People are well aware of the harmful effects that UV rays have on the skin, but very few know that UV rays can damage their eyes as well. The tissue that human eye is made up of is one of the most sensitive tissues in the body and hence, the most vulnerable. The increasing level of UV radiation reaching the Earth s surface every minute has made it indispensable to take the required precautionary measures to protect the eyes.

What are UV rays?

Sunlight consists of 3 types of radiations - Infrared, Visible light and UltraViolet. Artificial sources like lasers, tanning beds and welding machines also emit UV radiation.

There are three types of UV radiations - UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. 

UV-C is absorbed by the ozone layer and does not possess any risk. It is UV-A and UV-B radiations that adversely affect the eyes and vision.

Impact of UV rays on  eyes

Too much exposure to UV rays can affect vision, harm the eyes, and deteriorate overall eye health. There are various eye problems that are aggravated by excessive exposure to UV radiation:

Macular Degeneration: It is caused by damage to the retina over time by UV rays. It leads to age-related blindness. Too much exposure to UV rays increases the risk of developing macular degeneration.
Cataract: It is the clouding of eye s natural lens - the part of the eye that focuses the light we see. Too much exposure to UV rays increases the risk of developing cataracts. 
Pterygium: Often known as  surfer s eye , pterygium is a pink, non-cancerous growth that is formed on the conjunctiva. UV rays are believed to be responsible for the development of this growth.
Skin Cancer of the Eyelids: Too much exposure to UV rays can cause skin cancer in and around the eyelids.
Photokeratitis: Popularly known as corneal sunburn or  snow blindness , photokeratitis is caused due to excessive short-term exposure to UV-B rays. Photokeratitis occurs when you spend long hours at the beach or skiing. It sometimes leads to temporary vision loss. 
How to protect the eyes from harmful UV rays?

Here are some tips to help ensure that eyes are protected against harmful UV rays:

Always use quality sunglasses that block out 99-100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation when outdoors.
Stay away from tanning beds, and if you use them occasionally, always wear eye protection. 
Wrap around frames should be used if you spend a lot of time outdoors.
Be sure to see your doctor at least every two years.

UV Rays - Are They Damaging Your Eyes?

The quality and sharpness of vision are generally measured with a Snellen chart. The Snellen chart shows letters of logically smaller size. Perfect vision is 20/20. This implies the patient or subject sees the same line of letters at twenty feet that a typical individual sees at twenty feet.

Here are a few doctor recommended tips that can be followed in order to achieve a perfect vision. These are as follows:

1. Eat right for good vision
Taking good care of your eyes begins with the food that you eat. Foods, for example, fatty acids, lutein, zinc and vitamins C and E may avert age related vision and eyesight problems, for example, macular degeneration and cataract as shown by certain studies. Eating these foods daily can lead to healthy eyesight. Following are some of the nutrients that can help us do so:

    Green vegetables, for example, spinach, kale, and collards
    Salmon and fish
    Eggs, nuts, beans, and other non-meat protein sources
    Oranges and different citrus natural products or juices
    Shellfish and pork

2. Quit smoking
Smoking makes you more inclined to get cataract, optic nerve damage and macular degeneration. The more times you attempt to stop smoking, the more probable you are to succeed.

3. Wear shades
The right sort of shades will shield your eyes from the sun's bright (UV) beams. An excess of UV exposure makes you more inclined to get cataracts and macular degeneration. Pick shades that piece ninety nine to hundred percent of both UVA and UVB beams. Wraparound lenses shield your eyes from the side. Spellbound lenses diminish the glare when driving. Some of the contact lenses come with UV protection as well. It is still a smart thought to wear shades for more protection, however.

4. Turn away From the Computer Screen
Gazing at a computer screen for a really long time can bring about eye strain, foggy vision, trouble focusing at a distance, dry eyes. The muscles around the eyes can start getting weak and painful if given too much strain. Turn down the screen brightness. You need to at present have the capacity to see, however, you should not feel like you are gazing at a very bright light. In case you are reading from the computer, use the zoom capacity to make the content bigger.

5. Pencil exercise
Take a pencil, and place it some place in the centre. Draw a letter, number or dot in on any side of the pencil. For this activity, you will concentrate on the pencil and the spot as you move it toward and far from your eyes. Pencil push-ups are rumoured to correct twofold vision and crossed eyes, yet it cannot hurt to attempt them for different issues since it is free, easy, and just includes focusing and refocusing your eyes. 

How to Have the Perfect Vision? Doctor Recommended Tips

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!

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.

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: Sitting Too Close To TV Will Weaken Your Eyes? FALSE.

Surprise Yourself with these 10 Facts about Your EYES!

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterised by damage to optic nerve usually due to excessively high intra ocular pressure (eye pressure). If left untreated can lead to optic nerve damage resulting in progressive, permanent vision loss. Glaucoma usually affects people above the age of 40, but can affect younger people as well. This condition causes fluid to build up in the eye, which puts pressure on the optic nerve. 

There are broadly two types of glaucoma - Open angle glaucoma ( more common in elderly) and angle closure glaucoma.
Women are more likely to suffer from glaucoma than men are. Ethnicity also plays an important role in determining the risk of suffering from this condition. East Asian and African Americans have a high risk of glaucoma, as they have a shallow, anterior chamber depth. Some of the other conditions that can increase a person s risk of glaucoma are:

Diabetes
Hypothyroidism
Myopia
An earlier eye surgery
Retinal detachment
Tumours
Injury to the eye
Long term corticosteroid medication
If diagnosed early enough, glaucoma can be treated and its effects can be reduced. However, the damage already caused by glaucoma cannot be reversed. The aim of glaucoma treatment is to either reduce the production of fluid in the eye or improve its flow. This helps slow down the progression of this disease and prevents any further loss of vision. Glaucoma treatment usually takes the form of eye drops or surgery.

Eye drops are the first step towards treating glaucoma. There are many different types of eye drops. Prostaglandin analogues aim at increasing the flow of fluid out of the eye and are usually prescribed in cases of swelling around the rim of the eyes, darkening of the iris and blurred vision. Beta-blockers can also help lower the secretion of fluids in the eye.

Patients who are also suffering from diabetes or lung conditions such as bronchitis may be prescribed cholinergic agents, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors or sympathomimetic drugs. Cholinergic agents help improve the outward flow of fluid in the eyes while Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors reduce fluid production in the eyes. Sympathomimetic drugs do both reduce the production of fluids and improve outflow.

If the eye drops are not effective, surgery may be advised to lower the pressure built up in the eye. Some of the common types of surgery for glaucoma are:

Trabeculoplasty: This procedure involves directing a high-energy laser beam into the eye to open clogged drainage canals. The surgery has high success rates but the problem may recur after surgery.
Filtering surgery: This involves creating an opening in the eye and removing a part of the trabecular meshwork, thus allowing fluid to flow outwards.
Drainage implants: Children or patients with secondary glaucoma may be treated with this surgery where a small silicone tube is placed in the eye to aid in fluid drainage.

Glaucoma - Factors That Put You Risk!

If your eyes suddenly look reddish and feel extremely itchy, you may be suffering from allergic conjunctivitis. Allergic conjunctivitis is triggered by exposure to allergens like pollen or mold spores. An allergy to eye drops or contact lens solution can also trigger this condition. Allergic conjunctivitis is a very common health condition and more common during the hay fever season.

There are two types of allergic conjunctivitis; acute allergic conjunctivitis and chronic allergic conjunctivitis. Acute allergic conjunctivitis is characterized by the swelling of eyelids and intense itchiness and burning. Amongst the two, this is a more common condition. Chronic allergic conjunctivitis can occur during any season and has symptoms that come and go. It is a milder response to allergens such as dust, food, pollen, chemical scents etc.

On presenting the symptoms of conjunctivitis to a doctor, he may ask for an allergy skin test, a blood test or a scraping of the conjunctival tissue to understand the type of conjunctivitis you are suffering from. Allergic conjunctivitis can be treated with a combination of medication and home care.

Antihistamines are the most common form of treatment for this disease. This can reduce and block the release of histamines in the body. Artificial eye drops may also be used to create a screen over the eye and prevent the eye from coming in contact with the allergen. Eye drops may also be used to shrink swollen blood vessels in the eye. Steroid eye drops may also be used along with anti inflammatory eye drops.

Home care to treat allergic conjunctivitis focuses on preventing the trigger. Today, apps on your phone can update you n the pollen levels in the air. Close your windows every time you notice a higher than normal pollen count and keep your home as dust free as possible. You could also use an air purifier in your home. Also, avoid exposure to strong chemicals, dyes, perfumes etc.

To avoid the condition from worsening, avoid rubbing your eyes and wash your hands every time you touch your eyes. Disinfect your towels, sheets and pillowcases that come in contact with your eyes every few days with hot water. Wash eyes with cold water twice daily especially after coming home from outside. Do not share your make up or brushes with other people. This is a healthy habit to follow even when you are not suffering from this condition. While you suffer from pink eye you should also not wear contact lenses. Once the eye has healed, discard the old lenses and replace them with a new pair.

Allergic Conjunctivitis - How It Can Be Treated?

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