Eye_HealthIn terms of ensuring a successful future for yourself and your family, few things are more important than eye health. The eyes we each receive at birth are the only ones we’re going to get, and it’s vital that we take the best possible care of them throughout our lives.

Valley Eyecare Center offers a few common misconceptions about eye health, and what does -or doesn’t- damage your eyesight.

1 – Sitting Close To The TV/Computer Damages Your Eyes

Let’s start some good news. Contrary to what you might have heard (or might have told your kids), sitting too close to the TV can’t do anything worse than give you a headache. There’s no evidence that extended close-up viewing, even in low light, actually damages your eyes.

2 – Carrots are the best eye food.

While it’s true that carrots are a great source of beta-keratin, which is necessary for night vision, dark leafy vegetables are actually best. Kale, spinach, and other dark greens don’t just maintain your vision; they help prevent sun-related damage to your eyes over time.

3 – Corrective lenses weaken your vision.

This is another myth: vision aids cannot harm or degrade your eyes. In fact, sometimes hard contact lenses can actually reduce sight loss by forcing your eyes to maintain their proper shape.

4 – Only boys can be colorblind. 

Here’s one a lot of people don’t know: While it’s true that men are more likely to be somewhat colorblind (approximately 8% of them), girls aren’t entirely immune. Around 1% of women have some form of colorblindness.