7 Eye Questions Submitted by YOU: Answered!

Have you ever gone into a doctor’s appointment with a ton of important questions you wanted to ask, only to forget them immediately after walking through the door? I know I have!

Recently, I gave my followers and friends the opportunity to send me those burning eye questions (pun intended!) that they’ve always wanted to ask their optometrist but never had the chance to.

From "Do I really have bugs in my eyes?!" to "Is the mythical cyclops THAT scary if it doesn't have any depth perception?!" Let's dive into your eyeball questions!

1)    "Are There Eyelash Lengthening Serums That Won’t Hurt My Eyes?"

Eye lengthening serums are…interesting. Many of the ones that “work” are unfortunately also the ones I would never recommend to my patients. A number of eyelash serums are made with prostaglandin drugs, which are traditionally used to treat glaucoma. Prostaglandins can make the eyelashes grow longer. However, they can have other side effects like skin discolouration, fat loss under the eyes, darkening of the eye colour, eye redness and eye irritation. I find the risk of unwanted side effects too great to feel comfortable recommending this product to my patients.

My recommendation for having healthy, longer eyelashes naturally is to focus on good eye hygiene. Often, lashes become brittle and unhealthy due to conditions like dry eye and blepharitis (a crusting of the lashes). Using a good lid wipe to keep the lashes clean, warm compresses to clear the clogged oil ducts, and non-irritating, non-waterproof makeup that is easy to take off are some of the best steps a person can take to having long, beautiful eyelashes.

2)    Why Can I See My Computer Some Days, But Not Others?

I have a few thoughts about this. My first thought; if it’s happening more at the beginning of the day, it could be dry eye related. Dry eye can sometimes be worse first-thing in the morning, and a dried-out cornea can make things blurry. Visiting an eye doctor and having your eyes examined for potential dry eye would be a good first step.

If there is more blurriness at the end of the day, it could be related to eye fatigue. It’s worthwhile having your eyes examined to see if you need stronger glasses. Spending long hours on the computer can be hard on the focusing system and can cause blurriness and eye strain if your prescription is not strong enough.

A less common, but still possible, cause of intermittent blurriness can be blood sugar. If you notice after a big meal that everything is suddenly blurry, it’s worthwhile seeing your family doctor to make sure you don’t have a blood sugar issue like diabetes.  

3)    "Do I Have Bugs in my Eyelashes?"

Image from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/blepharitis/

Great question! Probably! Demodex are an extremely common mite that lives in the follicles of your eyelashes. Although most people are asymptomatic, sometimes people develop a condition called blepharitis, which is a crusting and inflammation of the lashes. Besides looking unsightly, blepharitis can also cause dry eyes. Lid wipes are a way to clean the eyelashes, remove blepharitis, and decrease the demodex population. I use lid wipes every day as part of my skin care routine. I recommend adding lid wipes to your routines too. Think of it like brushing your teeth! Keep your face and eyes clean to keep the bugs at bay.

4)    "Is it True That Eye Colour Can Change Over Time?"

The eyes get their colour from melanin pigment, so people with brown eyes have more melanin pigment than people with blue eyes. This is why so many babies are born with blue eyes; the melanin pigment hasn’t developed to darken their eyes yet!

Eye colour doesn’t typically change over time, but there are some conditions which can make it appear to change. Arcus senilis is an age-related condition which causes clouding of the outer edge of the cornea. When this clouding occurs, it makes the eyes look a different colour, often lighter and more blue.

Arcus

Image from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319490

As we talked about earlier, some medications like prostaglandins can make the iris darker and browner. Some rare eye conditions may also cause the iris to change colour. But, for the most part, our eyes tend to stay the same colour for most of our lives! If you think your eyes are changing colour suddenly, it might be worth a visit to the optometrist to figure out what could be going on.

5)    "Can Your Eyes Get Better if You Wear Your Glasses?"

The short answer is….it depends!

Most people that need glasses will see better when they wear their glasses: it helps the eye muscles relax, focuses light on the right part of their retina, and reduces headaches and distortion. For most healthy adults, glasses do not “cure” your vision, but they are a tool which helps you see properly.

The major childhood condition where glasses can help your eyes “get better” is called amblyopia. This is where the visual system doesn't develop properly because of an eye turn or a high prescription. This can result in a lifetime of reduced vision if not identified and treated early. Glasses for children with amblyopia can help the eyes focus and develop normally.

6)    "Is it Really THAT Bad if I Look at an Eclipse?"

DON’T 👏LOOK👏 AT👏 AN👏 ECLIPSE👏!

The sun emits high intensity light that can damage the retina when you look at it. During an eclipse, the sun is still emitting this high intensity light, even if you can’t see it. You may be more inclined to stare at an eclipse, because it doesn't FEEL like it's hurting your eyes. However, it can actually cause irreversible retinal damage and vision loss called solar retinopathy.

You might not notice the damage done to your retina until later after the incident. There are no pain receptors in the retina and effects of retinal burns might not manifest immediately.

High intensity light in other circumstances can be very damaging to the eyes as well. For example, ultraviolet light from welding torches can burn your cornea if you aren’t wearing the proper safety protection.

7)     "Although The Cyclops is a Formidable Creature in Mythology, Wouldn’t its Lack of Depth Perception Make it a Particularly Easy Target for Projectile-Based Attacks?"

I’m so glad you asked! This question actually doesn’t come up as much as you would think.

The short answer is yes. Because the Cyclops has only one eye, it wouldn’t have any depth perception and so would have a harder time reacting to an oncoming target.

That being said, people with only one eye (including mythical cyclopses) develop monocular depth cues; they learn that as an object comes towards you, it gets bigger. This is why people with poor or no depth perception can still play sports and catch a ball; they just perceive objects coming towards them in a different way than someone with traditional depth perception.

There are tons of cool, fun eye facts that I never get the chance to share. And the more we know about our eyes, the better we will be at keeping them healthy for the rest of our lives. If you liked this blog, leave a comment. And if you have any burning eye questions, comment them below and maybe I will do a part 2!