10 myths about glasses and eyes

MYTH 1:
"Wearing the incorrect glasses prescription will damage your eyes”

Maybe you have heard about this misconception. Even though you might experience blurry sight and eyestrain when using the wrong prescription, it will certainly not damage your vision in any way. However, for the best experience, we do recommend using the right prescription to ensure optimal eyesight and relief.

MYTH 2:
"All sunglasses protect your eyes against the sun"

You may think that any sunglasses from the market protect you against the sun, but it is far from the truth. Make sure that your sunglasses have sufficient protection against UV rays. If you do not protect your eyes from the sun, they are exposed to harmful radiation that can have detrimental effects on your eyes. Look for the UV400 or CE-label when shopping for sunglasses. All Luxreaders sunglasses have category 3 lenses with UV400 protection.

MYTH 3:
"Eating carrots will improve your eyesight"

Carrots contain certain vitamins and nutrients that will help you maintain healthy eyesight, but the fact that carrots stand out amongst vegetables in helping to fight vision problems is a pure myth. They do contain vitamin A, which is important for our eyes, but there are other vegetables that have way more vision-related benefits than carrots, such as kale and brussel sprouts.

MYTH 4:
"Reading under dim light will damage your eyes"

Maybe you hear the story about the famous classical composer, Bach, who read his sheet music under dim candles and went blind? The truth is, it had nothing to do with the lack of light; he was actually suffering from cataracts. Even though reading in dim light does not damage your eyesight, we always recommend reading in a well-lit environment, because it gives you the best experience and stamina.

MYTH 5:
"Sitting too close to the television will harm your eyes"

Speaking of harmful habits, the next myth has to be brought up as well. “Don’t sit so close to the television, your eyes will turn square!”. This habit obviously does not change the shape of your eyes nor does it damage your eyesight. However, if your child sits very close to the television, you might consider visiting a doctor since they may suffer from nearsightedness, where you have trouble seeing into long distances.

MYTH 6:
"Crossing your eyes will make them permanently crossed"

If you do have the ability to cross your eyes, you do not have to worry about them becoming permanently frozen. You are more than welcome to keep up the good entertainment for your friends since permanently crossed eyes are caused by genetics, and not by actions.

MYTH 7:
"Wearing glasses will deteriorate your eyesight"

You have finally purchased your first pair of glasses, but you feel as if your eyesight gets worse every time you take them off? Your glasses have nothing to do with this. They simply improve your vision by changing the way light rays fall into your spectrum, but they do not change the structure of the eye itself. Your feelings of deteriorating sight could be that you are used to seeing clearly with your glasses that when you take them off, it feels foreign. Also, before you started wearing glasses, your eyes had to constantly compensate and struggle to focus clearly. Now that you are wearing glasses, your eyes can finally relax!

MYTH 8:
"Parents with brown eyes cannot have children with blue eyes"

Does your child have blue eyes even though you and your partner have brown eyes? No need to worry. Genetics work in mysterious ways and your child might end up with different coloured eyes than you from a dominating gene within your genetic makeup.

MYTH 9:
"Blue light glasses do not do anything for your eyes"

Your screens are constantly sending out damaging blue light to your eyes, which can lead to eyestrain and headaches among other things. We, therefore, recommend that you use glasses that filter out some of the blue light when you are looking at screens for longer periods.

MYTH 10:
"My prescription is permanent"

Some people believe that once they have measured their prescription, they know what kind of correction they will need for the rest of their lives. This is not true. If you already have a prescription, you know that the strengths you need can change from time to time. This is the reason why it is recommended to have an eye test every once in a while. Also, people in their 40-50s start experiencing presbyopia. Presbyopia is a term describing age-related farsightedness. You can read more about Presbyopia here.