27 Nov Five Myths of Your Eyes and Vision

 When it comes to the amount of health information online, on TV, and even from friends and family, we all become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, along with the good, a lot of things you have learned or heard may turn out to be inaccurate.  Here are five common eye health myths and misconceptions that have no basis in science.

Wearing glasses will make my vision worse.

It is a common misconception for most to think that wearing glasses will make their eyes to become dependent on them. Many parents are hesitant to let their child start wearing glasses. In reality, whether the vision is worsening or not, has very little to do with wearing glasses. The determining factors of prescription increase heavily depend on a combination of genes and environment. Your eyes are merely benefiting from the glasses so that you can see more clearly. Similarly, wearing glasses with a weaker prescription won’t make your eyes work harder, just less clear compared to the proper prescription.

Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your vision.

There is no scientific supporting evidence to show that sitting too close to the TV can cause permanent vision damage. Children may do this especially if they are nearsighted in order to see the TV more clearly. They may in fact need glasses.  However, your eyes will get tired or strained if sitting closer than necessary for a long period of time. To remedy fatigue, simply close your eyes, turn off the TV and give them a break. 

Not necessary to check your eyes yearly.

A majority of the population assume that if their eye sight stays the same, they can skip the eye doctor appointment. Eye sight represents only the clarity of your vision, it does not indicate the overall wellness of the entire visual system. For children and teens, their eyes could change very rapidly depend on how much time is spent on homework, digital screens, outdoors, etc. In today’s day and age, our lives revolve around digital devices which emit blue-violet light which can be harmful to the light-sensitive cells in the retina. Schedule a yearly exam on a regular basis will ensure a life time of healthy vision without any unpleasant surprises.

Only men are color blind.

Color vision deficiency refers to the perception of colors is different from what most of us see. It occurs when a person cannot distinguish between certain colors, usually between greens and reds, and occasionally blue and yellows. Females in fact can also be colorblind, just less common. Men are much more likely to be colorblind than women because the genes responsible for the most common, inherited color blindness are on the X chromosome. There is only one X chromosome on males, while females have two X chromosomes.

Eating carrots will improve your vision.

Carrots contain beta-carotene, a substance that the body converts to vitamin A, which plays an important role of maintaining eye health. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to night blindness, in which there is a difficulty adjusting vision to low levels of light, such as in a movie theater. While eating carrots does provide benefits for healthy vision, it does not improve your visual acuity if you have reduced vision. For instance, a diet of carrots will not restore blindness to 20/20 vision.

To get your own eye health questions answered, schedule your next annual eye exam today.