7 Spooky Facts About Your Eyes

Halloween is just a few weeks away, and to get into the spirit, here are weird facts about your eyes. Scaredy cats can cover their eyes.

1. Living in the upside-down

What you see through your eyes reaches the retina upside-down. It is your brain that flips the image you actually perceive.

2. You’re not seeing the whole picture!

Apart from images arriving upside-down to your retina, they are also split in two and distorted. Each side of the brain receives one portion and fixes the distortion to compose one image.

3. Black and white world

When you look at something, everything in the periphery is perceived in black and white by the brain because there are fewer rods to recognize colour.

4. Scared stiff

Although rare, some people suffer from ommatophobia, the fear of eyes. Generally, people develop this fear because they’ve witnessed or experienced eye trauma.

5. Ghostly eyes

If you have cataracts, a white veil may be seen across your pupil, but fortunately, this can usually be corrected with surgery.

6. The Ring

If a blue ring develops around the iris, it is a sign of cholesterol deposit in the eye. For people 60 and over, this is a natural process of aging eyes, but if you are under the age of 40, it may be a sign that you are at risk of heart disease. In either case, an eye exam should be scheduled.

7. Don’t let the bugs bite!

Alright, these bugs don’t bite at all, but did you know that mites live in your eyelashes and eyebrows? No need to panic; most people have Demodex mites in their eyelashes and eyebrows. If you have too many of them, symptoms like itching, burning, and crusty red edges will appear when it becomes a problem. Speak to your eye doctor.

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Did you know CARP members receive exclusive offers at IRIS?

• $150 IRIS Certificate: Redeemable towards the purchase of eyeglasses or sunglasses including a frame (such as custom tailored Topology frames) and a pair of fully coated prescription lenses (lens value minimum value of $250)
• $50 IRIS Certificate: Redeemable towards the purchase of a pair of fully coated progressive lenses for your current frames (minimum value of $250)
• $25 IRIS Certificate: Redeemable towards the purchase of a pair of fully coated single vision lenses for your current frames (minimum value of $250)
• $50 IRIS Certificate: Redeemable towards the purchase of non-prescription sunglasses valued at $100 or more.
• $50 IRIS Certificate: Redeemable towards the purchase of annual supply of contact lenses.
• $250 IRIS Certificate: Redeemable for laser eye surgery both eyes or $250 per eye for specific intraocular lens replacement. (Available at our Ophthalmology Clinic in Laval, Quebec only)

Register with CARP and receive your IRIS Benefits. Visit www.carp.ca.