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

Eye Strain is an umbrella term that denotes a number of symptoms that relate to the extended use of eyes as well as discomfort that may come from excessive smartphone and computer use. This condition may or may not lead to significant eye damage and is usually characterised by blurry vision, headaches and a feeling of dryness in the eye as you blink less which creates less tears. This may happen due to the extended use of the eye when you are following objects on a screen or staring at a screen for too long. So, is eye strain the cause of your headaches? 

Find out more in this article.

Causes: Eye Strain or Asthenopia is caused by concentrating on visually intense tasks like reading from texts that have a fine print, the use of computers and other screens for prolonged periods, and trying to focus on objects in the dark. This can lead to distress of the muscles in this area which can also cause eye strain leading to a variety of symptoms including double imagery and even headaches and mild migraine like conditions.

Eye Muscle Imbalance: When there is eye strain which leads to headaches, it can also give rise to eye muscle imbalance which makes it difficult to concentrate with both eyes at the same time. In such cases, one may need bifocal glasses so as to fix the issue and prevent such debilitating headaches to remain on a persistent basis.

Diagnosis: Digital eye fatigue and ocular eye strain leading to headaches can be diagnosed by a doctor with the help of regular eye examinations. In any case, one should have the eyes checked at least once a year. This is especially important if your job involves sitting in front of the computer screen for prolonged hours.

Symptoms: There are a variety of symptoms of these headaches that are caused by eye strain. Apart from blurry vision which does not allow the patient to see properly and clearly without glasses, it can also cause headaches with symptoms like nausea and sensitivity to light. Retinal or eye migraines do not necessarily have to come with headaches, but the pressure can be painful enough.

Treatment: To begin with, the best form of treatment for headaches born from eye strain includes prevention which can be done by getting plenty of rest and sleep even as we limit the hours spent in front of the screen. One can also lower the resolution of the screen and make it more ambient. Also, the screen should be placed at a considerable distance from the eyes. The doctor can also prescribe glasses and eye drops for better eye lubrication.

Headache - Can Eyestrain Be the Reason Behind it?

4 effective tips for improving your eyesight

You'd be shocked to know that 1/3rd of the blind people of the world are Indians, which amounts to about 15 million people in India alone. Moreover, the risk of cataract is also high in India, with about 3 million people developing this condition, annually. Even the number of people with power in their eyes in India has gone up considerably. Thus, proper eye care is the need of the hour.

Here are some useful tips to maintain your eyesight, while improving your overall eye health.

1. Ensure that your eyes remain hydrated
You can do so by drinking the standard 8-10 glasses of water a day. Moreover, opting for a pair of sunglasses having a UV filter also proves to be useful in this regard. The reason behind is that sunglasses prevent the wind from robbing the moisture away from your eyes. Alternatively, you can ask an optometrist to prescribe a simple saline solution to hydrate your eyes and give them a soothing feel.

2. Don't keep looking at the computer screen continuously
Staring at the computer screen for a long time at a stretch can affect your eyes negatively. So, implement the 20/20/20 rule into your daily routine. According to this rule, you should remove your gaze from the computer screen every 20 minutes and then direct your vision towards an object kept at a distance of 20 feet for 20 seconds. This break helps your eyes to relax and refocus, consequently avoiding the occurrence of blurry vision.

3. Give your body a balanced diet and correct amount of sleep
Ensure that your daily diet contains green, leafy vegetables and fruits and food rich in antioxidants. These food products help in improving your vision to a large extent. Moreover, sleep for around eight hours every night to prevent eyestrain.

4. Make it a daily habit to perform eye exercises
The most effective technique to naturally improve your eyesight is performing eye exercises. Regular eye exercises not only enhance your vision but also give strength to your eyes.

Here's a simple exercise you can try. This works by applying heat to your eyes in order to relax them. For this, you can rub your palms together till they become warm and then place them on your eyes. Let your palms remain there for 10 seconds and then open your eyes.

It is also very important that you take care of your existing health problems like diabetes, hypertension, neurological problems or allergies and be regular with exercising such that it keeps your body fit and does not bear any impact on other organs like eyes.

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Related Tip: 7 Easy Ways to Get Relief from EveryDay Computer Eye Strain

Why India Has POOREST Eyesight? + 4 Tips for Improving Your Eyesight

During summer you try to take special care about the overall health of your body, particularly, your eyes. Eyes are one of the most important organs of the body, and the scorching summer heat can cause serious eye problems like conjunctivitis, infections, red eye, migraines etc., which is why it's important to take proper care of eyes during the summer season.

Here are some tips to keep your eyes cool and protected during the summer:

- Wearing sunglasses is very important when you are outdoors as it protects your eyes from the harmful UVA and UVB light. This will help in avoiding migraines and even serious conditions like cataract.
- Avoid midday sunshine. Stay indoors as much as possible during the middle of the day to avoid the sunshine then when the effect of the sun and ultraviolet radiation exposure are at their peak.
- When you plan to go for a swim, make sure you wear your swimming goggles. Otherwise you might catch conjunctivitis.
- You should not splash water into the eyes directly unless any foreign particles such as dust enter your eyes. This might damage the tear film of the eye, which protects your eyes.
- You need to maintain proper hygiene by washing your hands and face properly as soon as you reach home so that dust or grime does not enter the eyes as their entry can result in allergies and infections.
- You can keep a slice of cucumber on each of your eyes to relax and cool them down.
- 6 to 8 hours of sleep are a must as they help in revitalizing your eyes.
- Adding green vegetables, carrots, nuts, liver and fruits to your diet would be very beneficial for the health of your eyes.



8 Tips to Keep Your Eyes Cool in Summers

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!

Hypertension is a killer disease whose symptoms develop late when the damage is in advanced stages. Hypertensive Retinopathy is one such disease.

It damages the retina of eyes. Since retina is responsible for vision formation, Hypertensive Retinopathy can result in loss of vision. It is of grave concern that in most cases, Hypertensive Retinopathy is diagnosed later.

This is due to the fact that there are often no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. In some cases, where symptoms do manifest, patients may experience pain in the eyes, reduced vision, or headache.

What Happens in Hypertensive Retinopathy

People suffering from long term hypertension are susceptible to Hypertensive Retinopathy. Long-term hypertension affects the small and narrow blood vessels that join arteries to capillary blood vessels taking blood to different parts of the eye. These blood vessels become narrow with time if hypertension in the eyes continues unabated. This narrowing is more common in young adults compared to older people. Such unabated systemic hypertension also leads to leakage of fluid. This is why in some cases of Hypertensive Retinopathy, patients may experience exudation. Ultimately, Hypertensive Retinopathy may lead to damage to retinal blood vessels.

Risk Factors

Long standing hypertension is the number one risk factor for Hypertensive Retinopathy. People who are suffering from longer hypertension become most susceptible for this ailment.

However, studies have shown that hypertension for more than 5 years can even make people susceptible to this ailment.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is done by Funduscopic Examination. The doctor would look at the eyes of the patient through an Ophthalmoscope which has different lenses. The Ophthalmoscope illuminates the retina and the doctor looks at the retina with different lenses. He can get a view of the retina, including blood vessels and optic nerve disks.

Findings of Diagnosis

For a person suffering from Hypertensive Retinopathy, this examination is likely to show:

Constriction of the arterioles.

Changes in the walls of retinal blood vessels.

Flame-shaped hemorrhages in the retina.

Yellow and hard exudates.

Spots in the shape of cotton wool.

Swelling of the optic disc.

Treatment

The primary treatment for Hypertensive Retinopathy is controlling blood pressure of the eyes. Some lifestyle changes like reducing the intake of salt, avoiding tobacco, etc., may bring down or control systemic hypertension in the eyes. In many cases, doctors may just recommend lifestyle modifications. Nevertheless, it completely depends on the extent of the damage and whether or not there is any fluid accumulation.

If the doctor feels that lifestyle modification is not enough, he may go for medicines that help the patients to control blood pressure effectively.

If the problem is in advanced stages and there is fluid accumulation behind the retina, the doctor may go for Intravitreal injection or Laser Therapy to control the edema.

Conclusion

Eyes are one of the most significant part of the body, this is why it is important for people to take care of it. In case of disease like Hypertensive Retinopathy, one must consult a doctor before opting any treatment or medicines.

Hypertensive Retinopathy - Everything About It!

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