7 Easy ways to get relief from computer eye strain

Do you spend long hours in front of the computer? If you do, you may be experiencing eye strain on a regular basis. Eye strain is a common problem and is characterised by fatigue, decreased productivity, red eyes and eye twitching. You can get rid of eye strain by making use of any one of these simple tips. 

1. Ensure that your workplace has correct lighting
Often eye strain occurs as a result of improper lighting. This can be caused by exposure to bright sunlight coming in from the windows and doors or excessively dazzling indoor lights. You can avoid extra lights by keeping blinds or shades closed and by avoiding high-intensity bulbs or fluorescent lights. Alternatively, opting for incandescent or halogen lighting can be beneficial.

2. Minimise glare
You can install an anti-glare screen on the monitor of your computer to minimise glare. Keep the windows covered to reduce glare caused by outdoor sources.

3. Modify the display settings of your computer
You can modify the display settings of your computer in the following manner to reduce eye strain:
• Brightness-Set the brightness of the display to a level, which equals the brightness of your workplace.
• Text size and contrast-Modify the text size and contrast according to the comfort level of your eyes. For most people, black text colour on a white background ensures minimum eye strain and maximum convenience.
• Colour temperature- The spectrum of visible light, which a colour display usually emits is its colour temperature. Blue light is considered to cause more eye strain. So, you should decrease the colour temperature to minimize the amount of blue light emitted by your computer’s display.

4. Try some eye exercises
You can practise some easy eye exercises to prevent your eyes from getting tired. Try staring at a distant object for 10-15 seconds and then looking at any nearby object for another 10-15 seconds. Return your gaze to the first object. Repeat 10 times.

5. Opt for some computer eyewear while working
Try wearing a pair of computer glasses while working. They ensure that your eyes remain correctly focussed on the computer screen, while reducing strain to a minimum. Computer glasses also prove to be very effective in diminishing glare. 

6. Take short breaks at regular intervals
Apply the 20-20 rule to your work regime. After each 20 minutes of work on the computer, give your eyes a 20 second break by looking away from the screen towards any object located 20 feet away from you.

7. Go for a comprehensive eye exam
Make sure that you go for a comprehensive eye exam every year to reduce vision problems caused by computers. This will also help in detecting the root cause behind your problem, so that you can effectively employ curative or preventive measures to control eye strain.

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7 Easy Ways to Get Relief from EveryDay Computer Eye Strain

A person is said to have great vision more in the metaphorical way than in the literal sense. However, having both is just so important, especially as the ability to see reduces as a person gets older. Old age comes with its own set of problems, and vision loss is one of them. If kept in check from an early age, however, vision loss can be deferred indefinitely.

While a person's eyesight is likely to deteriorate over the course of his life, there is a lot which can be done in an effort to make sure that this is not the case. To start with, it makes good sense to be regular with eye check-ups. After a person attains the age of sixty, he or she should have a doctor take a look at his or her eyes on a yearly basis. There is no point trying to conserve eye sight if a person is too late in taking corrective action. By paying a visit to the ophthalmologist, a person will get to know the exact problem that he is suffering from.

A good diet which is rich in the nutrients which improve a person's eye sight does go a very long way in the long run. A person should make sure that is diverse enough to take care of the needs of a person and should include grapefruit, strawberries as well as berries and nuts.

One of the main things which can be done in order to preserve the health of a person's eyes until he or she reaches an advanced age is to stop smoking in all forms. As a matter of fact, tobacco leads to cyanide entering the blood stream and this does a lot of damage to the eyes. In fact, quite a few irreversible conditions of the eye are caused due to this.

Exercise is said to be good for a person at any age for a variety of reasons and it is really good for even the eyes, though the link may not be immediately so clear. It reduces the risk of age related degeneration by up to 70 per cent!

What is really interesting about a person's eyes is that they can be signs of trouble in other parts of the body. For example, if a person has blurry vision, they should get checked for diabetes. Also, eyes which do not produce enough natural lubrication can show a risk of rheumatoid arthritis and perhaps even thyroid disease.

All in all, a person's eyesight is so crucial to his or her overall health and wellbeing. We have only one pair of eyes, so we might as well take care of them!

Tips to Prevent Vision Loss in Elderly People

Sunglasses are an important part of the accessories you use in summer or any time of the year. They help you to look fashionable and stylish and also make a pretty good style statement. But is that the only job of sunglasses? Or do they have something more to them? Here are a few reasons why sunglasses are more than just a style statement:


1. Decrease in eye problems: Generally, you use sunscreen to protect your skin from the Sun s glare. Similarly, sunglasses protect your eyes from the harmful UV rays of the sun. It is extremely important for you to protect the eyes so that the harmful UV rays cannot enter the sensitive eye tissue and harm them. If you do not use sunglasses, then you have a higher chance of damaging your eye tissue than a person who uses them regularly. Bear in mind that the strong UV rays can cause serious permanent damage to your eyes.


2. Protection from other environmental components: Not only is the sun harmful to your eyes, but also the wind can be extremely dangerous for them. Dirt, sand, dust particles can fly into your eyes even when just a breeze is blowing. On a windy day, damage can be much more. If you are wearing sunglasses when out on a windy day, they act like a shield to your eyes against the wind and the particles,which might enter your eye.


3.  Helps clear vision: It s often difficult to have a clear vision when out in the Sun. The bright sunlight doesn t give you the clarity in vision. Without protection, you will have reduced vision as the bright glare of the Sun might cause you discomfort in your eyes and limit your vision as you will have to squint in the bright light.


4. Helps prevent aging: Although it might sound a bit surprising, but wearing sunglasses actually helps in prevent aging. The bright glare of the sun causes you to squint and this causes the age lines to appear. So, if you wear sunglasses and your eyes are protected from the bright sunlight, then you will not be squinting anymore, and hence it will not cause the age lines to appear before time.


So now, before you think that sunglasses only make you look good, think again about how they actually do much more than that.

4 Reasons Why Sunglasses are More than Just a Style Statement

Eye twitching, tics in the eyelids and spasms in the eye are pretty common. In case of eye twitching, usually the lower eyelid becomes involved. The upper eyelid may also twitch in certain cases. Twitches are not permanent in nature, and they leave after some time. In some cases, eye twitching may last for long durations of time such as weeks or months.

Eye twitching is not a critical medical condition. It is a temporary prickling and irritation in the eyes, which ceases after some time. Common twitching of the eyes is not related to any neurological disorder.

Here are some reasons which cause eye twitches-

Stress
Every individual goes through some amount of stress, and the body reacts differently in different people as a result of stress. An eye twitch may be caused due to stress, especially related to strain in the eyes.
In order to reduce stress you should practice yoga, meditation, perform breathing exercises and take a break. Reducing the stress would also cease the twitching in the eyes.

Tiredness
Eye twitching can appear when you are fatigued or very tired. Lack of proper sleep makes your body tired, and this might trigger eye twitching.
You should improve upon your sleeping hours and sleep more.

Eye strain
Vision problems and any issue related to the eyes can cause stress, which may result in constant twitching in your eyes. Whenever too much stress is imposed upon your eyes, they tend to react and twitching occurs. Any problem would make the eyes put in more effort, which results in strain.
You should have an eye check up if you experience an eye strain accompanied by twitching sensation in your eyes.

People who use computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones for a profuse period of time experience pain and twitching in the eyes. There is a 20-20-20 rule to be followed while using such devices, which reduces eye strain and reduces itching or twitching. You can also avail special eyeglasses for people who spend a lot of time on computers.

Caffeine
Intake of an excess amount of caffeine leads to eye twitching. Cut down your doses of coffee, tea, dark chocolates and soft drinks in case of eye twitching and you may observe an easing in the twitching.

Alcohol
Alcohol also leads to eye twitching so you must abstain from alcohol in case you are having twitching in the eyes.

Dry eyes
This disorder develops in people who have crossed the age of 50. People who use computers a lot also develop dry eyes, which leads to eye twitching.

Our eyes twitch because of a lot of reasons. You should know the facts right and avoid situations that lead to eye twitching.

Why Our Eyes Twitch?

Bloodshot eyes aren't exactly the best feature of a person! When a person's eyes are bloodshot, it is quite easy to 'see' that something is wrong! Eyes are possibly the most delicate organs of the body, and are all the more vulnerable to infections such as 'subconjunctival haemorrhage'. However, as dour as such terms may sound, there is a lot which really should be known about them!

The eye has a thin layer which goes by the name of the conjunctiva, which covers a part called the sclera. Many a times, especially in the case of children, if an injury unfortunately occurs in the eye, there are chances that it may form subconjunctival haemorrhage.

The reason why this occurs is that there are some of the very small blood vessels in a person's eye break. The reason for this, apart from an injury could also be on account of a sudden increase in the blood pressure of the person. This usually takes place due to some very strenuous lifting exercise but also can occur due to laughing or sneezing!

The occurrence of a subconjunctival haemorrhage can also be closely linked to the consumption of pills which thin the blood such as aspirin.

Treating Subconjunctival Haemorrhage

Now, considering the fact that such a haemorrhage has the potential to look quite scary, it may be natural for a person to react proactively. However, in many cases this is not required at all. As a matter of fact, the issue clears up within a couple of weeks at the maximum and a week and a half, on average. If this does not happen to be the case, it is a signal that a medical professional should take a look at the patient's eye.

In many instances, a person may not even get to know that he or she is suffering from a subconjunctival haemorrhage as there is no effect on the vision of the person and he or she would probably get to know that this is the case by taking a look in the mirror or being informed of his or her eye looking red.

In order to treat a subconjunctival haemorrhage in an effective manner, the first thing to be done by a person is to avoid any medication which could be causing it. Also, it is quite important not to rub one's eye as this really does slow down the healing process.

Artificial tears help soothe the eye but they do not hasten the rate of repair. A subconjunctival haemorrhage may occur, but if a person follows the right steps, his or her vision can consistently remain 20/20!

All About Subconjunctival Haemorrhage

Cataract is generally associated with old age. However, in some unfortunate cases, children could be affected by cataract as well. A cataract can be defined as a cloudy or opaque layer that forms on the eye's natural lens that lies behind the iris and the pupil, leading to eventual loss in vision. Cataract can affect children in one eye or both eyes.

Cataract can be a congenital birth defect or can develop as the child grows older. The latter case is known as pediatric cataracts. The exact cause of cataracts in children is not known, but it has been associated with a number of genetic disorders, low birth weight and infections during pregnancy. Traumatic events such as an injury to the eye can also cause cataracts.

The earlier a cataract is diagnosed and treated, the better it is. It is easier to identify a cataract that affects both eyes than a cataract that affects only one eye. If a congenital cataract is not treated in time, the part of the baby's brain used for sight may not develop properly. Hence it is crucial to recognize cataract symptoms.

Here are a few you should look out for:

    Not looking directly or responding to large, colourful objects.
    Not being able to find small objects while crawling.
    Excessive squinting or shielding their eyes to bright sunlight.
    Eyes that do not focus on the same point.
    White reflex instead of a red reflex in photographs.
    Uncontrolled movement of the eye.

Cataracts that are too small to affect sight can be treated with eye drops to dilate the pupil. However, this provides only temporary relief. Surgery is the most preferred form of cataract treatment. This surgery can be performed even in the first few weeks of a baby's life. The child is put under anesthesia and a microsurgical instrument is used to break the lens into small pieces and remove it.

This surgery is followed by the use of lenses or glasses to help the eye regain its power to focus again. In some cases, the lens may be implanted to replace the natural lens. In cases where cataract affects only one eye or one eye is more severely affected than the other, there may be a tendency to develop amblyopia or lazy eye syndrome. In such cases, it becomes necessary to patch the good eye shut and stimulate vision in the eye that has undergone surgery.

Cataract in Children

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