Vision Facts and Myths Debunked

As we speak, you may be on your phone, laptop, or tablet reading through ways on how to take care of your eyesight from the damaging effects brought upon by digital devices to your eyes. How ironic, isn’t it?

As we age, taking care of our precious eyesight has got to be one of the most important healthcare practice we need to do. In this article, we give you the lowdown on how to debunk common myths and old wives’ tales that surround the human eye.

Eating carrots help you see in the dark.
- False. Regardless of how many carrots you consume throughout the day, it cannot give you night vision. It won’t let you peep through total darkness but it can let your body synthesize rhodopsin, the pigments in your eyes that help you see in low-light conditions. Carrots contain huge amounts of vitamin A, or retinol, which is beneficial in protecting the cornea. Insufficient quantities of such vitamin, which is likewise found in dairy products, egg yolk, and liver, may otherwise result to night blindness or nyctalopia. Not only do carrots save the day, but dark green leafy vegetables and fruits containing antioxidants such as vitamins C and E are better for your eyes. These may help prevent cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

When things get blurry, opt for eye transplants.
- False. Eye transplants may be a thing for Hollywood movies, but to any movie buff’s dismay, it does not exist in real life. Instead, corneal transplants, which help restore people’s sight, are what can be done.

Staying glued to your computer screen for long periods is awful for your eyes.
- True. Using gadgets do not damage your eyes that instant. However, staring at your computer all day does. It’s one of the main culprits for eyestrain, or excessive use of your eyes. These are caused by the excessive glare on your screen, stress or fatigue, an incorrect distance of your workstation, viewing digital displays at less than the ideal distances or angles, exposure to too bright or dim light, and so much more. The best tip to reduce eye strain during prolonged use of digital devices: use the 20–20–20 rule. Every 20 minutes, shift your gaze to another subject at least 20 feet away for about 20 seconds.

Your eyes never grow.
- False. Your eyes keep growing during your entire lifetime. It starts out at 18.5mm at birth and continuously grow to approximately 25mm upon reaching adulthood.

Only older people get cataracts.
- False. While the majority of older people, at least 50 years old can develop cataracts as they age, some develop it during childhood and even born with it. Cataracts happen when your eye lens gets clouded as caused by the protein clumping together, hence affecting your vision. Age mainly causes cataracts, but in the same manner, smoking, alcohol use, prolonged exposure to ultraviolet sunlight, and illnesses do too. Early signs of cataracts can be solved by using new eyeglasses, brighter lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, and even magnifying lenses. Nonetheless, when it becomes severe, patients can turn to surgery and artificial lens replacement as solutions.

There is nothing you can do to prevent vision loss.
- False. At the onset of eye problem symptoms such as blurred vision, light flashes, or eye pain, for example, a visit to the doctor should be prioritized. Early detection is key to ‘correct, stop, or at least slow down the loss of vision.’

Utilizing advanced technologies like the Vision Banker app, which is aimed at providing necessary care for your eyesight, is one way to invest in your vision. Empowered by blockchain technology, it is the most secure way to record people’s eyesight data in which can be retrieved real-time by the patients themselves. It benefits the customers, doctors, opticians, vendors, and research institutions for its data analysis capability, ability to recommend better solutions and treatments to patients, to forecast the future of the users’ eyesight dynamics, offers daily recommendations on how to deal with behavioural change for your eyesight improvement, and even helping equipment manufacturers in improving their products.