Lying about your eye health is a bit short sighted

Post on 25th May 2016

The truth is out there, but not always when having sight tests it seems.

A recent survey has found that more than half of people questioned lied about their eye health and the standard of their vision to an optician.

When it came to being less than honest, 44% said it was because they wanted to impress their optician and didn’t want to be criticised, 34% blamed it on feeling awkward and panicked into giving untrue answers while 9% claimed to have poor eyesight because they wanted to wear spectacles.

Researchers looking at Britons’ attitudes towards their eye health quizzed 1,912 people and discovered 54% had not always told the truth.

To understand such results it’s interesting to find that 61% said they had felt intimidated or pressured by their optician during an appointment. It seems a number felt they would be judged if their sight had deteriorated, or they felt uncomfortable because of the close nature of the eye examination.

It’s perhaps, therefore, not too surprising that people may be tempted to guess or give dishonest answers during eye examinations, but it’s not recommended.

Scrivens optometrist Paul Sidhu said: “We understand that it can be intimidating going for an eye test, but the honest truth is that opticians are trained professionals who simply want to help you. They will not judge you or think poorly of you if your sight has deteriorated.

“To help us do the best job we can we need the correct information. Looking after our eyes is too important to risk not telling the truth”.

If you have any concerns about your eyes, call in at Scrivens. Click here to find your nearest branch.