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Posts Tagged ‘eye care’

We might be good at generally looking after our health and our bodies during our daily health and fitness routines but we aren’t always as good at looking after our eyes. But, this is an issue we should think about — we only get one pair of eyes, after all, and, if we don’t look after them we may be more prone to suffering from discomfort and even medical problems.

Looking after your eyes doesn’t take a lot of work. All you have to do is to make sure that you follow these five easy steps to keep them healthy, bright and shining!

#1 Regular eye checks — if you need to wear glasses or contacts because you have a vision problem such as myopia or hyperopia then you probably already have an optician check you out every year or so. But, a lot of people who have OK vision don’t think that this is necessary. Most opticians, however, will recommend that you do have regular check ups here just to make sure that everything is OK. You can, for example, find that your eyesight fails as you get older but you may not notice the changes here as they can start small and build up incrementally. And, many different types of medical conditions and illnesses such as glaucoma can be detected in their early stages from a simple eye test.

#2 Get enough sleep — there are always going to be occasional times when we burn the candle at both ends and don’t get enough sleep. Most of us have probably woken up in the morning with bleary and bloodshot eyes because we are overtired or have stayed out in hot and smoke filled atmospheres. Whilst this isn’t so much an issue in itself it is not good to do this all of the time. Your eyes will simply look and feel much better if you make sure to get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis.

#3 Think about safety — a lot of accidents to the eyes occur when we are doing something that could be hazardous even if the activity that we are doing is fairly run of the mill. So, for example, if you are using a saw to cut wood or metal when you’re doing DIY then you could well end up with a chip or splinter in your eye if you aren’t careful. It’s wise to remember to wear protective goggles if you ever think that your eye safety might be compromised.

#4 Avoid too much sun — protecting your eyes in the sun is not something that most of us think about. We might use sun screen and even wear a hat and make sure that our clothing protects our bodies but we often ignore our eyes. Bear in mind here that sunglasses don’t just make it easier for you to see in bright conditions, they can also filter out harmful rays from the sun and stop them affecting your eyes. So, buy a pair of specially designed sunglasses here.

#5 Pamper your eyes — if your eyes are feeling dry and scratchy and look a little bleary because you haven’t been taking time to get enough rest and/or sleep then take some time to pamper them a little. A lot of the bleariness that you see here may come from surrounding tissue so think about special eye treatments. This isn’t hard to do and doesn’t need to be costly. Some people, for example, swear that lying down in a darkened room for quarter of an hour with cold wet tea bags or slices of cucumber on their eyes can make the whole eye area look better. Or, as an alternative, you could look at buying eye drops to pamper your eyes a little. All of these steps may take a little initial time and effort but they are worth following. Keeping your eyes fit and healthy is a far better route to take than waiting for problems to develop further on down the line.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. The lens works much like a camera lens, focusing light onto the retina at the back of the eye. The lens also adjusts the eye’s focus, letting us see things clearly both up close and far away.

The lens is mostly made of water and protein. The protein is arranged in a precise way that keeps the lens clear and lets light pass through it. But as we age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens. This is a cataract, and over time, it may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.

Researchers are gaining additional insights about what causes these specific types of proteins (crystallins) to cluster in abnormal ways to cause lens cloudiness and cataracts. One recent finding suggests that fragmented versions of these proteins bind with normal proteins, disrupting normal function.

One form of cataract is a cortical cataract, which forms in the lens cortex, gradually extends its spokes from the outside of the lens to the center. Many diabetics develop cortical cataracts.Third is subcapsular cataract begins at the back of the lens.

People with diabetes, high farsightedness, retinitis pigmentosa or those taking high doses of steroids run the risk of developing a subcapsular cataract. Congenital cataracts are known to be caused by infections women get during pregnancy, such as rubella.

Cataracts have also been connected with metabolic deficiencies such as galactosemia. Congenital cataracts risk factors include is inherited metabolic diseases, history of family or genetic cataracts, and also with infections due to pregnancy.

No one knows for sure why the eye’s lens changes as we age, forming cataracts. Researchers are gradually identifying factors that may cause cataracts – and information that may help to prevent them. Many studies suggest that exposure to ultraviolet light is associated with cataract development, so eyecare practitioners recommend wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat to lessen your exposure.

Other types of radiation may also be causes. For example, a 2005 study conducted in Iceland suggests that airline pilots have a higher risk of developing nuclear cataract than non-pilots and that the cause may be exposure to cosmic radiation. A similar theory suggests that astronauts, too, are at risk from cosmic radiation.

Think about surgery when your cataracts have progressed enough to seriously impair your vision and affect your daily life. Many people consider poor vision an inevitable fact of aging, but cataract surgery is a simple, relatively painless procedure to regain vision.