This month Quadrant Eye Co-Founder, Dr. Quinn Wang asks the all-important question: What does it mean to see our best? Read her thoughtful exploration on the very personal nature of seeing and how protecting our eyes through preventative eyecare will help us live our best lives.
When we go to the eye clinic, we expect to walk out with our best possible vision. This is particularly true for those of us who need an active intervention — glasses, contact lenses, cataract surgery, retinal detachment repair, etc — to be able to see the best we can.
But what does it actually mean to see our best?
Does it mean being able to read the 20/20 line on the eye chart? Or does it mean being able to navigate our surroundings well enough to get home safely (whether that be on foot, bike, or by car)?
Does it mean appreciating every single detail on a tree that’s 20 feet away? Or does it mean noticing the slightest shift in a loved one’s facial expression?
One way to frame one’s thinking about good/better/best vision is to revisit the dreaded eye doctor question: “Which is better, 1 or 2?”
For context, this excruciating question, often delivered multiple times in a row, is an integral part of “manifest refraction,” aka the process of measuring one’s glasses/contact lens prescription. And when asked this question, a lot of my patients (and friends and colleagues and family members) express anxiety about giving the wrong answer, i.e. saying 1 when they should’ve said 2 or vice versa.
The “1 or 2” question surfaces, amongst other things, a completely understandable fear of ending up with an inaccurate prescription and consequently not being able to see our best even after spending $700 on a pair of glasses or a year’s worth of contacts. This fear is part function of human psychology — of wanting to get the “right answer” on a test — and part function of a broken industry — in what reasonable universe should we have to pay through the nose to fill the basic human need to… see?
There is no “wrong or right” answer to the “1 or 2” question, by the way.
When your eye doctor is asking you this, they are really just trying to figure out how you prefer to see the world: Do you like seeing the sharpest detail possible, or do you like a bit of blur? Do you want to see colors at their brightest, or do slightly darker tones suit your disposition better?
Consider how some of us like watching movies in different formats. Some prefer the slight imperfections of 35mm film, while others prefer the hyperreal detail of ultra HD. One format isn’t necessarily better than the other, but they’re definitely different viewing experiences.
Another example is folks’ predilection for (or hatred of) photo filters. Some prefer piling on the filters and stickers, others prefer minimal to no editing, and still others prefer saturated black and white tints.
Your visual preferences are, in other words, highly personal and very subjective. At the end of the day, your “1” is not the same as another person’s “1.” And so, defining your “best” vision is much more complex than reporting what you can see on an eye chart.
The fact that you may or may not be able to see 20/20 gives very little information about how happy you are with your vision, how satisfying your visual experiences are, or even how effectively you navigate your surroundings.
It’s certainly important to be able to see 20/20 for certain tasks like operating a car or other heavy machinery, but being able to see a perfect 20/20 is not a requirement for a fulfilling life. Your ability to drive and do other visually demanding tasks definitely affects your quality of life, but the richness and awesomeness of your life can’t really be distilled down to a simple 20/20, 20/30, or even 20/100.
Seeing is as reflexive and spontaneous as breathing. After all, when you’re awake, you’re always seeing, even if you’re in a dark room. Whether or not you *notice* and/or respond to the things in your visual field is of course another story.
Another interesting point to consider is that you can’t really “unsee” the scenes you move through and inhabit; yes you can choose to close your eyes when you don’t want to see something, but even so, certain already-seen images just stick around in your mind, forever seen (at least until your memory fades.)
For those fortunate enough to see and see well, protecting our vision is tantamount to protecting our ability to navigate, interact with, and in some cases extract meaning from the world.
And when it comes down to it, without healthy eyes, we lose the ability to see our personal “best.” Whether this happens suddenly or over time, certain negative psychosocial implications (e.g. decreased productivity, social isolation) may come to bear.
Taking care of our eyes via preventative measures — frequent screen breaks, UV protection, digital eye health checks, and in-person visits when necessary — is vital to overall mental health and productivity.
Fortunately, given the rapid pace of innovation within and outside of eyecare, taking good care of one’s eyes will be as simple as accessing the Internet. And with at-home eyecare in particular, we can give ourselves the best shot at maintaining our best vision and therefore give ourselves the best shot at living our best lives.
Taking good care of your eyes and your overall health can go a long way toward preventing age-related eye conditions. Eating an eye-healthy diet that includes lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables slows down the formation of cataracts and reduces your risk of macular degeneration. Getting plenty of exercise and maintaining a healthy weight can prevent diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure--both of which affect vision and eye health. And while you may not be able to prevent the presbyopia (and need for reading glasses) that comes with getting older, your eyecare professional can make sure you get the correct vision correction to see clearly.
The sun’s rays contain damaging ultraviolet (UV) light. The same UV rays that burn your skin and lead to skin cancer also affect your eyes. Staring directly into strong sunlight can damage the retina. And repeated sun exposure over time can lead to cataracts, benign growths on the eyes and even eye cancer. Protect your eyes anytime you’re in the sun by wearing sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB rays.
Some people claim that by correcting your vision with prescription glasses or contacts, you’re weakening your eyes—which then leads to worse vision. Their “proof” is that after wearing your corrective prescription for a while, your vision appears blurrier when you’re not wearing it. But that’s likely because you’re now used to seeing the world in clear, crisp detail—and in contrast, your uncorrected vision appears fuzzier. Getting the proper vision correction for your eyes is essential for your eye health. Don’t try to tough it out if you can’t see clearly. Visit your eyecare professional for an in-person or virtual vision screening.
Not having a bright enough light may make it harder to clearly see the words on the page, but it won’t damage your eyes or permanently impact your vision. Because you’re straining to see, you might get a headache or other symptoms of eyestrain. If you want to read in bed without illuminating the entire bedroom, get a reading light that provides just enough brightness to see your book clearly.
LASIK surgery corrects your distance vision only, so people who are nearsighted benefit most from it. But LASIK doesn’t affect the lens of the eye, the part that helps you focus up close. As you get older, changes to the lens impact your ability to see close up. So even if you have LASIK in your 20s or 30s, you’ll most likely still need reading glasses by the time you hit your 40s or 50s.
Having your face right up next to the bright screen may give you a headache or even cause some temporary eyestrain or fatigue, but it won’t damage your vision. Children are more prone to this behavior than adults—which may be because children can focus close up better than adults can. But if your child can only see the television clearly when sitting close (and has to hold other things close to see them clearly), they may be nearsighted. Taking your child to an eyecare professional for a vision exam will help determine if they need glasses to see clearly.
Most eyecare professionals recommend removing—and thoroughly cleaning—your contacts every night. Even if you use extend-wear lenses that are approved for use a week or month at a time, it’s always safer to give your eyes a nightly break. Your contacts are more likely to accumulate bacteria when you leave them in 24/7, and that can lead to eye infections. Sleeping in your contacts also prevents essential oxygen from getting to your corneas. If you must sleep in your contacts, make it a once-in-a-while event and ask your eyecare provider about contacts that are specially formulated to let more oxygen through.
Carrots (along with other vegetables like sweet potatoes and dark leafy greens) contain high amounts of beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for eye health, and a deficiency of the nutrient is the leading cause of childhood blindness in developing countries. In the U.S., vitamin A deficiency is rare, and few people get so little it could impact their eyesight. Also, there’s no evidence that beta-carotene affects the sharpness of your vision or can prevent near or farsightedness. So while getting lots of beta-carotene in your diet may help keep your eyes healthy, no amount of carrots is going to actually improve your vision and allow you to toss out your glasses or contacts.
The jury is still out on how effective blue light glasses are for eyestrain. One recent study found they made no difference in eyestrain symptoms during a two-hour-long computer task. But some experts feel they may help alleviate eyestrain and fatigue during prolonged, cumulative screen time. Either way, blue glasses alone won’t solve the problem of too much screen time. The best way to reduce eyestrain is to limit screen time and take frequent breaks when you do need to spend several hours at your computer.
The jury is still out on how effective blue light glasses are for eyestrain. One recent study found they made no difference in eyestrain symptoms during a two-hour-long computer task. But some experts feel they may help alleviate eyestrain and fatigue during prolonged, cumulative screen time. Either way, blue glasses alone won’t solve the problem of too much screen time. The best way to reduce eyestrain is to limit screen time and take frequent breaks when you do need to spend several hours at your computer.
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