Debunking 5 Common Myths About Vision

We've all heard all sorts of things that will strengthen or damage our eyes when we're children. Some of them we still believe and perhaps even tell our own children about them. And, if you're still a kid, maybe you hear all kinds of things from your parents about how to take care of your eyes.

Here's what you don't know – some of them are myths.

Overtime, myths turn into beliefs. Learn the difference between fact, fiction and myth, and you'll not only be able take care of your eyes, but your children's eyes too. Let's take some time to breakdown all the vision myths and misconceptions you heard.

1. Reading in the dark will cause damage to your eyes

This is something every child has heard from his or her mother at least once but it is not true. While reading in dim light may strain your eyes because of the extra effort that they have to make due to the absence of adequate lighting, it will not actually cause permanent damage. It could result in temporary symptoms such as eye strain or headaches, but that is the most that could happen. Reading in a low-light environment will not cause permanent damage to your eyes.

2. Eating carrots will improve your eyesight

This one is the most commonly-told and commonly-believed myth of all time. While carrots enrich our bodies with beta-carotene and Vitamin A, which is a vital nutrient for retinal health, it has little impact on changing your prescription itself. In fact it is also true that more than the necessary amount of the nutrient can do more harm than good. Yes, we have never seen a rabbit with reading glasses, but that could be because they don't have optometrist in the rabbit world.

3. Staring at a screen all day will damage your eyes

This is false. While staring at the computer screen for an extended period of time will give you a headache dry eyes and strain, it will not lead to any permanent damage. All you have to do to avoid straining your eyes too much is take regular breaks, blink frequently and glance away from the screen occasionally. We recommend the 20/20/20 rule: for every 20 minutes of computer use, look away for 20 seconds at something 20 feet away. This will prevent dryness and eye fatigue.

4. You only have to wear sunglasses on sunny days

Not true. In fact, your eyes are still susceptible to damage from UV light even on cloudy days. UV light can have many damaging effects on the tissues of the eyes including keratitis, cataracts, macular degeneration and cancerous lesions on the eye lids. 80% of UV damage is done before age 18, so it is even more important for children to wear sunglasses outside, even on cloudy days.

5. Wearing glasses will make my vision worse

This is also untrue. Patients require glasses due to the shape of their eyes. They are either too long (near sighted), too short (far sighted), or have an abnormal curvature (astigmatism). Glasses work by bending the light to focus it properly on the retina, but have no effect on the shape of they eye itself. This means that wearing glasses will not make your vision better or worse, but will only clear your vision temporarily while you have the lenses on.

So, there you are. Myths and misconceptions are nothing but the result of a lack of knowledge and information, and they are usually the root of superstitions. If you stop believing in such misconceptions, you will definitely be able to take better care of your eyes. That is what we, at Vision by Design, aim to do for you. Your eyes are as precious to us as they are to you. If you have any sort of vision or eye problem, just drop by and our expert optometrists will help figure it out.