Eye Care

1. Wash the eyes with cold water in the mornings –it is soothing .

2. Use sunglasses in sunlight to block the UV rays.

3. Always wear correct gasses & do not use someone else’s glasses.

4. Do not read while lying down, in a moving train or bus.

5. Ensure there is proper light – do not read in dim light.

6. A well balanced diet is important. Food which have lot of coloured pigments like carrot, mangoes, beetroot etc. are rich sources of vitamin A which is an essential nutrient for eyes especially in children. Lack of vitamin A in children can cause night blindness.

7. Periodic eye checkup-at least once a year for people having normal vision or as & when advised if have any eye problems

8. Avoid self-medication for eyes - it can be dangerous.

9. Do not watch solar eclipse without any protective eye wear.

10. Certain eye exercises helps to relieve tension from the eye muscles and relaxes them thereby preventing eyestrain.

11. If you have diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) periodic eye checkup is important.

12. If there is any family history of myopia, Glaucoma, Retinal detachment-periodic eye checkup is necessary.

13. Any crossing of eyes, excessive watering or redness of the eye should be reported to your eye doctor immediately. With proper treatment at the right time the problem can be solved more effectively.

14. Routine eye checkup for children is necessary to rule out possibility of eyeglass numbers.

15. If the child is squeezing his eyes while watching TV, rubbing eyes excessively or blinks too much, he might need glasses.

16. If the child has glasses number, it should be checked every six months to one year.

17. Do not let children play with sharply pointed objects like pencil, pen etc. many eyes are lost because of eye injury eg. bow & arrow.

18. In case of eye injury due to a fall or ball injury do not neglect it. The eye doctor should be consulted immediately.

Computer Vision Syndrome:

With increased use of computers for all kinds of work, a new type of problem is emerging for the eye doctors. The problems associated with computers are as follows:

1. The computer has color monitor with excessive light reflection and frequent picture changes putting strain on the eyes.

2. It involves excessive near work resulting in fatigue of eye muscles & thereby eyestrain

3.   Due to continuous use of the monitor screen, blinking is reduced resulting in dry eyes, with feeling of heaviness, foreign body sensation in the eyes.

Some do’s & don’ts for excessive computer users

1. If possible you can have an anti reflection coating for computer monitor.

2. After working for an hour or so just close your eyes for 5 minutes or look at the distance. It relaxes your eye muscles.

3. Frequent blinking is necessary, sometimes lubricating drops can also help.

4. The computer should be slightly below the eye level.