— Ann Marie Griff, OD

Healthline

Preventing scratches to your spectacles

The best programme of activity is to foreclose scratches on your spectacles. This starts with knowing the best practices for care.

  • Use a hard case for storage. Brand sure to store your glasses in a hard instance when you're non wearing them. "Information technology'southward always best to shop your glasses in a case, not only to prevent scratching of the lenses but also to prevent your frames from breaking or getting bent out of shape," says Katsikos. "Do not just throw your spectacles face down on the table, or in your pocket, or in your handbag/bag, or hang them from your shirt collar."
  • Don't leave eyeglasses in the car. Katsikos notes, "A common mistake many patients make is leaving their glasses in the hot machine. High temperatures can destroy the various coatings on your lenses, such as anti-reflective coating and scratch-resistant blanket. Impairment to these coatings will crusade the lens to look cracked or crazed." Exposure to extreme estrus can warp the shape of your lenses, which can significantly bear on your vision.
  • Keep a microfiber textile handy. Invest in a microfiber cloth and an optometrist-approved lens cleaning spray to clean your glasses correctly.

Ever make clean your glasses carefully, and don't employ household cleaners or paper cloths to clean the surface of them.

The takeaway

If you take a scratch on your glasses, try not to smudge it with your finger or your shirt. Wait until you get dwelling, and carefully clean the spectacles so that you don't end up making the scratch deeper or worse.

Don't endeavour DIY fixes, similar toothpaste or baking soda, which can deepen the scratch.

Minor scratches aren't the end of the world, but y'all tin can practise things to avoid getting more scratches. If scratches have started to obstruct your vision or make it difficult for you to drive, contact your center care provider.