Eye Doctors Debunk Viral Eye Health Myths | Dr. Michael Chua

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As a pediatric ophthalmologist and mom of three, I spend a lot of time correcting misinformation.

Camera flashes blind newborns. Reading in the dark ruins your vision. Carrots will fix your eyesight.

Some of these myths are harmless. Some of them are funny.

And some of them are causing people to go blind.

That last category is the one that keeps me up at night — and the one that made this conversation so important to have.

In this episode of In Focus: Vision, Clarity and Eye Health for the Whole Family, I sit down with Dr. Michael Chua, board certified ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon at Puente Hills Eye Care, trained at Brown and Penn, and former chief resident at New York Eye and Ear.

You may know him from his YouTube channel, where over one million people have tuned in for his no-nonsense take on eye surgery, lens options, and what is fact versus fiction when it comes to your eyes.

What makes this episode different is simple.

This is not just myth-busting for fun.

This is two eye doctors talking honestly about what happens when patients delay or refuse treatment because of something they saw on TikTok — and what we can actually do about it.

Why This Topic Matters Right Now

The reason eye myths go viral is not because people are gullible.

It is because the myths are interesting. They are feed stoppers. They make you pause mid-scroll and want to know more.

The problem is that a ten-to-thirty-second short on TikTok or Instagram does not leave room for nuance. You get the headline. You do not get the context, the caveats, or the research behind it.

And algorithms are not optimizing for accuracy. They are optimizing for engagement. The headline that makes people excited or curious is the one that spreads — not necessarily the one that is true.

We are starting to see the consequences of that in our clinics.

Meet Dr. Michael Chua: The Ophthalmologist Tackling Myths at Scale

Dr. Chua did not set out to become a myth-busting YouTube creator.

It started with curiosity.

When a viral claim about carrots or reading with the lights off would circulate, he wanted to know what the research actually said. So he looked it up. He made a video. And eventually, more than a million people started watching.

What he found along the way surprised him — not just the myths themselves, but the patients those myths were reaching.

Because of his YouTube presence, Dr. Chua now sees patients who have traveled from across the country — Texas, New Jersey, all over — seeking a fourth, fifth, or sixth opinion. And many of them are arriving with dangerous misconceptions about their own treatment.

When Misinformation Becomes a Medical Emergency

The most sobering part of our conversation was about glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a condition where increased eye pressure causes deterioration of the optic nerve, leading to loss of peripheral vision and eventually tunnel vision. The standard treatment involves eye drops and, in more advanced cases, surgery.

Dr. Chua has published videos about exciting emerging research — electric nerve stimulation, negative pressure goggles, stem cell therapies — all of which represent genuinely promising early-stage science. In his videos, he is careful to explain that these are adjunctive options, not replacements for standard care.

But some patients are arriving at his clinic with end-stage glaucoma having skipped their drops and declined surgery — because they saw his video about electric nerve stimulation and concluded they did not need the conventional treatment.

It is a heartbreaking scenario. And it is happening more often.

The hard conversation he has to have: the innovative treatments are real and worth following. But they are not yet ready to replace the standard of care. And waiting for them while forgoing surgery can mean irreversible vision loss.

He approaches these conversations the same way he approaches every myth — with curiosity, not dismissal. He asks patients where they heard something. He looks at the studies they bring in. He has been taught things by patients. That openness is what makes the conversation possible at all.

The Wildest Myth He Has Seen in Clinic

Dr. Chua shared this one from just last week.

A patient with wet macular degeneration — who had been receiving eye injections — came in convinced that macular degeneration is caused by parasites. The medications, in his view, were just covering up the real problem. He had been researching ivermectin as an alternative treatment.

He found this information on Facebook.

Dr. Chua did not dismiss him. He asked where he had heard it. He asked what made him think that. He approached it with curiosity.

But the broader point landed clearly: when algorithms optimize for clicks rather than accuracy, the most alarming headline — parasites are causing your vision loss — will always beat the accurate but less exciting one.

What's Actually New in Glaucoma Treatment

Since we were already in the conversation, I asked Dr. Chua to share what is genuinely on the cutting edge — because there is a difference between real emerging science and viral misinformation, even when both sound exciting.

A few things he mentioned that are worth knowing:

Electric nerve stimulation involves placing pads on the head that send electric currents to stimulate cells in the optic nerve. Early studies from NYU, Stanford, and institutions in Europe have shown promising results. It is not a replacement for drops or surgery — but it may be a meaningful addition to treatment.

Negative pressure goggles use a vacuum effect around the eye to lower internal eye pressure without medication or surgery. Still early, but being studied.

Vitamin B3 in high doses has shown in some studies the ability to maintain or potentially reverse visual field changes from glaucoma. Studies are ongoing across multiple countries. The correct dosage is not yet established, and the side effects — flushing, upset stomach — are real.

Nitric oxide pathway: a glaucoma drop called Vyzulta works through this pathway. Some green leafy vegetables — arugula may be one — naturally contain nitric oxide compounds that could mimic part of that effect. Getting nutrients from food is always preferable to supplements when possible.

And for patients who need both cataract and glaucoma treatment, micro-invasive glaucoma surgery — known as MIGS — has become an exciting option. Performed at the same time as cataract surgery, it can lower eye pressure through small stents, canal-cleaning procedures, or tiny incisions in the drainage angle, all with a much smaller risk profile than traditional glaucoma surgery.

The Lightning Round: Myth or Fact?

Dr. Chua and I ran through the most common eye myths we both hear. Here is where we landed:

Does reading in the dark damage your eyes? No — but dilated pupils make focusing harder and can cause eye strain. Worth noting: one study from North India suggests it may increase nearsightedness in children specifically. Adults, you are fine.

Does sitting too close to the TV harm vision? No — but the real concern is that screen time indoors keeps kids from being outside, and outdoor sunlight has been shown to help prevent myopia progression.

Is blue light dangerous for your eyes? No evidence it damages the eyes. It can affect circadian rhythms and sleep if you are exposed right before bed. If blue light blocking glasses help your eye strain, wear them — they will not hurt. But there is no need to rush out and buy them.

Will glasses make your eyes weaker? No. Though in children, there is emerging theory that traditional glasses may contribute to myopia progression due to hyperopic defocus. Kids and adults are different here.

Do carrots improve your eyesight? No — unless you are severely vitamin A deficient. They are a good source of vitamin A, but eating carrots will not sharpen the vision of someone who is already getting adequate nutrition.

Can you train your eyes out of needing glasses? No evidence for it. Videos claiming this get millions of views and enthusiastic comments. Dr. Chua has not seen it work in practice.

Is 2020 vision the same as perfect vision? No. 2020 measures visual acuity — the ability to read letters on a chart. It says nothing about contrast sensitivity, peripheral vision, or the quality of what you see. A patient with end-stage glaucoma can technically test at 2020 if the disease has not yet reached the center of their vision — while being legally blind due to complete loss of peripheral vision. This is one of the hardest conversations in glaucoma care.

Should you wear sunglasses on a cloudy day? Yes. UV rays penetrate clouds.

Can a contact lens get stuck behind your eye? No. The conjunctiva — the pink tissue lining the eye — creates a natural pocket that prevents anything from traveling behind the eye into the brain. Contacts can get stuck under an eyelid, which is uncomfortable. They cannot travel to the back of your eye.

If you sneeze with your eyes open, will your eyes pop out? Absolutely not. The rectus muscles holding your eye in place are not going anywhere from a sneeze. Dr. Chua explained this with the authority of someone who has operated on those very muscles. They hold.

How to Have These Conversations With Your Own Doctor

One thing Dr. Chua said that I want every patient to hear:

He does not tell people to stop consulting the internet. He does it too. It is a natural impulse and often a good one.

What matters is how you bring that research into the conversation. The patients he learns the most from are the ones who arrive with real studies from top universities, open to discussion. The ones who are hardest to help are the ones who have already decided — based on a thirty-second video — that the standard of care does not apply to them.

Bring your questions. Bring your printouts. Ask your doctor to look at the research with you.

And be especially cautious when a promising new treatment is being used as a reason to avoid surgery your doctor has recommended multiple times. Exciting adjunctive science and standard-of-care surgery are not always in competition. Sometimes you need both.

Final Thoughts

The myths are not going anywhere.

The algorithms will keep rewarding the feeds toppers. The headlines will keep outrunning the nuance. And patients will keep arriving at our clinics having made decisions based on thirty seconds of content.

But conversations like this one matter.

Because the more people understand the difference between early-stage research and established treatment — between genuinely exciting science and dangerous misinformation — the better equipped they are to ask the right questions and protect their vision.

Your eyesight is not something you get back once it is gone.

Do not let a viral video make that decision for you.

Want to Learn More?

You can find Dr. Michael Chua on YouTube, where over a million subscribers tune in for evidence-based eye health content.

You can subscribe to my podcast, In Focus, anywhere you listen — or follow along on Instagram for updates and tips.

Watch this episode on YouTube right now!

Thanks for reading — and for doing what you can to protect your family's vision, one step at a time.

– Dr. Rupa Wong Pediatric Ophthalmologist | Surgeon | Mom of 3

This episode is brought to you by The Pinnacle Podcast Network! Learn more about Pinnacle at learnatpinnacle.com