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

As you reach the age of 40, you will likely notice changes in your vision. Perhaps you have difficulty reading a book without glasses, or distinguishing between colours. These changes occur as an effect of ageing. However, nowadays people in their teens are also exposed to a host of eye disorders and vision problems, mostly resulting from eye injuries and visual stress.

The most common disorders of the eye, which affect the age group 19-40, are Refractive errors. The following signs and symptoms characterize such disorders-

  Haziness
  Double vision
  Halos or glares when you are surrounded by bright lights
  Headaches
  Squinting
  Eye strain

What are the Refractive errors?

Refractive errors develop when light cannot focus on the retina (the light-sensitive tissue situated at the rear side of the eye) directly due to the shape of the eye. The change in the cornea s shape, the ageing of the lens, or the length of your eyeball can lead to refractive errors. Most people suffer from one or more of the above conditions.

Type of Refractive Errors:

Following are the most common types of refractive errors-

  Myopia or Nearsightedness - If you have this condition, you will see nearby objects clearly but distant objects will appear blurry. This happens because the light comes to focus right in front of the retina, instead of on the retina.

  Hyperopia or Farsightedness - This condition is just the opposite of myopia. Distant objects are clearly visible but those located close to you appear blurry. However, some people may not observe any problem with their vision at a young age. If you have significant hyperopia, objects at any distance, far or near, can appear blurry.

  Presbyopia - This age-related condition affects your ability to focus on things closely. This happens because as you age, the lens of the eye is unable to change shape to allow the eye to focus on nearby objects clearly.

  Astigmatism - In this condition, the eye cannot focus light onto the retina evenly. As a result, images appear stretched out and blurry.

  Amblyopia or Lazy eye - This vision development disorder begins during early childhood and infancy. In this condition, the eye does not achieve normal visual acuity despite using contact lenses or prescribed glasses. Usually, amblyopia affects only one eye.

Can early diagnosis help treat the problem?

Yes, it can. Your eye care specialist can diagnose refractive errors and detect what exactly is impeding your vision with a comprehensive dilated eye examination. Upon encountering the symptoms mentioned above, one should consult an ophthalmologist at the earliest and get oneself checked.

If the condition is detected early, vision problems due to refractive errors can be treated. The common treatment options include the use of contact lenses, prescription glasses, and surgery (in severe cases).
People with visual problems should also adopt some lifestyle changes to correct their vision - eat more veggies, get adequate sleep and rest, abstain from smoking etc. Additionally, you should get periodic eye check-ups to monitor the condition.

Difficulty In Vision - It Can Be Better If Treated On Time!

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in people across the globe. It damages the optic nerve that carries sensory images from the retina to the brain. A faulty eye pressure is responsible for damaging the very delicate optic nerve fiber causing small blind spots in the retina. Unfortunately, for most patients this disease only gets diagnosed when the number of blind spots is on the higher side.

Types of Glaucoma

Open angle: This is a type of Glaucoma which results from the blockage of the drainage angle of the eye resulting into an increased eye pressure.
Angle closure: This is the kind of Glaucoma which results from the narrowing down of the drainage angle leading to complete blockage.
Target segment of Glaucoma

Family history: Inheritance surely plays a role in case of Glaucoma too. If Glaucoma runs through families of an individual, there are higher chances of getting this disease. Although there is no hard and fast rule about it, the risks of inheriting this disease are on the higher side.
Eye injury: If there is any history of previous eye injuries, the probability of the onset of Glaucoma cannot be turned down. Specially, if the injury is related to optic nerve, there are very high risks involved.
Bilateral Oophorectomy: Dual Ovary removal before the age of 40 results in deficiency of estrogen resulting in Glaucoma. Although most surgeons warn their patients of the possible risk of these procedures, many surgeries such as these have resulted in patients losing eyesight in the form of Glaucoma.
Patient with Diabetes: In case of acute diabetes, retina gets damaged and the eye starts producing new blood vessels on the iris resulting into an increased eye pressure. This condition often leads to Glaucoma due to blockage of fluid flow in the eye.
Eye Conditions: Myopia, multiple surgeries to the eye, blunt trauma etc. can lead to Glaucoma. A patient who has undergone any kind of eye surgeries suffers from inflammation. However, major inflammation is often found twisting blood flow in the eye resulting into Glaucoma.
If a patient is 40 or above: After a person reaches 40 years of age, a lot of diseases start cropping in to the body. Studies show that Glaucoma has a higher frequency in people who is more than the age of 40 or above.
High eye pressure: A patient with an eye pressure of above 21 mm HG is also at a very high risk of getting glaucoma. For a normal person the IOP lies between 10 to 21 mm HG.
Blood flow related disease: Diseases such as acute migraine, hypertension and low blood pressure which involves blood flow related problem often aggravate to glaucoma.
Ethnic Background: Statistics show that people from Afro American, Hispanics, Asian and Caribbean background have greater chances of being affected by Glaucoma.

Glaucoma - Are You at Risk?

While it's assumed that numerous eye injuries are inflicted at work, just about the same number of them may happen while at home. Luckily, most eye wounds are preventable. Find ways to prevent eye injuries, as the eyes are very sensitive and delicate.
Here is a list of some of the most common eye injuries and tips on how to prevent them:

1. A lot of eye injuries happen from dust particles entering the eyes, causing itching and burning sensation. Protective glasses should be worn when doing any kind of activity in a dusty area with flying particles.

2. Pencils, scissors, forks, knives and all similar sharp objects can cause a serious eye injury. Day to day household items like bungee cords, wire coat hangers, rubber bands and fishhooks are capable of causing eye injuries. You must always remain aware and super conscious while using such objects.

3. While performing activities such as dusting, sweeping or lawn mowing, make sure to protect your 
eyes well as dust is involved.

4. Children are very curious by nature. Thus, all hazardous stuff like fertilizers, acids should be kept away from their reach. These contain harmful chemicals, which may inflict fatal damage to the eyes.

5. Cooking powder and spices like chili powder can cause injury to the eye. Always wash your hands 
after using these items, so that you don't harm the eyes if you by chance rub them with your hands.

6. Precautions should be taken while dealing with heat or boiling water or oil. They may spill and cause damage to the eyes.

7. Secure floor coverings and railings. On the off chance that a kid or elderly man lives in your home, use a safety gate at the top and base of stairs, and consider covering sharp furniture edges and corners with a padding material.

8. While travelling in a car, abrupt jerking or breaks may cause the head to bump and cause injury to the eye. Always put on your seat belt and do not allow children to sit in the front of a car.

9. Many modern toys, which are very attractive have got sharp edges because of their fancy design. Abstain children from playing with these kinds of toys.

10.  Laser pointers, a common fun gadget for children is very harmful and causes permanent damage to the retina. Stay away from laser pointers.

11. Wear eye gear to protect your eyes during sports activities. Also wear goggles during swimming as chlorine in swimming pool water damages the eyes.

Eye injuries may happen out of nowhere. You must always remain alert to avoid eye injuries.

Most Common Eye Injuries That Happen and Prevention Tips

Conjunctivitis, also known as pinkeye, is a very common eye disease. Though it is not harmful, anyone suffering from this infection must consult a doctor and receive treatment so that it can be cured in 7 to ten days.

Conjunctivitis can be treated through a range of medical treatments. Usually, one goes to an optometrist but have you tried consulting a homeopathic for a change?

Advantages of Homeopathy

Natural medicine: Homeopathy is a natural form of medicine and is considered to be an alternative form of medicine. It would not aggravate the problem, but it would find a quick solution to relieve you from it. Allopathic medicines contain certain chemicals and drugs which might not be suitable for many individuals.

Can fight all the symptoms of conjunctivitis: This disease has some common symptoms. Some of them are redness, swelling of the eye, yellow discharges, water flow from the eyes, and others. These symptoms can be well managed by homeopathic medicines as well. These medicines work to heal the root cause of the disease and cure it.

You recover quickly: Usually it takes around a week to t10 days for conjunctivitis to completely heal. For this period, it is advised that the affected person stays indoors to avoid contamination and spread of the disease. Adhering to homeopathy can actually reduce the time span of this disease, thereby completely healing you in no time and so that you can go about your daily routine.

No side effects: Most medicines are made of drugs and chemicals and have various side effects. But with homeopathy being a naturally sourced medicinal option, the chances of having side effects are less. However, it is advisable to know beforehand if homeopathy suits you or not. If it does, then there are lesser chances of side effects.

The above factors have made it clear that conjunctivitis can be easily treated with homeopathic medicines. In case homeopathy suits you, then it might be a good idea for you to follow this course of medicine to treat this disease.

Homeopathic Medicines For Conjunctivitis

Here are the 5 best Homeopathic medicines for allergic conjunctivitis-

Apis Mel

Euphrasia

Argentum Nitricum

Ruta

Pulsatilla

The dosage and the exact medicine varies from patient to patient and depends on the severity of the problem. This does not in any way mean that only these 5 homeopathic medicines that can be used in conjunctivitis. There are dozens of other medicines that are required at times depending on individual symptoms of the patient. It is always recommended to consult a specialized homeopath before taking any such medication.

How To Treat Conjunctivitis With Homeopathy Remedies?

Eye allergy or allergic conjunctivitis is an adverse immune response of the body that occurs when it comes across an irritating substance or allergens like smoke, dust or pollen. The body assumes these to be harmful substances and releases chemicals called histamine to fight against them.

Symptoms of an eye allergy-

Allergy in the eyes causes the occurrence of certain symptoms-

  Itching in the eyes

  The sensation of burning in the eyes

  Redness

  Watery discharge

  Swollen eyelids

  Light sensitive

What triggers it?

An eye allergy is usually triggered by the following components-

  Pollen

  Dander

  Dust Mites

  Mould

  Pet Dander

  Exhaust from vehicles

What to do if you suffer from eye allergy-

  Consult an eye specialist or allergist - It is important to consult a physician since the symptoms may pertain to other allergies like asthma or eczema that have different treatment.

  Take proper medication - Take the prescribed eye drops, oral histamines or decongestants to alleviate the symptoms.

  Avoid the allergen - It is difficult to do so if the allergies are seasonal, that means if the eye allergies always occur during specific seasons of the year. If they are not seasonal, you can avoid the allergens if you

Keep the doors and windows closed at home and while riding the car
Take a shower or change your clothes after coming back home from outside
Wear an allergy-relief mask while outside to filter the smoke, dust, etc.
Wear glasses to protect eyes from the allergens
Wash hands after petting any animal
Use a dehumidifier to protect against mould
  Take allergy shots - These are good precautionary measures for seasonal allergies. These increase the tolerance for the irritants. Similarly some eyedrops can be given to decrease the frequency, severity and intensity of allergy episodes.

  Natural remedies - If nothing else works you can use a cold compress to relieve the itchy eyes. Eat walnuts, fish oil and flaxseed oil that contain Omega- 3 fatty acids to reduce inflammatory substances in the body.

What not to do if you are having an eye allergy-

  Avoid rubbing your eyes; that will further irritate your eyes and damaged the eye surface

  Do not keep your indoor surroundings dirty and dusty

  Do not dry-sweep the floors

  Do not pet any animal if you are allergic to animal dander

There is no permanent cure for eye allergies yet but the proper treatment and precautions can help to reduce many of the symptoms. Over-the-counter medications may work out for some people but others may require severe treatment. Remember in spite of prophylactic or therapeutic treatment if u are exposed to a high load of allergens, you will develop symptoms of allergies but they will be milder than if u had no prophylaxis.

Eye Allergies - What To Do & What Not To Do?

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