There are many varieties of eye glasses in the market today. If you go to a major store like a mall, or Wal-Mart, you can easily get a prescription eye glasses or contact lens that come in many different styles. However, there is another kind of glasses that is not widely known which can be used to improve far sighted or near sighted problems. This kind of glasses is known as pinhole glasses.

So what are pinhole glasses? Pinhole glasses are glasses with small openings that are supposed to improve the vision of the persons wearing them. They are sometimes called stenopeic glasses: stenopeic is a Greek word that means "little opening". These tiny openings or pinholes allow lesser amount of light to enter the eyes. This is similar to when you make a fist and look through the tiny opening in your fist. You can see objects clearer inside the opening that your fist makes. So this is how pinhole glasses work. Lights from outlying areas are blocked out while allowing into the eyes the lights that go into the middle part of the pupil. Refractive error is reduced and a person's vision is improved.

Pinhole glasses improve vision at all distances. They cost less than prescription glasses but a little bit more than reading glasses. The wearer will notice very little glare or distortion. Pinhole glasses will work the entire lifetime and need very little maintenance.

Pinhole eyeglasses come in two different styles: traditional pinholes and modern pinholes. Traditional pinholes have wider lenses with a little curvature. You can see the holes in the lens. The traditional styles do lessen the amount of ultraviolet light. On the other hand, the modern pinholes are more attractive in design with look similar to sunglasses. They provide full protection from ultraviolet light. The holes are not easily noticeable by other people.