Don’t watch TV from so close! Don’t spend hours on your phone! Don’t watch your phone or laptop screen in the dark! How many times have you heard these and many other statements that end with ‘you will spoil your eyesight!’? Numerous, isn’t it? We all have grown up listening to such bizarre statements about our eye health. Let’s debunk some myths that you have lived by and believed in ever since your childhood.
Myth 1: Eating carrots improves vision
Fact: Carrots are a good source of Vitamin A but only eating carrots cannot help in maintaining or enhancing your vision. There are various other foods that are richer in Vitamin A than carrots. Milk, cheese and egg yolk have richer Vitamin A content than carrots.
Myth 2: Watching TV from too close ruins your vision
Fact: Watching TV constantly or watching it from too close can lead to headaches. That’s all the damage watching a TV from close range can do to you. It doesn’t affect your vision at all. In fact, kids who do this should be checked for their eyesight. Chances are that they are near-sighted and need glasses to see TV clearly from a distance.
Myth 3: Reading in the dark can impair vision
Fact: Reading in dim light or darkness adds strain to your eyes. The strain can cause severe headaches and it certainly doesn’t affect your eyesight. To avoid getting stinging headaches, it is advisable to read in sufficiently lit rooms.
Myth 4: You cannot do anything about the loss of eyesight
Fact: Technically, yes you cannot. But to speak medically, getting regular eye check-ups can help in detecting the problems at the onset which can be rectified with the use of glasses and other medical rectification methods.
Myth 5: If you don’t have eyesight issues, you don’t need eye check-ups.
Fact: Doing so will only make the Myth 4 come true for you. It is advisable to get your eyes checked twice a year to eliminate high-grade risks. Majority of the vision loss cases occur due to negligence on the part of the patient.
Myth 6: Wearing somebody else’s glasses will harm your eyes
Fact: No, it won’t. Wearing somebody else’s glasses with a different prescription will cause eye fatigue or a headache. It can make you feel dizzy for a while. Hence, it is not recommended to wear somebody else’s glasses.
Myth 7: LASIK is a long and painful procedure of correcting eyesight
Fact: A LASIK surgery is a laser surgery which takes a maximum of 20 minutes and is absolutely pain-free. You are up and running within an hour of the LASIK surgery.
Myth 8: LASIK cannot correct farsightedness
Fact: LASIK can correct all kinds of refractory errors. In cases of severe farsightedness, other corrective surgeries would be preferable.
Myth 9: You will never need to wear glasses after LASIK surgery
Fact: It is party true. LASIK surgery gives you freedom from glasses but it does not prevent progression of vision with age. Maybe sometime after the age of 40, you might need to wear glasses to correct the vision.
Myth 10: Eyesight decreases with age
Fact: No, it doesn’t! It isn’t necessary that growing age means receding eyesight. If you eat healthily and maintain a good lifestyle, there are high chances that you would never need to wear glasses.
Myth 11: All Eye health issues are genetic
Fact – Yes, eye health issues like glaucoma and cataracts can be inherited, there is no guarantee if you will or you will not inherit these. That apart, there can be other issues which you can suffer which you will not know unless you get the eyes checked regularly.
Myth 12: It’s OK to sleep in contact lenses
Fact – Remember, your eyes need to breathe properly while wearing contact lenses. While sleeping, when your eyes are closed, it is extremely difficult and you can risk eye infection. We would highly recommend you taking off your contact lenses during bedtime unless your doctor has specifically approved of you to sleeping in those.
How surprised are you after debunking these eye health myths? Go and share it with your smart Aleck friends.
