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Dr Andrew Fink MD for
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Eye Clinic,
Medical Centre
88 Ahuza St
Ra'anana, Israel
1)Can your eyes be damaged by reading in dim light, wearing the wrong glasses, or over using the computer?
No. None of the above have been shown in adults to lead to any long term eye damage although all may cause a temporary feeling of eye strain and tiredness. Wearing the wrong pair of glasses will merely give you blurry vision, as your prescription will be imperfectly corrected. The unconscious effort to sharpen the vision can easily fatigue the ciliary muscle (internal focusing muscle of the eye), the external muscles (which control eye position and direction), and even the brow and eyelid muscles, all of which can lead to a headache but not eye damage.
2) Does the wearing or not wearing of glasses by children affect how fast their glasses prescription increases?
No. There is no evidence that this is true. Depriving a child of glasses when he needs them (or giving the child a deliberately weaker pair than is required) because of parental fear that a full correction will accelerate the development of more severe myopia, is not based on any scientific evidence. The prescription will develop naturally with or without glasses.
3) Is sitting too close to the TV dangerous?
No. Children often sit close to the television which can be a great source of irritation to their parents, but it is harmless. In most cases children sit close simply because they can , their young eyes having no problem focusing close up. Rarely do they sit so close because the television is blurred from a distance, but persistent close viewing probably justifies a vision check at the doctor.
Eyes-Myths and Facts 1
