7 eye myths Filipinos still believe

Eye advice travels well in Filipino families. It comes from lola, from a neighbour, from a co-worker who read something once. Some of it is sound. A fair amount of it is not, and a few pieces of it actively delay people from getting help.

Here are seven we hear across our stores every week, and what is actually true.

1. Reading in dim light permanently damages your eyes

Reading in poor light makes your eyes work harder. You may end up with tired eyes, a headache or a sense of strain. There is no good evidence it causes lasting structural damage to the eye.

That said, comfort is a real reason to light your reading properly. If you find yourself needing more light than you used to for the same book, that is worth noting. It is a common early sign that the focusing system is changing, and it is what an eye test is for.

2. Wearing glasses makes your eyes lazy and dependent

This one keeps people squinting for years. Glasses do not weaken the eye. They bend light so it focuses correctly on the retina, and they stop doing that the moment you take them off. Nothing about them changes the eye's anatomy.

What actually happens is simpler: once you experience clear vision, blurry vision becomes more noticeable. People interpret that contrast as dependency. It is just awareness.

3. Eating lots of carrots will fix your eyesight

Carrots contain beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, and vitamin A deficiency genuinely causes serious eye problems including night blindness. That is where the story comes from, and in populations with deficiency it is important.

What carrots will not do is change a refractive error. If you are short-sighted, no amount of vegetables will reshape your eye. A balanced diet supports eye health. It does not replace a prescription.

4. Sitting close to the TV or phone ruins a child's eyes

Sitting close does not damage the eye. But children who habitually sit very close to screens or hold books very near their face are often doing it because they cannot see clearly at a normal distance. The behaviour is the signal, not the cause.

Separately, there is growing evidence that time spent outdoors is associated with a lower risk of short-sightedness developing in children, and that sustained close work is associated with a higher risk. That makes outdoor play a reasonable thing to encourage on its own merits. If your child is squinting, tilting their head, or moving closer to see, book an eye test rather than adjusting the furniture.

5. Sore eyes will heal on its own, so just stay home

Conjunctivitis often does resolve without specific treatment, and the advice to stay home and avoid spreading it is correct. The problem is that not every red eye is conjunctivitis.

Pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, discharge that keeps returning, or redness in only one eye that is not improving all need to be looked at. A red eye that hurts is different from a red eye that itches. If you wear contact lenses, take them out and get it checked rather than waiting.

6. Only old people need eye exams

The conditions people associate with age, including glaucoma and cataract, do become more common later in life. But the arguments for earlier testing are strong. Children's vision affects how they learn, and problems found early in childhood have better outcomes. Adults working long screen hours develop symptoms decades before any age-related condition appears. And glaucoma in particular gives almost no early warning, which is why it is found on examination rather than by symptoms.

An eye examination is a health check, not a shopping trip. Adults should have one on a regular schedule set by their optometrist, and children need one before they start school.

7. Home remedies are fine for eye irritation

Breast milk, sinigang broth, saliva, herbal washes, toothpaste on a stye, and pouring calamansi juice into the eye all circulate as remedies. None of them belong near an eye. The surface of the eye is delicate and, unlike skin, it has no protective barrier layer. Introducing a non-sterile substance risks infection in an organ that does not tolerate infection well.

A clean warm compress for a stye is reasonable. Preservative-free artificial tears for dryness are reasonable. Anything you would not put in an open wound does not go in an eye.

Book a Vision7 eye test at your nearest Vision Express store

The common thread across all seven is that guessing costs more than checking. Our seven-step comprehensive eye exam takes a case history, measures your visual acuity, refines your prescription objectively and subjectively, checks how your two eyes work together, and includes a visual health exam that screens for external eye disease. Where you need a specialist, our optometrists refer you on.

If the test shows you need correction and you spend your days on screens, ask for Essilor Blue Light Single Vision at the counter. It is a straightforward everyday lens for near and distance work with screen comfort built in, and it gives you an accurate correction so your eyes stop compensating for a prescription that was never filled.

If your prescription includes astigmatism, Shamir Opulens Exact is the step up. It is made to your measurements so the cylinder and axis are cut precisely.

Every pair comes with free lifetime ultrasonic cleaning, free lifetime custom fitting and adjustment, and a 1-year warranty. Many prescriptions can be ready in 30 minutes.