5 myths about eye health and the real facts behind them

Your eyes are an important part of your health. There are many things you can do to keep them healthy and make sure you are seeing your best. However, there are a number of myths regarding what you should do and what you shouldn't do when it comes to maintaining good eye health.

Here are 5 of those myths busted:

Myth #1: reading in dim light and sitting too close to the tv hurts your eyes

Fact: sitting too close to the tv, you may feel eye strain or get a headache from reading in the dark, but it will not weaken your eyes. It fatigues your eyes but does not harm your eye health in any way.

Myth #2: eating carrots will improve your vision

Fact: carrots are rich in vitamin a, a nutrient essential for good vision. But eating carrots will only provide a small amount of vitamin a. To get the optimum amount, you need to include other sources of vitamin a in your diet as well, some of which are milk, cheese, egg yolk and liver. Spinach is best for eye health. It has lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which can help prevent cataracts.

Myth #3: if you wear glasses or contacts for a continuous period, your eyes will weaken

Fact: your eyes will not grow weaker by using corrective lenses. The prescription may change over time due to aging or absence of disease but it has nothing to do with your current prescription. Some children have correctable eye problems that do require glasses to improve the condition.

Myth #4: when you get something in your eye, rub it out

Fact: this is not true for everything that gets in your eyes. If any particle falls in your eyes dust it off. But if it is sand and small debris that gets in your eye, don't touch it. Use an eye wash for flushing it out. If an object gets stuck in your eye, don't remove it or rub your eye constantly. Visit a doctor at the earliest because some serious injuries may seem minor at first.

Myth #5: dark sunglasses can protect your eyes from the sun

Fact: the color of sunglass does not ensure eye protection. Look for sunglasses that block both uva and UVB rays. Exposure to the UV-rays of sunlight can have cumulative effects on your eyes. It increases your risk for cataracts, solar retinitis, and age-related vision loss. Even if your contacts have UV protection, wear sunglasses that block 100% of uva and UVB rays for full protection.

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Related Tip: Here's What CRYING Does to Your Body

Sitting Too Close To TV Will Weaken Your Eyes? FALSE.

The ability to see is one of our greatest powers and it needs to be valued and looked after. Sometimes this involves wearing glasses to improve our vision. Spectacles not only help us see better but also prevent straining and further deterioration of the eye muscles. Here are a few signs to watch out for that will indicate your need for spectacles. Keep in mind however that a comprehensive eye exam is the only way to determine the power required for your spectacles. 

-  Blurred vision
Blurred vision or the inability to focus on something in the distance is one of the first signs or eye deterioration. When it comes to children, watch out for complaints of inability to read the writing on class blackboards.

-  Frequent headaches
Unexplained headaches that come and go could be a sign that you need glasses. These headaches can usually be felt at the end of a long day or after watching television. 

-  Constant squinting
Squinting is a natural way to improve vision. This is because the act of squinting reduces extra light and light scattering thus allowing us to see something clearer. Thus, if you notice yourself squinting more than usual it is time to schedule an eye exam.

-  Difficulty working on a computer
Struggling to read figures and words on a computer screen is usually a sign of poor vision. Try adjusting your screen angle and the distance of the screen from your eyes to see if your vision improves or worsens. 


-  Difficulty adjusting to lights
Sudden increased sensitivity to lights can be a sign of many eye disorders with vision problems being the most common. 


-  Eye strain
Occasional pain in the eyes after a long day or as a result of an allergic reaction is nothing to worry about. However, if this pain persists for a few days, it could be an indication that you need spectacles. 
Deterioration of vision is usually a very gradual process and so you may not realize when it begins. However, the earlier you start wearing corrective glasses to improve your vision the easier it will be to control the deterioration of the eye muscles and you may even be able to rectify your condition completely. So, do not ignore any of these warning signs. Even if you do not have any of these symptoms, it is a good idea to get a thorough eye examination at least once a year.

Common Signs You Need Glasses

7 Ways To Care For Your Eyes 

Eyes do more than we give them credit for and require more care than what we actually give them mostly. It isn't very difficult to ensure that your eyes are healthy and taken care of.

Here are 7 ways to care for your eyes everyday.

1) Splash water - Always clean your eyes with cold (filtered) water, from time to time. The clean water washes the eyes and keeps them healthy and free of diseases.
2) Don’t look into the sun - Never look into the sunlight directly. In fact, avoid looking at any sort of light that is harsh on the eyes. Direct rays of any kind of bright light can have damaging effect on the retina.
3) Get eyes examined - Have regular eye exams to check for diabetes and high blood pressure, if these health problems already exist in the family.
4) Do not smoke - People who smoke are more risk of having age-related eye problems.
5) Exercise your eyeballs - Roll the eyeballs up and down, and lift and right without moving your position. Repeat this exercise about 5 to 10 times. This helps relax the muscles in your eyes.
6) Distance eyes from screens - If you work on the computer, make sure there is enough distance between the screen and your eyes. Sit at least 22-28 inches away from the screen. The same applies while using smartphones and tablets. Do not view the screen from too close. Viewing the screen from too near as well as from too far; can increase the strain in your eyes.
7) Give them a break - People who work on the computer all day should ensure that they rest their eyes after regular intervals. Look in a long distance every few minutes. 


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7 Ways To Care For Your Eyes Without Making Any Effort

10 surprising facts about your eyes

You never tend to pay a lot of attention to your eyes unless they are affected by some serious disorder or unless your vision is disrupted. But did you know that your eyes are capable of doing much more than you can imagine? here are 10 surprising facts about your eyes you didn't know about.

1. How intricate!

Your eyes take more than 2 million working parts to function. No wonder your eyes are the second most complex organ of your body after your brain.

2. A lot depends on them

As much as 80% of your memories are determined by what you see. Also, 80% of what you learn is because of your eyes.

3. Retina and security

The iris of your eyes has approximately 256 unique characteristics, which is more than even your fingerprints. This is the reason why retina scans are used so widely today for security purposes.

4. It's a colourful world

Your eyes can distinguish between approximately 10 million different colours. And women with a particular kind of genetic mutation can see millions of more colours.

5. Upside-down

The retina of your eyes receives the vision of the outside world as upside down. It is your brain, which flips the image for you so that you can see the world as it is.

6. Sunscreen for the eyes?

It is possible for your eyes to get sunburnt. Therefore, it is advisable for you to wear sunglasses in order to protect your eyes from the ultraviolet radiations.

7. Godspeed!

The eye muscle is the muscle that reacts at the fastest rate out of all the other muscles in your body. It can contract in less than even 1/100th of a second.

8. Paint it red?

The retina of your eyes cannot detect the red colour. The retinas do have green, red and blue receptors, but the red receptor can detect only the colour yellow-green and the green one can recognise blue-green. It is your brain that combines these signals to give you the impression of the colour red.

9. Dreams and sight

Even if you become blind later in life, you can see images in your dreams if you were born with sight.

10. We are blink-eyed peas

You blink approximately 17 times every minute. That makes it 5.2 million times in a year.

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Related Tip: Sitting Too Close To TV Will Weaken Your Eyes? FALSE.

Surprise Yourself with these 10 Facts about Your EYES!

With technology at your fingertips, it is hard to think of times when the existence of laptops and television sets was unimaginable. Technology is common enough to be taken for granted in present times. TV and laptops are especially in widespread use. The primary reason could be entertainment, an urge to connect to the larger world, or the need to kill time. Such dependability leads to severe health hazards. Read on to find out more:

Effects of TV and laptops on your health:

    Sleep deprivation: Long hours of exposure to artificial light can lead to sleep deprivation.
    It can also lead to serious vision problems: Watching TV or using laptops for long hours can make your eyes vulnerable to constant glare. You fail to realize, but changing lights of a computer screen or of a television set in a dark room can be extremely strenuous for your eyes to adjust. Constantly changing lights can lead to glaucoma. However, dry and itchy eyes, headaches and poor vision are the commonly noticed effects.
    It causes obesity in children and adults: Since all your work can be done on the internet, you tend to become lethargic. You are too lazy to go to the market or to the bank. Even if you are not watching you use the television for background music. Adults therefore do not make qualitative use of their free time. Children are addicted to playing games and browsing sites on the laptop. They hardly indulge in outdoor games. This leads to obesity in adults and children all the same.
    Propels your desire to eat fast food or packaged food: Binge eating is a very common practice while watching TV or using laptops. Chips, pizzas, burgers, ice- creams, cold drinks and absolutely anything junk devoid of nutritional value are more liked by us. Junk food not only leads to weight gain but is also detrimental to our digestive system.
    Can increase the risk of infertility in men: Laptops heat up when used for a long span of time. This heat can increase scrotum temperature which results in reduced sperm production, leading to infertility.   

As is said, nothing in excess is good for your health. It is therefore, best to make controlled use of TV and laptops to avoid its harmful effects.

Watching TV and Using Laptop: How it Affects Your Health?

4 tips for a great eyesight

An important organ of the body, eyes must never be taken for granted and need to be protected at all times. In addition to protecting them, you also need to improve as well as maintain their overall health.

Here are some of the ways of keeping your vision in top form:

1. Eat for good eye vision

To have healthy eyes and consequently good vision, you need to have foods that keep them in good health. Nutrients like Zinc, vitamins C and E, and Omega-3 Fatty Acids can help to fend off age-related sight problems such as cataracts or macular degeneration (a condition characterized by the deterioration of the middle portion of the retina). Foods like eggs, nuts, green leafy vegetables, oranges and citrus fruits are what you need to have to get good eye health. 

2. Kick the Smoke habit

Smoking can adversely affect your eye health and can make you prone to eye conditions like cataracts, macular degeneration and damage of optic nerve (a nerve that transmits impulses from the eyes to the brain). By kicking this habit, you end up saving your eyes from irreversible damage.

3. Use sunglasses

Exposure to the Sun's ultraviolet rays for a long period of time can make you prone to common eye problems including cataracts. To protect them from the Sun's harmful rays, you need to use sunglasses that block 99-100% of Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.

4. Go for a regular eye checkup

Going for regular eye examinations can help in protecting your vision and ensure you see clearly. Eye examinations are important to help you find eye problems like glaucoma (a condition wherein the optic nerve is damaged, resulting in vision loss). A comprehensive eye examination can help in identifying problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism (an eye defect that occurs to a deviated spherical curvature).




4 Tips for a Great Eyesight

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