Busted! Don’t Believe These Myths About Eyesight!

Your eyesight is a critical sense of your body as it helps you to see and navigate day-to-day life. Moreover, taking care of your eyes can deter injuries and specific eye diseases. To help you maintain and preserve your eyesight, you need to have regular eye appointments with your optometrist. They will mitigate issues with your vision and ensure your eyes are in the best possible condition.

However, there is a whole lot of misinformation about eyesight that is believed to be true. Falling for these so-called facts can be harmful to the health of your eyes. To steer clear of these misconceptions, Dr. Valerie Dippel has debunked three of the most widely believed myths about eyesight.

Myth 1: If you cross your eyes they will stay that way!
Children everywhere have heard the cry “Don’t cross your eyes or they’ll stay that way!” Where has this myth come from? Firstly, parents are repeating what their parents said to them and whose grandparents said it before them. Not surprising because it does look pretty silly sometimes. The ability to cross your eyes is a reflex and the ability to do so voluntarily is actually a great skill to have. You must be able to cross your eyes to read clearly and comfortably whether it’s a book or on your phone. However, if your eyes are crossing unintentionally and especially if you are seeing double (have diplopia) you should immediately see your optometrist to evaluate your binocular vision status and to check for ocular health concerns.

Myth 2: 20/20 means perfect vision
20/20 stands for the normal standard for distance vision and not perfect vision. It means that you can clearly read a certain line and certain letters on an eye chart from twenty feet away. Moreover, 20/20 vision determined that the eye’s focusing muscle is in its “ideal” relaxed state when looking at objects from this distance. Whether you move closer or farther, and your eye starts to adjust to keep things clear.

Myth 3: Wearing glasses will make your eyesight worse
Most people sometimes believe that wearing eyeglasses, especially for reading, can make their vision worse. It’s true that our vision weakens over time but that’s why one needs glasses. If it hadn’t changed, one wouldn’t need glasses to begin with. Wearing glasses addresses the problem at hand but does not prevent future change. Much like buying a pair of shoes that fits doesn’t stop your feet from growing. Vision feels worse when removing glasses due to the heightened awareness of the difference in clarity and comfort.

If you’re looking to steer clear of these myths, reach out to Dr. Valerie Dippel Optometrist. As a leading eye doctor in Kitchener, Waterloo, I am dedicated to providing you with the best eye care experience possible and help in finding solutions for your eye care needs. I can clear your doubts about eye care and vision protection. My services include comprehensive eye examinations, eyeglasses, on-site lab, kids eyewear program, contact lenses, laser surgery and cataract surgery co-management and it is extended to patients of all ages from across Kitchener, Waterloo, and the surrounding areas.

For a complete list of my services, please click here. If you have any questions about optometry, I’d love to hear from you, please contact me here.