I started wearing glasses for reading when I was 17 to help correct my astigmatism.
Since then, I have had regular eye tests every 18 months to two years. But it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realised I had been doing the test wrong.
You see, I thought I had to try really hard to see every letter and number, almost like I needed to ace the test. And in doing that, I would squint a lot to try and make out that elusive 'B' on the very last line.
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However, after watching a TikTok, I realised you are not supposed to be squinting at all, you are supposed to be giving the examiner a true representation of your vision and that means relaxing your eyes. So when I went for my check up in Specsavers last month I asked my optometrist if this was true.
He told me that it was and that when you squint you temporarily improve your vision, he even drew me a little diagram to explain.
And another optometrist from Specsavers confirmed this to the ECHO. Dr Nigel Best said: "Did you know that when you squint it will slightly improve your vision, this can be helpful at times but not when you’re having an eye test.
"It’s better if you can relax your eyes but if you find it hard to resist squinting a little when having your eyes tested, don’t panic, your optometrist will ensure this doesn’t affect your results."
So now we all know and you will be pleased to find out I picked up my new prescription at the weekend.
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