Most Cases of Love at Second Sight Due to Nearsightedness

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – We’ve all heard the phrase “Love at first sight.”  But what about those people who don’t fall in love at first sight?  According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), love at second sight (LSS) remains heavily underdiagnosed and undertreated in the population and is often the result of nearsightedness or myopia, a condition that is very treatable.

“There is a stigma surrounding people who fall in LSS, which is why you never hear anyone talking about it,” explained AAO board member Dr. Iris Schlemm-Schwalbe.  “It’s no surprise then that it hasn’t received enough attention, and that’s a shame because myopia can be treated with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery.”

A review of the literature shows that 99.9% of people who experience love at first sight (LFS) have 20/20 vision.  However, the number of people experiencing LFS has steadily decreased over the past few decades.  Not surprisingly during this same period of time, the National Eye Institute (NEI) has noticed a marked increase in the prevalence of myopia affecting nearly 42% of the American population.

“It doesn’t seem fair to me that people are not finding love simply because their eyeballs are a little too oblong or their lens or cornea are a little too curved,” explained ophthalmologist and fellow Gomerblog author Dr. Glaucomflecken.  “It’s heartbreaking.  If someone has difficulty reading road signs, then of course they’re going to have difficulty making meaningful eye contact with a special someone across the coffee shop.  Or if there’s any contact, that potential suitor might be scared off because that heavy squinting makes you look kinda sketch.”

 

As a result of these findings, the AAO are drafting new guidelines recommending screening for myopia for patients of any age who haven’t fallen in love yet.

“The main thing is to catch the myopia before it progresses to something really bad,” added Schlemm-Schwalbe, “such as love at eighth sight.  If that happens, please get to an emergency room right away before your retina detaches.”