Top Health Tips on Improving Eye Health

Most of us take our eyes for granted. It has been often noticed that an individual splurges on expensive sunglasses for looking smarter. But, when it comes to the health of eyes, he or she is either ignorant or simply reluctant to do anything. This tendency is bad for the health of your precious eyes.

Remember, how you use them to stare at the screens of your gadgets all day long. Take out some time from your busy schedule and take care of your eyes. They are precious and vulnerable too.

Follow the tips below to keep your eyesight intact till your dying day:

Eat right for a good vision: It is very important to provide the right and sufficient amounts of nutrients to your body for developing or maintaining a good eye sight. Include nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins C and E in your regular diet to boost your eyesight. Food items like green and leafy vegetables, salmon, tuna, and other oily fish, eggs, nuts, beans, and other non-meat protein sources, oranges and other citrus fruits or juices and oysters and pork are excellent for the eye. The intake of a balanced diet keeps you away from diabetes, which causes blindness.
Give up smoking: Cigarettes or other tobacco products are bad for your eyes. They make your eyes more vulnerable to diseases like cataracts, optic nerve damage, and macular degeneration.
Guard your eyes from sunlight: It has been found that long exposure to sunlight leads to damage of the eyeballs. This happens as the UV rays in sunlight have an adverse impact on our eyes. You must put on sunglasses when you are outdoors for a longer period. You must choose sunglasses which give you 90 to 100 percent protection against sunlight. UV rays can cause cataracts and macular degeneration.
Avoid the screen: It is advisable to not spend long hours sitting in front of the computer screen or TV. Take breaks while working on the computer. Also, remember blinking your eyes while staring at the screen to avoid drying up of the eyes. Blinking increases tear production, keeping the eyes moist and healthy.
Use safety devices: If you work with hazardous substances, it is advisable that you put on safety devices on your eyes for their protection.
Hydrate your eyes: In order to have a good vision, you must hydrate your eyes by splashing water on your eyes wide open at specific intervals in a day. When you wash your face after returning from outside, don't forget to wash your eyes as well. As you splash water on the eyes, the dust particles on the surface of the eyelid, gathered from outside, gets washed away. f you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a ophthalmologist.

Cataract can be defined as the clouding of the natural lenses in the eyes. This is caused by the clumping of protein in the eye lens. Cataract is a common eye disorder and the leading cause of loss of vision in people who are past their fortieth birthday. Cataract can occur in one or both eyes. When diagnosed properly, cataract can be treated with surgery to prevent blindness.

Depending on where and how they develop, there are many types of cataract. The most common amongst these are:

Subcapsular cataract: These occur at the back of the eye lens. Diabetic patients are very susceptible to this kind of cataract.
Nuclear cataract: Yellowish-brown cataract that form in the center of the lens are called nuclear cataract. This is usually seen in cataract caused by ageing.
Cortical cataract: Cataract in the lens cortex are known as cortical cataract. These are wedge shaped and whitish in color. Spokes protruding out of these opaque wedges can be seen moving towards the center of the eye.
Congenital cataract: Though they are not common, babies can also have cataract. Cataract formed at birth or within the first year of a baby's birth are known as congenital cataract.
Secondary cataract: Cataract is one of the known side effects of diabetes and glaucoma. Some steroids and medicines are also linked to cataract.
Traumatic cataract: If your vision becomes cloudy years after an eye injury, it could be a traumatic cataract. It can take several years for this to happen.
Radiation cataract: Exposure to radiation can also lead to cataract. This is seen sometimes in patients who have undergone radiation therapy to fight diseases like cancer.
Though the type of cataract might differ from person to person, the symptoms are usually the same. Some of the common symptoms of cataract are:

1. Blurred vision

2. Reduced night vision

3. Increased sensitivity to light and glare

4. Seeing halos around lights

5. Colors appearing faded

6. Double vision

A reading test is the first step towards diagnosing cataracts. This is followed by tests to measure the eye pressure. Your doctor will also need to dilate the pupil to check the condition of the optic nerves and retina. Surgery is the safest way to remove a cataract. Surgery is usually recommended when cataract begin inhibiting your daily life such as preventing you from driving, interfering with reading etc.

In most cases, this can be done as an outpatient procedure. The earlier it is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat. Hence, if you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above, get your eyes checked at once. The surgery is a day-care surgery only, so a person can go home the same day.

Ebooks maybe are a lot easier to carry, and with the emerging trend of Kindles, it may appear to be more convenient than paperbacks, but the smell of new books, the texture of its pristine pages, is unparalleled to the inanimateness of ebooks. But that is not just why you must choose paperbacks over ebooks.

Read on to find out why paperbacks work well over ebooks for better eye health.

Does not involve light-emission: The backlit electronic devices, strain your eyes, causing redness, irritation and watering. Most doctors advise that exposure to light during the evening, especially from artificial sources should be minimal. On the other hand, books do not emit any harmful rays, making it the obvious choice if you want to take good care of your eyes.
Do not hamper body clock: Our system has a tendency to adapt itself to the rhythm of life by responding to the surrounding light. However, the blue light in reading devices disrupt the release of melatonin or the sleep hormone, causing inadequate, less deep sleep, and fatigue and irritation the following morning. Thus, not giving enough time to your eyes and body for revitalizing. On the other hand, studies have shown that people reading books sleep better and timelier than those reading on devices.
Proximity to device not required: The admonition of not sitting too close to the television's screen glare is nullified by reading devices where a certain level of proximity is required for comfortable reading, which harms our eyes. But paperbacks do not have any such risk involved as there is no glare that would affect our eyes.
Does not induce disrupted winking: Electronic devices often trigger a tendency to not blink and stare at the screen constantly for longer than advisable. That does not give the lenses in your eyes the momentary rest that the eyes require in order to replenish themselves.
Exercises to improve eye health

There are many common measures people take to improve their eyesight or improve their vision. These include wearing glasses, lenses, sunglasses and many such measures. Here are some effective exercises which prove to be highly beneficial in increasing your eye health:
Stretching: This is the most common and also one of the easiest to do. It requires you to just look up, hold for two seconds, look down, hold for two seconds, then repeat this procedure for each corner of your eye, which means top-left, top-right, bottom-left and bottom-right corners.
Flexing: This is simply rotating your eyes in circles. Roll your eyes in the clockwise direction for one minute and then roll your eyes in the anticlockwise direction for one minute.
Focus switching: This particular eye exercise is used for accommodation and is probably the most useful one. In this eye exercise, you have to hold something at a reading distance and cover the other eye. You then have to find something that is at least twenty feet away and trace its shape with one eye closed. With one eye closed, trace more shapes which are twenty feet away and this may improve your eyesight.
Palming: This exercise is also very simple to perform. All you have to do is cover your eyes with your palms. Once you have done this, just wait and see that there are no bright flashes of light. If you see that there is a bright flash of light, just wait till they go. This is used primarily to destress the eyes.
Deep blinking: This is also an incredibly useful exercise for distance vision. All you have to do is to place some large letters at a fair distance and then sit on a chair. You have to then close your eyes and tighten all your muscles for 5 seconds. After the gap of 5 seconds, open your eyes and see the letters for a second or two. The more time you do this the more clearly you will be able to see the letters after reopening your eyes.
Finally, a warning has to be given that these eye treatments are not universally accepted by all doctors. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

LASIK stands for Laser In-situ Keratomileusis. This is a common eye surgery that helps in correcting vision problems. During this procedure, the cornea of the eye is cut across by a medical expert to raise the tissues and reshape them to correct vision. LASIK is suitable for patients who have shortsightedness, long sightedness or who suffer from astigmatism.

Here are the 5 benefits that a LASIK surgery offers:

1. Improved vision - A study reveals that 95% of the people who underwent this surgery achieved uncorrected visual acuity of 20/40 and 85% of the people achieved 20/20 vision. This procedure ensures that a patient achieves enhanced vision.

2. Quick results and recovery - This surgery enables you to return to your normal schedule immediately the day after the surgery. You can have clear and improved vision within a day.

3. Long- lasting outcomes - A minimum timeframe of 3 months is required for the eyes to adjust, after which LASIK results are permanently noticeable in a patient. No follow up procedures are required unless something wrong went with the surgery. The patient will continue to have improved vision unless there is any normal loss due to illness or aging.

4. No need of glasses - You no longer require glasses as your vision turns to normal post-LASIK surgery.

5. Goodbye contact lenses - LASIK surgery will help eliminate the need for contacts. You will be able to avoid all the problems pertaining to wearing a contact lens, including lens solution.

Do you know that every little activity that you perform on a daily basis impacts your body? what you eat, how long you sleep and even every tear you shed affects your body. Most people are aware of how their body reacts to major activities, like exercising, but few are aware of how the body reacts when they cry.

While you are generally concerned with the mental cause and effect of crying, have you thought about what crying does to you physically? tears are not always shed when a person is upset. Tears are a body's way of expressing itself as well as protecting itself. Everything from a happy ending in a movie to a dust particle in the eye can make you tear up.

There are essentially three kinds of tears. Basal tears and reflective tears help keep the eyes lubricated and irritant free respectively. It is the psych tears, which we commonly refer to as crying, that come as emotional responses.

Crying might be a sign of emotional stress and pain but if you are wondering how it harms your body, the answer is that it does not. Crying does not harm one's body physically. In fact it does better than harm to your body, purely physically speaking. Here's how-

When you cry, your tears help your eyes remain clear.
It also has anti-bacterial properties that keep your eyes clean.
Your eyes remain properly hydrated thus reducing any kind of irritation. You might feel dehydrated after a while due to the loss of water and salt.
Even the excess manganese in your body gets washed out through tears.
But for some, the act of crying can cause medical complications. It can lead to fits or can cause an acute shortness of breath. For those with severe heart conditions, there can be a cardiac pain. Crying can take a toll on your body if you have certain medical conditions. For most people crying does more good for their body than harm.

A red eye is one of the first and most common symptoms of conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the tissue that lies over the white part of the eye and lines the inner side of the eyelid. It is usually the result of a viral infection and can easily spread from one person to another. Conjunctivitis can also be a symptom of STDs like gonorrhea or Chlamydia. In newborns, conjunctivitis can be vision threatening while in grownups it is not considered a serious health risk.

The symptoms of conjunctivitis differ according to the cause of the infection. Some common symptoms of conjunctivitis are:
* Green or white discharge from the eye
* Redness of the white part of the eye
* Inflammation of the eye lid
* Waking up to crusted yellow discharge
* Itchiness and burning in the eyes
* Increased sensitivity to light
* Blurred vision


An eye examination and testing a sample of the fluid secreted by the eye can be used to diagnose conjunctivitis. It can easily be treated at home and does not require hospitalization. Antibiotics are often given in the form of eye drops and ointments to treat conjunctivitis. These usually need to be applied 3-4 times a day for a period of 5-6 days. Wash your eyes before putting the eye drops. Once applied, close your eyes and roll the eyeball around to distribute the medicine and keep it from overflowing out of the eye. Wash your hands immediately after applying the eye drops.

Viral conjunctivitis is highly contagious. If you are suffering from it, you should take a few days off work and restrict your social interactions. Wash your hands frequently as you may unconsciously rub your eyes. This is especially important with regards to meals and finger foods. Also, avoid sharing towels, pillow cases etc to minimize the transmission of the disease from one person to another.
Avoid using makeup while being treated for conjunctivitis. With conjunctivitis, the eye is more sensitive to irritants and thus a speck of makeup can worsen the situation. Also avoid contacts. If you wear contacts regularly, dispose the current set and start using a fresh set after your doctor gives you a clean chit.

Artificial tears or non prescription eye drops can also be used to relieve the itchiness and burning in the infected eye. If only one eye had been affected by conjunctivitis, do not use the same eye drop bottle for both eyes.

If you have got diabetes, then it is quite natural that you will soon face acute eye troubles. This is the reason diabetic patients are always suggested to keep their blood sugar levels controlled so that eye troubles can be easily avoided.

Thorough medical check-up is required in order to detect conditions of the eyes. Some of the commonest eye troubles occurring due to diabetes are cataract, glaucoma, blurry vision, diabetic retinopathy and others.

List of eye diseases caused by diabetes

Diabetic retinopathy: when retina' s smallest blood-vessels get severely damaged due to increased blood-sugar, then this kind of eye condition occurs. Early detection of this eye condition can save your eyes, but if it is too late, then nothing can be done, and it might even lead to blindness.
Cataract: Fogging or clouding condition can bring this kind of condition, and this can only be corrected by wearing proper corrective lenses. However, if you fail to control diabetes, then in spite of wearing glasses, your eye condition might get deteriorated day by day. Glared or blurred vision is the commonest symptom in this regard.
Glaucoma: When the eye-fluid is not drained properly, then this kind of eye trouble occurs. In fact, eye pressure increases to a great extent as a result of which delicate eye nerves can get severely damaged. The blood vessels of the eyes can get clogged causing greater interruption in vision. Medicines can make aqueous humor to get drained in a proper manner, and thus you should go for a proper eye check-up so that you can acquire the requisite medicines. Some popular symptoms of glaucoma are headaches, eye aches, blurred vision, watery eyes, vision loss and others.
Diabetic macular-edema: This eye disease mainly occurs in the advanced stage of diabetic-retinopathy. Macula is nothing but the most delicate part of retina and when it gets swollen, then you might face this eye trouble. Only medications can help you to get rid of the same and thus immediate medical help is needed.
Blurry vision: Though this is quite a small and temporary eye issue for diabetic patients, but this condition might turn into a serious one if you neglect to correct the same in the very beginning. You might even face blindness due to negligence of this trouble. Also, fluctuating sugar-levels should be stabilized so that this kind of trouble can be easily tackled.

Diabetes is a condition wherein the sugar levels in your blood increases significantly. This happens when the sugar you consume from food is not efficiently processed by the body thus, raising your blood sugar levels. An excess concentration of sugar in the blood can make you prone to various health complications.

Symptoms
The symptoms of diabetes include frequent urge to urinate, increased thirst, increased hunger and rapid weight loss, combined with fatigue and irritability. Diabetes can also cause problems in the eyes, such as blurred vision as well as make you prone to cataracts and even glaucoma (in very rare cases). With diabetes, any injury or body sore tends to take a lot of time to heal.

Causes
Diabetes is a disorder that occurs due to impaired insulin functioning. Insulin is a hormone that is produced by pancreas, which is located right below the stomach. Diabetes, when occurs as a result of insufficient production of insulin by the pancreas, is known as Type 1 Diabetes. In this type, the immune cells in the body attack the cells in the pancreas, which produce insulin, thus discouraging insulin secretion.
Another kind is the Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when the cells in the body become insulin resistant. Most cases of diabetes are of this particular type, as one of the major reasons behind this is following an erratic lifestyle devoid of healthy habits.

Gestational diabetes is the third type, although it isn t very common. During pregnancy, the various hormones that are secreted in the body can play spoilsport with the functioning of the pancreas, thus the production of insulin. This leads to a drastic rise in blood sugar levels.

Ayurvedic treatment

Eat healthy: Eating healthy assumes the maximum importance; you need to eat healthy in order to control diabetes effectively. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in the diet, but make sure to pick foods that contain little sugar. Fruits such as bananas and grapes are not the best options for a diabetic. Rather, one should consider cucumber and bitter gourd in such circumstances.
Exercise regularly: Regular exercise can keep your body weight at optimal levels which goes a long way in preventing and controlling symptoms of diabetes. Besides being good for your heart, cardiovascular exercises such as running bring down the excess glucose levels in the blood.
Limit stress: Stress is very harmful for the body as it reduces your immunity against diseases and infections. Leading a stressful life can make you prone to a variety of disorders, diabetes being one of them. Relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga can help one deal with stress effectively.

An important organ of the body, eyes must never be taken for granted and need to be protected at all times. In addition to protecting them, you also need to improve as well as maintain their overall health.

Here are some of the ways of keeping your vision in top form:

1. Eat for good eye vision

To have healthy eyes and consequently good vision, you need to have foods that keep them in good health. Nutrients like Zinc, Vitamins C and E and Omega-3 fatty acids can help to fend off age-related sight problems such as cataracts or macular degeneration (a condition characterized by the deterioration of the middle portion of the retina). Foods like eggs, nuts, green leafy vegetables, oranges and citrus fruits are what you need to have to get good eye health.

2. Kick the smoke habit

Smoking can adversely affect your eye health and can make you prone to eye conditions like cataracts, macular degeneration and damage of optic nerve (a nerve that transmits impulses from the eyes to the brain). By kicking this habit, you end up saving your eyes from irreversible damage.

3. Use sunglasses

Exposure to the sun s ultraviolet rays for a long period of time can make you prone to common eye problems including cataracts. To protect them from the sun s harmful rays, you need to use sunglasses that block 99-100% of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.

4. Go for a regular eye checkup

Going for regular eye examinations can help in protecting your vision and ensure you see clearly. Eye examinations are important to help you find eye problems like glaucoma (a condition wherein the optic nerve is damaged, resulting in vision loss). A comprehensive eye examination can help in identifying problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism (an eye defect that occurs to a deviated spherical curvature).

Eyes need as much regular exercise to keep them healthy as any other organ of the body. Eye exercises are usually designed to provide strength to eye muscles, while improving focus, allowing flexible eye movements and helping stimulate the vision centre of the brain. Eye exercises might not necessarily improve eyesight but they help in preventing eye problems and maintaining the correct eyesight level.

Here are 4 Eye exercises that can help strengthen the eye muscles and improve your vision:

1. Blinking - Your eyes get strained due to long hours of sitting at the computer or television and you tend to blink less. Whenever you blink, your eyes stay in darkness for a few microseconds that help to keep the eyes fresh, while reducing eye strain.

2. Palming - This exercise involves three steps:

- Taking a few deep breaths before beginning the exercise
- Make yourself comfortable by resting your elbows on your knees and slowly closing your eyes
- Cover your eyes with the cup of your palm, place your fingers on the forehead and the heel of your hand on your cheekbone

This exercise helps in achieving inner peace and calm and also helps in resting your mind.

3. Figure of eight - This exercise helps in strengthening the eye muscles and provides flexibility. In this exercise, you need to imagine a huge eight in front of your eyes. Slowly turn the 8 on its side. With the help of your eyes slowly trace the figure of 8. Repeat it the other way after a few minutes.

4. Near and far focusing - This exercise helps in strengthening the eye muscles and improves the vision of your eyes. It involves the following steps:

- Either sit or stand in a comfortable position for 2-3 minutes
- Bring your thumb about 10 inches in front of your eyes and try to focus on it
- Now try focusing on an object that is about 10-20 feet in front of your eyes
- Try switching between focusing on the other object and your thumb on each deep breath