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Sharing what I know best : Eye Care for Tired Eyes

i. Know your eyes

Tears: The first line of defense, they also serve as lubrication by keeping the eyes moist and nourished; they also have a corrective lens function.

Eyelids: Their main job is to protect your eyes from dirt, dust and harsh light.

Eyelashes: A protective net for your eyes.

Cornea: A refractive zone that guides light to reach the retina.

Pupil: Controls the amount of light that enters your eyes.

Lens: A refractive zone that also guides light into the retina.

Retina and Optic Nerve: A bunch of intricate wiring that carries vision signals between your brain and eyes.

ii. Exercise your eyes

Dr Harish S Belvi, a practising ophthalmologist (eye specialist) based in Mumbai, says that regular work hours should be infused with short breaks. During such breaks, he suggests a small and easy exercise: "First, blink your eyes several times. While you keep your eyes closed, roll your eyeballs both clockwise and anticlockwise and take a deep breath. Gradually open your eyes while releasing your breath. This exercise lasts for a minute and you can repeat it three times before getting back to work." It serves as a good workout for the eyes.

iii. Look away

While working for long hours, look at distant objects either in your office or outside. Looking at a distant object and then returning to your task helps your eyes focus better. Try taking such visual breaks for about five to 10 minutes every hour.

iv. Palming

Sit straight at your workstation and rub your palms against each other till you feel them warm. The warmth of your palms helps soothe and relax tired eyes. Then, lightly cup your eyes with your palms and relax for 60 seconds. Count the seconds in your mind. Repeat this exercise two to three times whenever your eyes feel tired, or as often as you want. While palming, you can either rest your elbows on your desk or keep away from the desk and cup your eyes. Both ways are fine.

v. Splash water on your face

During breaks, splash water on your face while closing your eyes. This has an overall relaxing effect and helps you feel refreshed.

vi. Take a walk

After you're done with lunch, take a stroll outside your office for a few minutes. This will give your eyes a much-needed break and get them some fresh air.

vii. Use tea bags

Keep two used tea bags in the refrigerator before you leave for work. Once you are home, place the tea bags on your eyes for a few minutes as you relax. This not only soothes tired eyes, but also reduces puffiness.

viii. Drink water

Drink plenty of water. It helps reduce puffiness. When a person is dehydrated, especially in an air-conditioned office, the body starts storing water as a defence mechanism. This adds to puffiness around the eyes.

ix. Eat healthy

Incorporate Vitamins A, C, and E on a daily basis; eat citrus fruits, green leafy veggies, tomatoes, spinach, poultry and dairy products. Pack a box of chopped carrots, cucumber and fresh fruits and munch in-between meals at the office.

x. Know your contact lenses

"Ideally, a person who uses lenses should wear it for not more than 10-12 hours a day and occasionally for 14 hours a day," suggests Dr Belvi.

Never wear your contact lenses while swimming. The pool water houses various micro-organisms as there are several people using it. This may lead to fungal infections in the eyes. In addition, the chlorine in the water can damage your contact lenses.

"Lenses are like sponge, making them susceptible to attracting dirt," says Dr Belvi.

xi. Eye dos and don'ts

~ Visit your doctor

"One should ideally visit their ophthalmologist once a year, but if there is a problem with your eyes, visit sooner," suggests Dr Belvi.

In addition, before buying an eye-care product such as eye drops, always check the expiry date and don't forget to check the prescription. It is always advisable to visit your ophthalmologist prior to visiting your optician. Remember, your ophthalmologist is trained to detect several other eye related diseases, apart from the reading of your eye power.

~ Wear antiglare glasses while driving or at work

"Antiglare glasses are mainly used for focused light -- such as full beam car headlights -- and serve well for night driving. These can also be used while working on the computer," says Dr Belvi.

Using a pair of antiglare glasses while working on a computer can reduce the strain on the eyes to a certain extent. If you wear contact lenses, wear a pair of zero powered antiglare glasses for the same purpose.

~ Use re-wetting eye drops

An office environment that is predominantly air-conditioned, coupled with a computer intensive job, this is the perfect combination for dry eyes.

In such cases, you can use re-wetting eye drops to give relief to your eyes. Why? "When dry eyes occur, the aim is to get the tears back into our eyes -- whether it is naturally (by simple blinking exercises), or artificially (if the problem aggravates)," says Dr Belvi.

"Re-wetting eye drops have a similar in composition to natural tears. One should go for eye drops that do not have any preservatives. Eye drops with preservatives are toxic to the eyes in the long run. You can use re-wetting eye drops as and when required, but preferably span it to a minimum of four to six times a day. If the problem persists, visit your ophthalmologist as soon as possible."

The two most commonly used preservatives in all eye drops are Benz Alkonium Chloride and Chlorbutol. Read the contents of the bottle carefully and avoid eye drops with these preservatives.

~ Reduce your smoking and alcohol intake

"Smoking and alcohol consumption (either alone or combined) causes irreversible optic nerve damage. As both nicotine and alcohol are nerve toxins, they affect the nerves in the long run. Over a period of time, this can lead to poor or weak eyesight," warns Dr Belvi.

~ Never rub your eyes

If dirt enters your eyes, do not rub as this may cause the dirt to stick inside. "Blink several times to start your tears flowing; this will help flush out the dirt," advises Dr Belvi. "If you rub your eyes, the dirt particle will keep disturbing your vision and irritate your eyes. In such cases, seek your ophthalmologist's help immediately."

Quick tips

~ Shelf life

Preservative-free re-wetting eye drops have a shelf life of about a year, if the seal is unopened. Those with preservatives last around two years, if unopened.

~ Discard

All eye drops should be discarded within a month after opening their seals. Once opened, the medicinal properties tend to deteriorate due to exposure to the external atmosphere, making it unsuitable for your eyes.

~ Protective eye gear

While driving, wear protective eye gear -- especially if you are wearing contact lenses (for night driving) or sunglasses with UV protection (for day driving). Make sure the gear covers the sides of your eyes as well.

Being healthy is a personal choice and one has to work hard at it. A balanced diet, regular sleep habits, a balance between work and rest, ad exercises -- all play a vital role in restoring our health and helping us maintain our eyesight.

source: Rediff news

Sharing what I know best : Computer Vision Syndrome

Dr Harish S Belvi, a practising ophthalmologist (eye specialist) based in Mumbai, says that this occurs "when there is a shortening of tear break up time. In other words, tears that form a defensive film over the eyes start drying up. This occurs when the eyes are open and looking into the monitor for too long. The tears evaporate from the eyes faster, causing the eyes to dry up."

i. Eyestrain

Eyestrain, which is a common problem, mostly occurs when we are working on something for a long time without taking adequate breaks. It can be caused by activities such as watching television, working on the computer, reading a book or studying for long hours. In such cases, your eye muscles are working hard to help you focus.

During these times, your inner eye muscles tighten up, causing your eyes to get irritated, dry up and feel uncomfortable. In addition, lack of sleep, fatigue, poor lighting and an incorrect posture (such as slouching on your chair), can aggravate eyestrain.

Symptoms include a mild headache, coupled with irritated/ smarting eyes. You might also find it difficult to focus after a prolonged session of reading or looking at your computer screen.

Prevention: Apart from placing your monitor 25 inches away from where you sit, tilt it a little below eye level. How does this help? Dr Belvi says, "When your eyes are looking down at a lower level, they are opened less as compared to when you look directly into a monitor tilted at a higher level. Thus, keeping the monitor at a lower level helps minimise evaporation of moisture from your eyes."

Opt for LCD/ plasma monitors as they are more soothing, compared to cathode ray tube monitors. "LCD or plasma monitors are technologically more advanced. As a result, the pixilated picture quality and colour contrast are soothing to the eyes. Compared to that, cathode ray tube monitors are harsh on the eyes as they display focused light on the eyes," he adds.

You can also set the lighting and brightness of your monitor to a lower glare, as per your comfort level.

ii. Dry Eyes

This problem can be worse for those who wear contact lenses to work on a daily basis. Dry eyes occur when our blink rate declines considerably while working on a computer. More so since we are looking straight ahead into the monitor, as compared to desk work where we look down at our books/ files.

The very act of looking into a monitor without blinking results in tear evaporation. An air-conditioned office environment also contributes to this problem, dehydrating our eyes and causing them to itch.

Some of the basic symptoms of dry eyes are a feeling of dryness and irritation, a gritty/ grainy feeling in the eyes, a blurring of vision, redness, feeling a strain on the eyes, general stress, an intolerance to light, and headaches.

Prevention: Follow certain precautions like keeping a minimum distance of 25 inches from the screen.

Fix an antiglare screen on your monitor.

Take regular visual breaks lasting few minutes, at intervals of 20 minutes -- such as looking away from the screen for about a minute and then getting back to work. This will help your eyes focus better.

Blink your eyes several times so they are nourished with tears.

Use preservative-free re-wetting eye drops; these can be safely used even by those of you who wear contact lenses.

iii. Vision related headaches

Most of us have suffered from vision related headaches. These signal eyestrain and are usually caused by improper workplace conditions. Glare from the computer screen and poor lighting are some of the main culprits. Some of the main symptoms include headaches that occur mostly toward the front part of your head or forehead, and you finding yourself pressing the point between your eyes and upper part of your nose.

Prevention: If at home, have lemon tea. If at work, try a hot cup of tea, as it helps soothe headaches.

"The best thing is to get some rest for yourself and for your eyes," suggests Dr Belvi.

source: Rediff news

Sharing what I know best : Warning Signs and Risks for Vision Problems in Children

Among the children's health issues that parents are most concerned with, eyes and vision rank near the top. That's especially true because vision is very important to the development and education of a child. And parents must be extra-vigilant because a child may not realize that his vision is not normal. If it's what he always knew, then naturally it will seem normal to him. It's up to the attentive parent to notice the signs of a vision problem and follow up with a visit to the eye doctor for a children's eye exam.

The Warning Signs and Risks for Vision Problems in Children are:

• Squinting, closing or covering one eye
• Constantly holding materials close to the face
• Tilting the head to one side
• Rubbing eyes repeatedly
• One or both eyes turn in or out
• Redness or tearing in eyes
• Premature birth
• Developmental delays
• Family history of "lazy eye" or "thick glasses"
• A disease that affects the whole body (such as diabetes, sickle cell or HIV)

If you notice any of these symptoms, make sure your child sees an eye doctor for a comprehensive children's eye exam. Keep in mind that not all children's vision problems can be diagnosed by you or a school nurse; only an eye doctor has the training and equipment to catch everything.

Below are some of the common concerns surrounding children's vision. Click on the links for more information.

Vision and Learning

Amblyopia

Strabismus

Astigmatism

Colorblindness

Myopia

Hyperopia

Computer Vision Syndrome

UV Awareness

source: Checkyearly.com

Balimbing !

How can you accused somebody of doing grave sins against the Filipino people, then be his champion later ?

How can you live with yourself when you accepted the vice-presidency and attack the person who gave you the honor ?

Zero integrity, Zero respect.