“The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing.”
- Publilius Syrus
It’s important to separate fact from fiction, especially when the topic is eyesight. And old wives’ tales abound about the eyes. Many of these have no basis in fact and, for that matter, can be dangerous if you followed the advice put forth.
But knowing how to take good care of your eyes is the first step to protecting your sight for a lifetime. So here’s the lowdown on some eyesight myths:
Myth #1: “Sitting too close to the TV will damage your vision.”
There is no evidence that sitting close to the television will damage your eyes. So sit wherever you are most comfortable. Eyes may become tired from sitting too close for long periods, if the light in the room is too dim, or if the picture screen is out of focus.
Myth #2: “Reading in the dark will weaken your eyesight”
As with sitting too close to the television, reading in dim light can cause eye fatigue, but it is not harmful and cannot damage your vision.
Myth #3: “Some eye exercises can improve your vision.”
Being alive and looking around at your world is all that is necessary to keep your muscles “toned.” Any extra effort is a waste of time and has no benefit. This myth has made many people wealthy, but rolling your eyes around has no effect on your vision.
Myth #4: “You can wear your eyes out by using them too much.”
Eyes are not like light bulbs. So you cannot wear your eyes out by using them. In fact they can last your entire lifetime if they are healthy. Cutting down on reading or close work, will not help or harm your eyesight.
Myth #5: “”Vision improves in older people as they gain second sight.”
“Second sight” refers to the ability of a person to see better, usually up-close, as they age. The reason for this “improved” vision is that the lens power changes due to increasing cataract. So actually second sight is due to the cataract having advanced.
Myth #6: “Too much sex, especially masturbation, can make you go blind.”
No, there is no way that this ridiculous myth can be true. Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, if left untreated can lead to blindness, dementia and death. This is where this myth came from.
Myth #7: “Wearing poorly fit glasses damages your eyes.”
In fact what is required for good vision is the right eyeglass prescription. Poor fitting glasses do not damage your eyes.
Myth #8: “Blind people have a sixth sense or extra ordinary talents.”
Most People with (20/20) vision do not pay much attention to their other senses. Blind people have worked hard to develop their other senses to compensate for their vision loss. There is no sixth sense. Just hard work and practice.
Myth #9: “There is no need to have your vision checked before you turn 40.”
Everyone should follow a proper eye health program that includes a regular eye exam, whether or not they’re having any noticeable signs of problems. There are treatable eye diseases; glaucoma is one of them, which can show up before you turn 40.
Myth #10: “Doctors can transplant eyes.”
It is not possible to transplant a whole eye. The eye is connected to the brain by a small nerve called the optic nerve. If this nerve is cut it cannot be reconnected, making it impossible to remove the eye and replace it with another one. When doctors figure out how to transplant the brain, they will be able to transplant the eye.
Myth #11: “Scientists have created a Bionic Eye.”
Researchers have been working on a microchip to replace damaged retina cells in a person’s central vision. Other scientists have been trying to figure out a way to connect a camera directly to the brain. The eye and the brain do not work the same way a camera and computer do. Even after someone figures out how to make a bionic eye, they still have to figure out how to connect it to the neural circuitry of the brain. What they have created so far is a crude form of vision consisting of several dots of light.
Myth #12: “It is not harmful to look at the sun if you squint or use dark glasses.”
The sun’s ultra-violet light will still get to your eyes, damaging the cornea, lens and retina. So looking at the sun may not only cause headache and distort your vision temporarily, but it can also cause permanent eye damage. Never look directly at a solar eclipse. The direct light from the sun can blind a person in less than a minute.
Myth #13: “There is nothing you can do to prevent vision loss”
Regular eye exams and proper safety eyewear can save your sight. Also at the very first signs of vision loss, such as blurred vision or flashes of light, you should see your doctor. If detected early enough, depending on the cause, there are treatments that can correct, stop, or slow down the loss of vision.
Myth #14: “Although eyeglasses makes you see better, they make vision get worse over time.”
Wearing eyeglasses will never make your eyes worse. Before you start wearing glasses, you are accustomed to seeing a blurry world around you. Since this is all you have ever seen, you accept it as normal. When your vision is corrected with eyeglasses you start seeing a clear world. Now when you remove your eyeglasses after wearing them for several months, you are presented with the same blurry world as before. You feel you were able to get around without wearing glasses before but now when you remove glasses you see all blurry and cannot get around. In reality it’s your perception that has changed.
Myth #15: “Eating carrots will improve your vision.”
While it is true that carrots are high in Vitamin A, which is an essential vitamin for sight, only a small amount is necessary for good vision. In fact, eating large amounts of Vitamin A or other vitamins can be very harmful.
Feel smarter? Just remember that you don’t want to be an April fool – or any kind of fool – when it comes to your health.
If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us or vote for it on Digg. Thank you!
Dave
“The direct light from the sun can blind a person in less a minute. ”
Please proofread before posting on the tubes – you are propagating bad Engrish.
At least you didn’t say “loose” when you meant “lose”.
May 21, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Lisa
I partially disagree with your post and agree with Oran. My grandmother’s eyesight is proof that exercises can improve your vision. Her doctors agree. Rolling or blinking sure won’t do anything, but going through a specific routine involving different focal points and whatever else she was instructed to do, every day for many years, did greatly improve her nearsightedness, or at least her eye muscles’ ability to compensate for it.
May 22, 2007 at 1:45 am
Victor
To all those providing anecdotes as evidence: Please read up on how science works – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_evidence
May 22, 2007 at 1:53 am
KJG
Keith (#27),
I was told the same thing by my optometrist years ago. I had a slight distance-vision problem. I only needed glasses for driving and watching movies…things like that. I only wore them in those instances. My distance vision worsened slightly over the years, but I still have a minor problem compared to many who need to wear glasses.
My current optometrist tells me that I likely saved my eyesight from getting much worse by NOT wearing my glasses all the time and by NOT using them for up-close work, like sitting in front of the computer.
Where did this guy get his facts from?
Also, there are studies now that suggest reading in poor light conditions for long periods of time definitely can cause vision problems. My sister was an obsessive reader and would read for long periods of time under the covers with a flashlight. I definitely think this caused her to end up with horrible vision at a young age…without contacts or glasses she must sit about 2 feet away from a TV to see anything clearly. No one else in my family has vision this terrible.
May 22, 2007 at 4:52 am
Mitos médicos en la vida común (VII) « Blog variado
[...] Hoy voy a hablar de unos cuantos mitos referentes a la visión, traducidos directamente de esta página. [...]
May 22, 2007 at 6:27 am
pablo
1,2,3, and 7 are wrongly busted myths. 1-3 are basically the same basis if you continually abuse your eyes they adapt to the way they are used. After time and age the ability to adapt decreases. Exercises for eyes are much like exercises for the rest of the body in training your eyes to make adaptations the more practice the better the eyes perform at the task. 7 is true, especially in stronger prescriptions, because the focal point of the lens is not going to be in the correct location. Lens do not have a uniform correction factor across the entire surface, particularly in the stronger scripts, thus poorly fitting glasses can effectively make it like you have an incorrect prescription.
May 22, 2007 at 6:44 am
sean
Myth #11: “Scientists have created a Bionic Eye.”
Researchers have been working on a microchip to replace damaged retina cells in a person’s central vision. Other scientists have been trying to figure out a way to connect a camera directly to the brain. The eye and the brain do not work the same way a camera and computer do. Even after someone figures out how to make a bionic eye, they still have to figure out how to connect it to the neural circuitry of the brain. What they have created so far is a crude form of vision consisting of several dots of light.
This is actually incorrect, Scientists have been hard at work refining the bionic eye… this is outdated information. Don’t believe everything you read on the web, especially on a page thats as poorly designed as this one.
Provided they are making advaces… the ‘crude form’ you talk about will be accelerating in the coming future.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2014686,00.html
May 22, 2007 at 12:13 pm
The Hot Sauce Collector
Great article — thanks for putting this together. Who goes around saying that doctors can transplant eyes?
May 22, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Jason
Comment 36 by Steve is 100% true. CRTs shoot beams on electrons at the screen, and being in that pathway will cause harm to your eyes.
May 22, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Mythbuster
Maybe you should have cleared up about “eye transplants” from donor eyes to other people’s eyes. Mostly about how the cornea is removed from the donor’s eye and transplanted to the recipiant’s eye?
May 23, 2007 at 10:44 am
15 Useless or Even Dangerous Eyesight Myths « Veronica’s Lore
[...] Get the whole story… [...]
May 23, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Motorcycle Guy
Myth number 4 is kind of off as lightbulbs don’t really wear out not in the traditional sense. Eventually the filament may snap due to repeated heating and cooling but a lightbulb could easily last more than 100 years they just aren’t made well enough too. there’s no incentive for companies to make them that well.
May 24, 2007 at 8:56 am
Shiran
Myth #15: “Eating carrots will improve your vision.”
this is true, as the vitamin A is converted to retinene which is jonied with a protein opsin to form rhodopsin. Rhodopsin is the pigment found in rods of the eye which are used for night vision. since these pigments are easilly broken down by light, it is good to have a supply of retinene for the Rod cells to reconvert back into rhodopsin. the more you have of thse in the eye the more you are able to see at night, as more light is able to be recieved, by the rod cells, because it is the pigments which ‘transmit’ the light information to the brain.
Carrots do contain vitamin A but not in super larger doses. High amounts have been found in liver and it is poisonous, and apparantly some arctic explorers have died from eating too many polar bear livers!
Moral of the story: Carrots good! liver bad!
May 25, 2007 at 8:23 am
Krunk4Ever! » Blog Archive » StarCraft 2
[...] 15 Useless or Even Dangerous Eyesight Myths (from Digg) – It’s important to separate fact from fiction, especially when the topic is eyesight. And old wives’ tales abound about the eyes. Many of these have no basis in fact and, for that matter, can be dangerous if you followed the advice put forth. An interesting list and I’ve heard of quite a few on the list. I wonder if the masturbation would make you blind has ever deterred anyone away from *cough*. [...]
May 29, 2007 at 2:20 am
Hostgator » Blog Archive » 15 Useless or Even Dangerous Eyesight Myths
[...] It ’s important to separate fact from fiction, especially when the topic is eyesight.read more | digg story [...]
May 29, 2007 at 2:49 am
Mhmm
The myth about sitting too close to the TV is just that, a myth. All of you who said that you disagree because you used to watch TV from a short distance then had to get glasses are a little confused. Correlation does not imply causation. The truth is that you had deteriorating eyesight before you started watching TV at a short distance, which is why you sat close to the TV… so you could see it clearly.
May 30, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Oskar
Myth No. 6 is partially true, you can go temporarily blind if your orgasm is so intense that you burst a blood vessel. This can also happen to body builders when they are pumping iron.
June 27, 2007 at 5:21 am
Radioactive Jam » Blog Archive » Not eyesafe
[...] My first thought? If they don’t stop doing that, they’ll go blind. [...]
July 27, 2007 at 9:34 am
erinmak » Blog Archive » I can see fuzzily now
[...] But I’ve come to the realization that I enjoy my ability to slip into a hazy, unclear world. When I first got glasses, in elementary school, the eye doctor suggested that I not wear them all the time, so I wouldn’t become dependent on them (which is apparently a myth; see #14). At first, I wore them only for portions of the school day, but eventually decided I needed them for sports (well, tee-ball). Gradually, I began wearing them almost all the time. [...]
September 7, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Definizione di una incertezza » Blog Archive » Links Links Links
[...] – falsi miti sulla vista # [...]
October 12, 2007 at 3:56 pm
For Your Healthy Body » Blog Archive » 15 Useless or Even Dangerous Eyesight Myths
[...] read more | digg story [...]
October 28, 2007 at 9:36 am
15 Useless or Even Dangerous Eyesight Myths » CatchDude Articles
[...] Written by ririanproject.com “The eyes are not responsible when the mind does the seeing.” [...]
January 1, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Top Ten Myths of All Time | Uphaa.com
[...] It’s important to separate fact from fiction, especially when the topic is eyesight. And old wives’ tales abound about the eyes. Many of these have no basis in fact and, for that matter, can be dangerous if you followed the advice put forth. But knowing how to take good care of your eyes is the first step to protecting your sight for a lifetime. So here’s the lowdown on some eyesight myths: Website [...]
February 4, 2008 at 8:47 am
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February 11, 2008 at 4:24 pm
15 Useless or Even Dangerous Eyesight Myths
[...] Original here Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
February 20, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Anonymous
Myth 1: Dude, I, like, get headaches if I sit too close to the TV. I think it has to do with the screen, if you look real close, you see hot pink and blue and crap. The TV screen is way different than looking at real life. Go outside, you feel better peoples.
You there! (Mhmm) You where you think people sit close to the TV so they can see clearly.
NOT TRUE> People sit up close cause they like a big screen, if you sit in the back you see a small TV screen to stare mindlessly at. And it’s a force of habit. Why don’t you try watching TV up close, see what happens!
February 26, 2008 at 3:26 pm
eyedoc
These 15 myths are absolutely correct. Each one has been supported by medical research. The responses given where people mention a family member or friend who had this condition occur or that are baseless. You need something called a CONTROL to validate those assumptions.
There will always be a single patient here or there that goes against what we believe is true. . . but they are anomalies and their results cannot be generalized to the standard population.
February 26, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
#3 ““Some eye exercises can improve your vision” is totally false. If you are going to make statements of a medical nature, it is inappropriate to fail to include citations. There are activities that can improve visual skill for any person. Go to http://www.covd.org/ to learn more.
Even if you are solely referring to visual acuity, the statement is still false. A small group of people can improve their vision, if they have “pseudo-myopia” or temporary myopia that is caused by near vision strain. This can be improved with glasses, but can only be truly resolved with vision therapy.
In the future, please check your facts before you perpetuate more myths. Either than or stick to something that you are knowledgeable about.
February 26, 2008 at 8:20 pm
wasif waquar
i dont from many i m experiencing tat i m lossing my eye vision very rapidly wat should i have to do tats the main thig tat came to my mind but after reading this i think i must go 4 a eye operation
March 20, 2008 at 12:38 pm
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March 21, 2008 at 1:50 am
Lee
Myth 8 isn’t quite right. It’s fairly common for blind people to dedicate their visual cortex (the part of the brain that is used to process visual information) to other senses. It is sometimes active while reading braille, or while using other senses. While I don’t know of sixth senses, there is neurological evidence for changes in other senses.
June 28, 2008 at 11:09 am
Andrei
Myth 16: You cannot correct vision with eye exercises. – You CAN, and millions of people around the world, at different points in it’s (the worlds) history, have done it, including myself.
And THAT’S enough proof for me!
September 13, 2008 at 6:15 am
When Bored, Use the Blog « *Apesaje* Let’s Rock!
[...] entry I read from Ririan Project kind of contradicts my parents. It’s funny, because now I find [...]
December 12, 2008 at 6:36 am