Eye Care Fact and Fiction

Curled up with a good book when you were little, you may have been scolded by your parents with this familiar admonition: "Turn on the light. You're going to ruin your eyes!" Well, as it turns out, your parents were wrong about that.

Throughout life, you've probably heard your fair share of eye care advice. But which "facts" are really true and which are not? Let's take a look at some commonly held beliefs about eye care and then see what the experts have to say.

Reading in dim light will harm your eyes. Not true, according to Rohit R. Lakhanpal, M.D., Board Certified Ophthalmologist and Vitreorentinal Surgeon at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Md. "This is a common misconception. Reading in dim light may cause some eye strain and dry eye, but [it's] not harmful and has no long-term effects."

If you cross your eyes, they could stay that way. "Not true," Dr. Lakhanpal says. In rare cases, the eyes may be slow to uncross, but this is only in children who already have an ocular misalignment disorder that manifests in times of illness or fatigue.

Children outgrow crossed or misaligned eyes. Dr. Lisa Schocket, M.D., Board Certified Ophthalmologist at Baltimore's Union Memorial Hospital, says no, and Dr. Lakhanpal agrees: "[It is] important for these kids to be evaluated promptly. Unless it is forced to do the work, the misaligned eye will not develop proper vision."

Using computers can damage your eyes. Not so, Dr. Lakhanpal. "The issue here is the fact that most people sit at their computers in an 'intermediate' distance between their far distance vision and their reading distance." This distance can lead to eye strain and dry eye (just as reading in dim light can), but it does not cause any long-term effects.

Wearing sunglasses when outside can prevent damage to your eyes. Yes, but only if the glasses have UV-a and UV-b protection, according to Dr. Lakhanpal. "Ultraviolet rays increase the risk of intraocular tumors as well as macular degeneration."

Eating carrots can improve your vision. Well, yes and no: Carrots are rich in Vitamin A, which is important for eye health, and "studies show that while taking Vitamin A can reverse poor vision caused by a deficiency, it will not strengthen eyesight or slow decline in people who are healthy," says Dr. Lakhanpal.

Wearing eyeglasses will cause you to become dependent on them. "If you need glasses, you should wear them," Dr. Schocket says. Dr. Lakhanpal agrees. "Wearing eyeglasses will not make your eyes worse. Some refractive errors will worsen as you age, but wearing glasses is never the cause. Also, if you're used to clear vision when you wear your glasses, it will seem like your eyes are worse when you take [the glasses] off."

Wearing poorly fitted glasses or contact lenses can damage your eyes. "Poorly fitted contact lenses, specifically if they are too tight on the surface of the cornea, can cause dryness of the corneal surface and increase the risk of infection and scarring," Dr. Lakhanpal says. "Poorly fitted glasses may change the prescription, thus making the vision blurry."

Taking care of your eyes is important to good vision, and knowing the myths from the truths can lead you on the right path to seeing everything more clearly.