An Ophthalmologist Is Warning Against The Common Activity That Could Permanently Scar Your Vision

When asked what she would suggest if someone were on vacation and forgot to bring contact lens solution, pushing them to choose between sleeping while wearing contacts or using tap water to store them, Redfern refused to pick either choice.

“Both of those are awful options,” she said. “I’d rather you [throw the contacts out] and just walk around a little bit blurry for the weekend.”

One thing Redfern does want us to do to keep our eyes healthy? Use eye protection more regularly.

“I always wear eye protection if I’m doing a house project where I’m hammering, sawing — anything where something can fly at my eye,” she said. “Always wear eye protection, because I actually spend half my time seeing hospital consults and the trauma that you see is just crazy.”

If you end up getting something lodged in your eye, don’t try to remove it yourself. Instead, tape a paper cup over your eye and immediately see a medical professional.

“Pulling it out in an uncontrolled fashion [could cause] the inner contents of the eye to come out with it,” Redfern said.

She also busted some myths about other activities that may be harmful or beneficial for the eyes (spoiler alert — reading in the dark isn’t going to ruin your vision), why we get floaters (and when we should see a doctor about them), and lots more.

Listen to the full episode above or wherever you get your podcasts.

And for more from Redfern, check out her Instagram page.

Need some help with something you’ve been doing wrong? Email us at AmIDoingItWrong@HuffPost.com, and we might investigate the topic in an upcoming episode.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.