Red Circle Eye Test to Check Your Vision: Fact Check

Story:

Red Circle Eye Test:
See the red circle closely!
If u see..
No: *88* – Left eye is weak,
No: *83* – Right eye is weak,
No: *38* – Both eyes strong,
No: *33* – Consult A Doctor, Both eyes weak..
This is one of the greatest simplest test designed by american ophthalmologists..
Do share with all..

Fact Check:

The message doing rounds on social media sites purports to present users a simple Red Circle Eye Test to Check their Vision. Inside the red dot is a number, the visibility of which allegedly decides the strength of your two eyes. If the viewer sees the number 88, the message claims his left eye is weak and if he sees 83 his right eye is weak. The message adds both the eyes of viewer are strong if he sees 38 and asks him to consult a doctor if he sees 33 claiming both his eyes are weak. The simple and great red circle eye test is allegedly designed by American Ophthalmologists, the message says, also asking readers to share it with everyone. No, as can be seen below, the claims relating to ‘Red Circle Eye Test’ are not true.

Origin of the Red Circle Eye Test

Firstly, there are no reports suggesting the red circle eye test mentioned in the message is designed by any American Ophthalmologist. The story in question seems to have originated from a Google Plus post of Nilesh Agrawal in Incredible India Community back in July 2016. He shared the picture of red dot with number 38 along with the below message:

Eye Test pl. see red circle minutely. If u see No. 38- Ur left eye is week. If 83- Right eye is week. If 33- Both week. If 88 Both eyes strong.

The user, however, responded to comments on his post later saying he just wanted to check how health conscious people are with respect to their eyes. Everyone saw the number 38 only, and there was no question of eye vision test as such. It clearly suggests the claims about the red circle eye test are not facts.

Another “Red Dot Test”

Before the message above, another Red Dot Test with a hidden image became viral after playbuzz website playbuzz.com posted it in March 2016. Accordingly, the visibility of an optical illusion image of a horse hidden inside a red dot can tell how good your vision is. The fun test said some people see nothing inside the red dot, while others see an outline of a horse. And only a few can see all the details like grass, a saddle and a mane, it added.

Image about Red Dot Test to Check Your Vision — Red Dot Test to Check Your Vision

Eye experts agreed the better your vision is, the more likely you are to see the horse and the details. But they also added it is not necessarily a guarantee of good eye health. Moreover, there are other aspects to Eye Health that the test cannot examine. For example, Ophthalmologist Brian Francis said there are some patients with 20/20 vision who cannot see the horse, and there are also some patients with Glaucoma who could see it. Eye experts also added contrast sensitivity (i.e. your ability to see a contrast between objects) factors in such vision. However, if you look at the red dot and don’t really see anything inside, it is better to see your eye doctor. It does not mean there’s anything serious with your eyesight – you just have to visit doctor and test it.