Posts Tagged ‘dry eyes’

In the Pink!

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Sore, tired, gritty, irritated eyes can create more misery than many other minor health issues, leaving the sufferer feeling tired, uncomfortable and of course worried. There are several causes of ‘pink eye’, so here are some pointers…..

Dry Eyes – Eyes feel dry, gritty, may sting, sight will be normal, no discharge or stickiness.

Can be due to – hormonal changes, air conditioning or central heating, overuse of contact lenses.

What can you do? – Speak to your Optician or GP to rule out contact lens problems. You may be prescribed artificial tears. Move desks away from vents or radiators, drink plenty of water.

Acute Conjunctivitis – Eyes feel sore and irritated. May be some watery discharge. Vision ok.

Can be due to – Eye strain, smoky or polluted air, lack of sleep and overusing a computer screen.

What can you do? – Speak to your GP to rule out infectious conditions. Rest eyes, drops may help to soothe irritation and restore natural tear function. Avoid contact lens wear until the eye recovers.

Bacterial or Viral Conjunctivitis – Eyes look very pink, lashes stick together, discharge which may be very fluid or sticky. Lashes stuck together when you wake up, vision may be blurry until discharge clears.

Can be due to – Contagious bacterial or viral infection.

What can you do? See your GP for prescribed drops. Take contact lenses out immediately and replace disposable lenses, sterilise any others. Replace mascara and eye make up brushes. Don’t share towels or flannels with other family members. Finish course of prescribed drops.

Irritant in the Eye – Eye slightly pink. Vision ok but eye watery.

Can be due to – foreign body trapped in the eye, i.e. under the lid, or reaction to foreign body after removal.

What can I do? Lift the lid gently away from the eye and look all around you, to let the tear layer wash the eye. Try an eye bath. Seek medical help if problem persists.

If you can’t decide what the problem is yourself, then the general rule is simple for any pink eye condition – take contact lenses out, check things out with your GP, have some specs to hand to allow eyes to rest and recover. Then you’ll be in the pink, and your eyeballs won’t be!!

Varifocal Glasses

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Eye-Exercise

Monday, May 16th, 2011

We all lead busy lives nowadays, we’re time-poor and trying to cram as much multi-tasking as possible into every minute of the day. Tired bodies and minds are one thing, but of course our eyes have to keep up the pace from the first second we awake to last thing at night. How can you prevent strain and keep those peepers daisy fresh through a long and eventful day?

What you eat and drink can affect your eyes and your sight just as it can affect the rest of your body. Plenty of water and a sensible attitude to alcohol consumption benefits the eyes, and staying hydrated can help to prevent headaches and dry eyes. Eating a varied diet with plenty of different coloured fruit and veg provides nutrients and anti-oxidants that maintain eye health. Omega 3, protein and dairy products give you everything your eyes need for long term health.

Smoking has a detrimental affect on the eyes, it’s a factor in the development of cataract and macular degeneration, as well as being damaging to the delicate skin around the eyes. Exercise will improve oxygen flow to the eyes as well as the rest of the body.

If you feel tired and have been concentrating on close work or the VDU screen for long periods, try a little eye specific relaxation – blink and look into the distance, blink again. Sit back and close your eyes, breathing slowly and evenly. Rub your hands together if they’re cold, and when hands are warm gently cup them over your eyelids. After a minute or two, slowly move them away, keeping your eyes shut for a minute. Repeat and then open eyes slowly. Blink to re-moisten. Taking a second or two to look away from the computer and blinking at regular intervals will keep the eyes moist and fresher throughout the day.

Comfortable, healthy eyes will prevent fatigue and make your busy day easier to deal with. Regular eye checks and wearing up to date glasses are the finishing touch that will put your mind at rest as well as your eyes!

Varifocal Glasses

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Not a Dry Eye

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

It might sound like a pretty trivial problem, but dry eyes are at best an annoyance, and at worse a very painful condition. The incidence is on the increase, and opticians are dealing with ever increasing numbers of patients complaining of symptoms that can be attributed to dry eyes. Current statistics suggest that 18 – 30% of the population will have a problem with dry eye syndrome at some point in their lives. About 20% of over 65s will be sufferers.

For the patient this means sore, gritty, uncomfortable eyes, possibly with some visual disturbance. In time this may lead to damage of the front surfaces of the eye. Dry eye may occur because you don’t produce enough tears, or because the tears are of poor quality. Tears are actually a complex substance made of layers that perform specific functions in the eye. They have a fatty lipid layer that stops the underlying tears from evaporating, an aqueous watery layer that supplies nutrients and anti-bacterial proteins, and a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. So our humble tears feed, cleanse and lubricate the eye and create a smooth surface to make your sight as good as possible. Contact lens patients may suffer even more as the right quantity and quality of tears play a huge part in good comfort and vision with their lenses.

Research has been ongoing for many years to provide relief for dry eyes, both for contact lens wearers and other patients. Artificial tears have been developed to provide relief from symptoms, both short term and long term. As the whole mechanism of tears is to wash the surface of the eye at regular intervals then artificial tear drops have to be good at staying in the eye and of course not interfering with your sight while they are doing their job! There are many different formulations so do persevere and return to your GP if a particular product does not work for you.

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A Dry Eye in the House?

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Of all the ills that can befall mankind, you wouldn’t think that something as seemingly trivial as dry eyes could really bother you. Until you’re a sufferer that is! Dry eyes are the symptom most presented as an eye health issue, with patients describing uncomfortable, gritty, sore dry eyes as a real problem.

Our lifestyles today exacerbate this condition. Air conditioning, offices full of electrical equipment, long hours spent at work all make the discomfort worse. These circumstances make us blink less, and increase evaporation of the lubricating layer of tears that bathe our eyes. Tears do more than get you sympathy! They wash the eyes, sterilise the cornea, and keep the ocular surfaces comfortably moist.

Dry eyes can affect contact lens wearers by decreasing the time they can tolerate their lenses, or even discourage them from wearing lenses altogether. Dry eye treatment usually takes the form of specialised drops, in different formats for contact wearers or for use without lenses. The drops work in several ways. They soothe pain and inflammation, as well as creating a smooth film over the mucus membrane of the eye. This lubricates and locks in the natural moisture that would otherwise be lost.

Most sufferers find that their symptoms worsen towards the evening, as tears evaporate through the day. Taking regular breaks from the screen and remembering to blink as often as possible helps, but visit your GP or Optician if the symptoms really bother you. Drops are easy to use and quickly relieve the problem.

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