Fact Check: Can rubbing Warm Hands, Saliva, and Finger Motions correct Vision?

An Instagram post claims that rubbing warm hands over the eyes, applying saliva, and performing circular finger motions around the eyes get rid of glasses and correct vision. The claim is False.

Claim

The Instagram post titled, "Subah-subah ek kaam karlo kabhi beemar nahi padoge? (Do one thing every morning, and you’ll never fall sick?)                 claims that "rubbing warm hands over the eyes, applying saliva, and performing circular finger motions around the eyes get rid of glasses and correct vision." The reel posted by Instagram user the_podcastvine states, "Brush your teeth before going to bed at night, and in the morning, as soon as you wake up, take some saliva and apply it to your eyes. After that, rub your hands together until they become warm. Once they are warm, place them over your eyes and hold them there for 10-20 seconds. Then open your eyes. Next, take three fingers, place two fingers over the closed eyelids and one on the forehead, and move them in a circular motion around your eyes. Tap your fingers in a circular motion around both eyes about 25-30 times. Then, rub your hands together again until they are warm. Once warm, place them over your eyes for 10 seconds, and then open your eyes."

The post can accessed here.

Fact Check

The claim is False. Eye exercises can reduce strain and improve focus, but actions like applying saliva, rubbing warm hands, or circular motions around the eyes cannot eliminate glasses or correct vision.

Saliva and its function

Saliva is a clear, slightly acidic secretion made up of fluids from both major and minor salivary glands. It plays a crucial role in maintaining oral health by providing lubrication and protection, buffering and clearing harmful substances, maintaining tooth integrity, exhibiting antibacterial properties, and aiding in taste and digestion. Additionally, human saliva can support skin wound healing by promoting the movement and growth of skin cells, reducing stress on damaged areas, and enhancing the inflammation necessary for repair.

Eye Discomfort and Eye Yogic Excercise

The eyes are one of the most important sense organs, essential for daily activities at home and work. Apart from sleep, a large part of our visual perception and information processing happens through the eyes. Many people experience discomforts like tired eyes, headaches, eye strain, dry eyes, irritation, blurred vision, burning sensations, redness, and double vision, which can reduce productivity. College and university students are especially prone to eye fatigue due to prolonged use of computers and screens. Yoga practices, known for their physical and mental health benefits, can also help reduce eye fatigue. Yoga eye exercises improve eye muscle efficiency, lower the risk of eye strain (asthenopia), and help relieve its symptoms.

Why Eyeglasses are needed?

Refractive errors are vision problems that make it difficult to see clearly. They occur when the shape of the eye prevents light from focusing properly on the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Refractive errors are a common cause of visual impairment and blindness, affecting about 2.3 billion people worldwide. Uncorrected refractive errors are the leading cause of visual impairment globally, though they rarely result in complete blindness. This issue is more common in developing countries due to a lack of access to eyeglasses. An eye without refractive error, called "emmetropic," can focus light from distant objects clearly onto the retina. However, an eye with refractive error cannot. Refractive errors include myopia (short-sightedness) that causes makes far-away objects look blurry, hypermetropia (long-sightedness) where nearby objects look blurry, and astigmatism (distorted vision) which causes far-away and nearby objects to look blurry or distorted. Among the various ways to correct refractive errors, eyeglasses are the most common. They are simple, cost-effective, and highly effective in improving vision, quality of life, and are widely accepted across cultures.

In the current scenario, various treatment options are available to reduce dependency on glasses and correct vision. Dr Ashwin Santosh Shetty, Consultant – Ophthalmology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore explains, " There are multiple treatments for someone looking to reduce dependency on glasses and restore well-corrected vision. Refractive surgery is one of the safe and, most importantly corrective procedures, like LASIK, PRK or SMILE, address the reshaping of the cornea for improved visual acuity. In patients for whom laser surgery is not feasible, instead, an implantable contact lens is used, inserted into the patient's eyes in order to correct any kind of refractive error. Non-surgical, temporary orthokeratology, which involves wearing specialized lenses while sleeping at night for reshaping of the cornea, results in visual correction during the day, free of glasses. Improved technologies for correction of vision have led to such versatile development-principally to establish a combination of multifocal accommodating intraocular lens technology.

Can rubbing warm hands over the eyes, applying saliva, and performing circular finger motions around the eyes get rid of glasses and correct vision?

Although saliva has health benefits such as antibacterial properties, aiding in taste and digestion, and providing lubrication and protection, and yogic eye exercises can improve eye muscle efficiency and reduce eye strain, there is no scientific evidence or medical consensus to support the claim that applying saliva or performing circular finger motions around the eyes can eliminate the need for glasses or correct vision.

There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that applying saliva can improve vision or eliminate the need for eyeglasses. However, a study published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology found that eating tamarind candy for just 5 minutes can stimulate saliva production, which in turn helps improve tear film function and reduce dry eye symptoms. Importantly, the study does not discuss the direct application of saliva, its role in improving vision or helping to remove or get rid of glasses.

Another study featuring the role of eye yogic exercises on eye disorder, the study was published in the Risk Management and Healthcare Policy concluded that eye exercises can improve eye focus and reduce visual fatigue in children with myopia but do not reduce the severity of myopia itself. Again, this study does not mention that eye exercises can help eliminate glasses.

Similarly, another study published in the Journal of Indian System of Medicine found that eye and neck exercises effectively reduce eye strain and neck pain, relax eye muscles, and may improve vision and focus, especially for professionals working long hours on computers. However, the study does not provide any evidence that eye-rolling exercises can lead to the removal of glasses.

All these studies highlight the role of eye-rolling exercises in improving eye focus, reducing eye strain and neck pain, and relaxing eye muscles. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that applying saliva to the eyes, performing circular finger motions around the eyes, or rubbing warm hands over the eyes can improve vision or help get rid of glasses. Additionally, there is no consensus within the medical community supporting these practices for correcting vision.

Dr Ashwin Santosh Shetty, Consultant – Ophthalmology, Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore, told Medical Dialogues, "Even though these tricks may assist in easing the pain for a brief period of time, they are not directly meant for solving the underlying refractive errors from which the corrective lenses are required to be made. Indeed, most visual problems like myopia and hyperopia, or astigmatism are the results from the shape of the eyes or cornea, which may have caused malfunction and could not be corrected through external manipulation. The optical illusion should come with advice from eye care specialists capable of offering verified and custom solutions to cater for the special vision needs. The most persistent and highest impacts on a specific visual issue of the immediate at hours and days with the greatest effect, are corrective possibilities combined with proper eye care." 

To this, Dr. Sameer Kaushal, Head Ophthalmology, Organ Transplant, Artemis Hospitals, added, "Science has proven that rubbing warm hands over the eyes, applying saliva, or performing circular finger motions around the eyes does not correct vision or eliminate the glasses requirement. Temporary relief or relaxation may occur, but it does nothing to reverse the conditions that bring about refractive errors, including nearsightedness and farsightedness or astigmatism. Rubbing warm hands across the eyes can stimulate the flow of blood in the eyes and help reduce pressure after prolonged screen time or eye strain. Applying saliva to the eyes, often thought to be a traditional remedy, is not advisable. Saliva carries bacteria that may cause infections or irritate the sensitive tissues of the eye. While such practices could enhance comfort and minimise strain, they cannot act as alternatives for evidence-based treatments, including glasses, contact lenses, or surgical options such as LASIK or PRK."

Dr. Ishan Kataria, MBBS, Medical College Bilaspur, MS Ophthalmology, Dr. Vasantrao Pawar Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre, also shared his views, "Rubbing gently only helps our muscles to relax and nothing related to refractive error correction. Rather rubbing too frequently can cause a change in the cylindrical correction of particular individuals especially in children."

Medical Dialogues Final Take

While practices like eye exercises and techniques may help improve eye focus, reduce eye strain, and relax eye muscles, there is no scientific evidence or proven method to eliminate the need for glasses or correct vision through actions such as applying saliva, rubbing warm hands over the eyes, or performing circular finger motions around the eyes. Maintaining good eye health requires proper care, regular eye checkups, and corrective measures prescribed by professionals, rather than relying on unsupported remedies or claims.

Hence the claim that rubbing warm hands over the eyes, applying saliva, and performing circular finger motions around the eyes get rid of glasses and correct vision is False.