AN EYE FOR AN EYE PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. AND, THAT GOES FOR YOUR PEEPERS TOO. Our eyes are organs we take most for granted, until they play up. With the kind of pressure we exert on our eyes today, it’s not surprising that today 60 per cent of the population worldwide wear glasses. IN THE EYE OF A STORM Imagine being bombarded by the sun’s rays, pollution, flashing lights, TV and computer screens. There is tremendous pressure on the eyes to function. Take for example, working on a computer. It is one of the most common uses that the eye is put to today. Most professionals spend an easy six hours in front of a computer. That means our eyes have to adjust approximately 25,000 times — one for every heartbeat. For the eyes, the strain is as good as doing one push-up per second for the whole day. Staring at computer screens exacerbates the condition because our blink rate reduces by 70 per cent. In other words, instead of the usual 14 blinks per minute, we only blink five times. That explains the dryness, itchiness, and in some cases, redness of the eyes. These are the first symptoms of computer vision syndrome (CVS). It manifests both as short and long term vision disorders. The short term disorders are dry eyes, headaches, eye strain, burning and itchiness, blurry vision, double vision, after images and watering of eyes. The long term effects are occular migraine, photo-phobia, blood shot eyes, visual epilepsy, squint and slowness in changing focus. WHO puts the statistics at 400 million sufferers worldwide. More alarming, is the fact that anywhere between 80 to 90 per cent of all the people who use computers, for even two hours daily, will suffer from CVS. Kunti Nagvekar of the Sampoorna School For Perfect Eyesight, at Bandra, Mumbai, says, “Our eyes are not meant for the use we are putting them to today. They are still the eyes of a hunter, meant for distance viewing. Now, we have to train our eyes for the new purposes we are exposing them to.” EXERCISE BETTER VISION Nagvekar recommends the following eye exercises. She says, “They are not the ultimate solution. They are just the crutches.” Her therapies have resulted in improving squints, nystagmus (rapid eyeball movement) and glaucoma; Vinita Tentbe has been suffering front glaucoma for the last two years. Despite medications, there was no improvement. Her eyes watered continuously and the redness refused to subside. Within two days of joining Sampoorna, Tembe noticed a marked improvement. The eye massages and various other exercises she underwent for two hours everyday, opened the blocked tear ducts and the first positive sign was that the redness began to disappear. A week into the course, the watering decreased. She says, “Now, I misplace or sometimes even forget to carry my handkerchief with me.” But before the damage is done, Kunti Nagvekar recommends these simple eye exercises. BASIC EYE EXERCISES Sun treatment: Sit or stand facing the sun with closed eyes and move your head from side to side, for one or two minutes. Do not do this between 10 am and four pm. Eye wash: Fill an eye glass with ordinary saline water. Dip your right eye by bending your neck over it, blink gently 10 times, then repeat with your left eye. Palming: Close your eyes and place your palms gently over them, so that no light passes through. Do not exert any pressure over the cheek bones or eyes. Palming can be done without discomfort for five to 10 minutes at a time. Eye movements to exercise your eye muscles: Gently move your eyes up and down while blinking. Repeat this five times. Then left to right, five times. Finally, focus your eyes on an object nearby, then on an object at a distance. Repeat this five times. Diet: Vitamin A is good for your eyesight. Rich sources of Vitamin A include green vegetables like spinach, fenugreek, celery, cabbage. Orange coloured fruits and vegetables like carrots, papaya, tomatoes and pumpkin. Finally, fish, milk, eggs and meat. Water therapy: Drink 1,250 ml of water as soon as you wake up in the morning. For one hour, do not eat or drink anything. This flushes out the digestive system and cleans your stomach. USE YOUR EYES RIGHT Pointers to remember: Right blinking. Blinking is a quick method to rest the eye. Also, it keeps the eyes moist. The lacrinial glands under the upper eyelids produce an anti-septic fluid that cleans the eyes. While reading, blink every two-three seconds. When working on a computer. blink after every four-five words. Sunlight is the best source of light. However, do not let the sunlight fall directly on the paper you are reading. While using electric light, see that the light comes from the back and falls on the paper. Do not stare. This causes strain which leads to an error of refraction. Shift your glance constantly from one point to another. When working on a computer, shift your glance from the computer screen to a distant object for two minutes after every 30 to 40 minutes. Turn your head in the direction in which you are looking. Keep your eyelids half closed while reading or watching a distant object. Even while looking upwards, the upper eyelids should not be raised, only the chin. When in front of a computer make sure that the screen is four to five inches below your eye level so that your eyelids are half closed. Even better, make sure your have an anti-reflection screen for the computer monitor. After every one hour of working on the computer, palm your eyes for five to 10 minutes. Sit comfortably. Do not strain your back and neck muscles.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 12:40:00 +0000
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