Are Your Habits Hurting Your Eyes ?
The habit: reading in low light.
The truth: “Eyes can work well even in dim light. In fact, this helps the ocular muscles react optimally—provided that you’re not in the pitch dark, of course—and that can keep your vision sharper longer,” says optometrist Hilary L. Hawthorne, a trustee of the American Optometric Association.
The habit: waiting to get a stronger prescription for glasses or contact lenses.
The truth: Using a weak prescription won’t necessarily make eyes worse. The problem is that “the symptoms, like blurred vision, that are prompting you to get a stronger prescription may be caused by a more serious, undetected problem, such as cataracts,” says Hawthorne. And that can be caught only with a comprehensive eye exam.
The habit: constantly using eyedrops that reduce redness.
The truth: Doctors don’t recommend long-term use of redness-alleviating drops. Although initially they help to restrict the blood vessels in the eyes (“getting the red out”), that effect eventually wears off and causes a rebound effect. “You’ll have a much redder eye that’s resistant to the drops,” says Hawthorne. Instead, use artificial tears (made with saline) as recommended by your doctor.
