1. Does sitting to close to the TV hurt your eyes?

No. There is no research that shows that sitting to close to the TV will hurt your eyes. Sitting to close to the TV can lead to excessive eye strain, increased fatigue and headaches as your eye muscles must work harder to focus. Like all activities, watching TV should be in moderation.

2. Will reading in the dark make me go blind?

No. This is a very old myth that dates back to the famous music composer Johann Sebastion Bach who progressive went blind from an eye disease. It was originally believed that he lost his vision because he was always working with dim candlelight.

3. Are 3D movies or video games hard on your eyes?

Yes and No. Watching 3D movies or playing 3D video games will not hurt or damage your eyes. Infact, it may be a useful diagnostic tool for finding young children who may have vision problems. 3D movies and video games do however increase strain on your eyes, so over time they can lead to increased fatigue and headaches. Once again, something that should be done in moderation.

4. Will I need reading glasses in the future?

Yes. The only people who don’t require reading glasses are those who are just slightly nearsighted and can remove their eyeglasses to read and those who are in denial and spend their whole life increasing the font size on their computers. Presbyopia (or the loss of your near vision) is a normal course of life. The majority of us will start noticing problems focusing up close some time between the ages of 40-45.

5. Am I legally blind?

The definition of legal blindness is as follows: 20/200 or less in the better eye wearing the best correction possible or a visual field (peripheral vision) of less then 20 degrees.

So the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter if your eyeglass prescription is +20 or -20, as long as you can see better then 20/200 with your eyeglasses or contact lenses on, then you’re not considered legally blind.