Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr.

Murali Mohan Gurram

MYTHS ABOUT EYES

Myth: Eating carrots will improve your vision and gets rid of glasses Fact: Carrots are high in Vitamin A, which is important for a balanced diet. Balanced diet is important to good vision, but that doesn't mean that eating carrots all day, will give you eagle eyes. Vitamin A deficiency may lead to poor vision, but having an excess of the vitamin does not enhance vision further. It by no ways can make you get rid of glasses.

Myth: Reading in dim light will damage your vision. Fact: Reading in dim light can make your eyes feel tired. It is not harmful and cannot damage your vision. It's like saying if you take a picture in poor light, then the camera is going to be damaged,"
it causes discomfort but does not damage the vision.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: If someone is nearsighted they can't see things near. Fact : Actually it is the other way around. People who have nearsighted vision can see things that are near very well, but they have trouble seeing things far away clearly. The scientific name for nearsightedness is myopia. People who have farsighted vision can see things far away clearly but have trouble seeing things close up. The scientific name for farsightedness is called hyperopia.

Myth : Wearing someone else's glasses can damage your eyes. Fact: No harm can be done by wearing glasses that are not your prescription. You may not see very well through them and you may experience eye fatigue and at worst a headache.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: If you wear glasses, not wearing them will cause your vision to deteriorate faster. Fact : The primary side effect of not wearing glasses is likely to be the temporary one that accompanies accommodation -- excessive squinting is likely to give someone who typically wears glasses a headache. While trying to focus without glasses may strain your eyes, it will not cause lasting damage. While a person may squint in an attempt to see better, the eye itself will not be affected.

Myth: Wearing poorly fit glasses damages your eyes. Fact: The right eyeglass prescription is required for good vision. Poor fitting glasses do not damage your eyes. They may cause discomfort though.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: Using Glasses or Contacts Will Weaken My Eyesight, and My Eyes Will Eventually Become Dependent On Them Fact: Your eyes will not grow weaker as a result of using corrective lenses. Your prescription may change over time due to aging or the presence of disease, but it is not because of your current prescription.

Myth: Using a Nightlight in Your Child's Room Will Contribute to Nearsightedness Fact : It has been thought that using a nightlight in your child's bedroom may contribute to nearsightedness, however there is not enough evidence to support this claim. Keeping a nightlight on in your baby's room may actually help them learn to focus and develop important eye coordination skills when they are awake.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: It's O.K. to skip my child's first eye exam as long as they don't seem to have any problems with their sight. Fact: By age 3, it's a good idea to have a general eye exam, which can detect amblyopia. This is especially important when there's a family history of an eye problem or a strong prescription of glasses.

Myth: Strong enough glasses will help anyone who is visually impaired. Fact: Refractive lenses (glasses) cannot correct all visual impairments. Glasses cannot fix eye conditions that involve the retina, optic nerve, or brain.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: Poorly fit contact lenses do not harm your eyes. Fact: Poorly fit contact lenses can damage your cornea. If you use contact lenses, have them checked regularly.

Myth: Wearing sunglasses indoors will harm your eyes.

Fact: Sunglasses are designed to be worn to protect eyes from UV rays and glare. Wearing them indoors may be cool but probably best left for the outdoors. Worn indoors however will not harm your eyes.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: Sitting close to the television will harm your vision. Fact: There is no evidence that sitting close to the television will damage your vision. If this were true, office workers that sit 8 hours a day 17 inches from their computer screens, would all be blind. But the light emitted by TV can evaporate the tear film on the eye, and can cause irritation, or dryness, but not sight problems. Sometimes this may be a signal that the kid may be having short-sight problem. Since he has good vision for near, they tend to sit very near to the tv. A checkup with ophthalmologist will clarify this issue.

Myth: Doctors can transplant eyes. Fact: Doctors can transplant the cornea, but not the eye it self. The retina and optic nerve are part of the brain, which cannot be transplanted.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: Eye exercises will improve your vision. Fact: Eye exercises will not improve your vision. Focusing difficulties and convergence issues can be improved with eye exercises.However, eye exercises which are promoted as helping people get rid of glasses, or exercises which are said to improve vision are useless. Rolling your eyes around has no effect on your vision.

Myth: It is not harmful to look at the sun if you squint or use dark glasses. Fact: The sun's ultra-violet light will still get to your eyes, damaging the cornea, lens and retina. Never look directly at a solar eclipse. The direct light from the sun can blind a person in less then a minute.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: You can wear your eyes out by using them too much. Fact: Your eyes have the capacity to work continuously for whole life without getting worn out.. Cutting down on reading or close work, will not help or harm your eyesight.

Myth: Doctors can only remove cataracts after they ripen. Fact: It is up to you, and your doctor, to decide when to remove a cataract. Most people have them removed when the decrease in vision starts bothering them. Do not wait till the cataract progresses too much, when the surgery may be risky.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: You need to speak louder when talking to a blind person. Fact: Blind people have poor eyes not ears. Talk to them as you would to anyone else. When in a room with several other people use their name so they know you are speaking to them and not someone else.

Myth: Blind people can ALWAYS identify you by your voice. Fact: When answering your phone, do you know everyone by voice? It is a good idea to identify your self when meeting a blind person.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: There is no need to have your vision checked before you turn 40. Fact: There are treatable eye diseases; glaucoma is one of them, which can show up even before you turn 40.

Myth: There's Nothing You Can Do to Prevent Vision Loss. Its fate. Fact : At the very first sign of symptoms, such as blurred vision, eye pain, flashes of light, or sudden onset of floaters in your vision, you should see your doctor. If detected early enough, depending on the cause, there are treatments that can correct, stop, or at least slow down the loss of vision.

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: The blue-eyed ones see better than the brown-eyed ones Fact: The iris color has no link with the visual sharpness

Myth: We are bound to suffer the same eye problems as our parents. Fact: Sometimes. Many eye problems are genetic, but as with all genetic problems, inheritance is not guaranteed. "There's a higher risk, but it doesn't mean you're going to suffer."

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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Eye Education Series-Eyes & Myths: Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

Myth: Squinting a lot damages your vision. Fact : Squinting may be a sign that you need glasses, but it isn't going to make your need for glasses any worse. Squinting is an attempt to make the pupil smaller. By closing your lids together it further enhances your focus. For this reason, squinting can help someone who might need glasses see better. Squinting suggests that you actually have a refractive error [where the eye cannot bend light correctly, resulting in blurry vision, such as near or farsightedness], and this is how someone can get around wearing glasses, People who squint a lot aren't permanently damaging their vision, but there are some side effects. What it does, it gives you a headache sometimes because it involves contraction of the muscles of your face.

(Thanks for google images for providing me the sources of images)

Script by Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram

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