Text by: Tanya Munshi
In a normal day to day routine, our eyes are exposed to numerous forms of media – right from the time we wake up we begin with a newspaper, then we read a book or a magazine while traveling. At work we spend the whole day working on our PCs, and evenings or late nights are spent in front of the television. Have you thought of giving your eyes a break?
What causes eye strain?
o Prolonged glare from the computer monitor/ television screen
o A sudden doze of bright light like a car head light from the opposite direction
o Sitting too close to the computer monitor or reading a book too close to your eyes
o Trying to read fine print, or word documents with tiny fonts
o Trying to work on your computer or read a book in poor light.
Here are some easy eye soothing tips that you could try at home or office.
Look at greener pastures
Looking at anything, other than you computer screen helps a lot. Especially looking at plants and greenery refreshes your eyes and your mind. Rahil Mahtani, an instructional designer says, “When my eyes feel tired and weary, I go out and look at some greenery. Luckily for me, there are hills right outside my office. All I have to do is just walk to the window or up to the terrace and look around.”
Psychologist, Prachi Vaish adds, “One of the tactics I do is take my eyes off the screen every 20 minutes, look around and close them for a few seconds. I repeat this as and when required.”
Drink water
One of the basic remedies for tired eyes is to drink lots of water. Especially in an office environment you tend to get dehydrated faster, due to sweating or the air conditioning. You need to replenish all that you loose, by drinking lots of fluids like water or juices. Also, whenever your eyes feel tired take a break and splash some water on your face and eyes.
Soothe with eye gels
Choose eye gels that contain organic aloe vera, chamomile and plant proteins. Apply night or day eye cream which will have a soothing effect on your eyes and active vitamins and minerals will nourish, moisturize and refresh the delicate skin around the eyes. Plant proteins help reduce puffiness, chamomile has anti-inflammatory properties to help restore the sensitive skin around the eyes. Shadaab Razak a television anchor and a fashion consultant says, “I use Clinique eye gel, which helps reduce the puffiness in the delicate area around the eyes.”
Palming
One of the oldest, tried and tested formulas for relaxing tired eye muscles is palming. This can be done anywhere—in office or at home. Rub the palms of your hands to generate warmth by friction. Then gently place your palms over your eyes and keep for about a minute. Repeat this as often as you like. Palming is known to relax the tense eye balls thereby soothing weary eyes.
Eye drops
Shadaab adds, “At work I normally use Genteel eye drops as advised by my doctor and is readily available in most chemist outlets.” She continues, “I use these eye drops as and when my eyes feel tired and it cools my eyes immediately.”
Rose water
Shadaab offers a tip on how to prepare a rose water pack at home. “Since rosewater is present in every household, it’s the easiest to make. Keep a bowl of rosewater with cotton swabs and refrigerate it. Once you return home, place the cotton swabs over your eyes for about 10 minutes and relax.” This is a good remedy to reduce dark circles and soothe tired and weary eyes.
Try strawberry
Refrigerated strawberry slices if kept over the eyes are equally effective. Strawberries are rich in alpha-hydroxy which is instrumental in keeping the skin young and refreshed.
Chilled cucumbers
Prachi vouches that cucumber slices are a huge de-stressor for eyes! “I use them as often I can. In fact, potato slices can be used for dark circles and under eye bags.” Cucumber is known for its cooling, anti-inflammatory, skin tightening and astringent properties. Keep two slices of cucumber over your eyes, as the cooling effect of cucumber can soothe puffy eyes and dark circles.
Tea bags
Refrigerated tea bags if kept over the eyes for about 10-15 minutes can help reduce soreness of the eyes. Especially go for green tea bags as they contain anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce under eye circles, dark circles and puffy eyes.
Chilled milk
Drop two cotton balls in a bowl of chilled milk. Once you’re home you can give a cold compress to your eyes with chilled milk.
It is important to remember, that most of the times, when we try to concentrate on reading a document on paper or on the computer monitor, our brain works along with our eyes to help us comprehend and retain information. At times, headaches can occur due to over straining our eyes to read fine print or trying to rack our brains to understand something complex. In such cases, taking frequent breaks every half an hour to an hour, where our eyes get defocused and giving a breather to our brain, can help us in relieving eye strain.
Showing posts with label eye care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eye care. Show all posts
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Beauty> Fade Those Dark Cricles Away!
A common beauty and dermatological complaint, dark circles make you look much older than your age. Here are some tips to cure dark circles effectively.
What Causes Dark Circles
In medical terms, it is called ‘oxidizing haemoglobin’ where tiny blood vessels spread around the delicate skin around the eyes. Since the capillaries are too small, the red blood cells clog up in a single line in order to pass through. As a result the enzymes present in your body break down the red blood cells, including the haemoglobin. This leaves a dark blue-black colour around the skin area. Since the skin around the eye area is thin and the capillaries are closer to the skin, dark circles are more visible around the eye area.
Home Remedies For Dark Circles
o Place used and refrigerated tea bags on your eyes for about 15 min.
o Before going out, apply concealer, foundation cream and powder to cover up those dark circles.
o Get into the healthy habit of eating well, sleeping at least 6-8 hours and drinking lots of water.
o Practice yoga exercises such as palming. Rub the palms of your hands together till you find them warm. Then gently place them on your eyes for about 2-3 minutes. Repeat this exercise as often as you want.
o Place a metal spoon under cold running water for a few minutes, dry off the water and hold the spoons gently to your eyes for at least 60 seconds.
o Cool half a cucumber’s juice in the refrigerator. Apply a few drops of lemon juice and gently apply around the eye for about 10 minutes and rinse.
o Apply thin slices of cucumber on your eyes for about 5-10 minutes to soothe and cool your eyes.
o Make a paste of turmeric powder, tomato juice and lemon juice, apply it around the eye area and wash off 10 minutes later.
Medical Remedies For Dark Circles
o If the dark circles persist for a long time, it’s time to visit an ophthalmologist or dermatologist.
o You could use certain medicated Vitamin E creams meant for treatment of dark circles around the eye area.
Published in Tips4me.com, on May 14, 2007
Link: http://www.tips4me.com/tips/beauty/others_main.asp?file=/tips/bodybasic/eyes.htm
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Health> Are you suffering from Computer Vision Syndrome?
Text: Tanya Munshi
Many of you have jobs that require you to work on the computer. These strenuous computer-intensive work conditions have given rise to what is known as Computer Vision Syndrome.
Dr Harish S Belvi, a practising ophthalmologist (eye specialist) based in Mumbai, says that this occurs "when there is a shortening of tear break up time. In other words, tears that form a defensive film over the eyes start drying up. This occurs when the eyes are open and looking into the monitor for too long. The tears evaporate from the eyes faster, causing the eyes to dry up." CVS could lead to various eye problems.
i. Eyestrain
Eyestrain, which is a common problem, mostly occurs when we are working on something for a long time without taking adequate breaks. It can be caused by activities such as watching television, working on the computer, reading a book or studying for long hours. In such cases, your eye muscles are working hard to help you focus.
During these times, your inner eye muscles tighten up, causing your eyes to get irritated, dry up and feel uncomfortable. In addition, lack of sleep, fatigue, poor lighting and an incorrect posture (such as slouching on your chair), can aggravate eyestrain.
Symptoms include a mild headache, coupled with irritated/ smarting eyes. You might also find it difficult to focus after a prolonged session of reading or looking at your computer screen.
Prevention: Apart from placing your monitor 25 inches away from where you sit, tilt it a little below eye level. How does this help? Dr Belvi says, "When your eyes are looking down at a lower level, they are opened less as compared to when you look directly into a monitor tilted at a higher level. Thus, keeping the monitor at a lower level helps minimise evaporation of moisture from your eyes."
Opt for LCD/ plasma monitors as they are more soothing, compared to cathode ray tube monitors. "LCD or plasma monitors are technologically more advanced. As a result, the pixilated picture quality and colour contrast are soothing to the eyes. Compared to that, cathode ray tube monitors are harsh on the eyes as they display focused light on the eyes," he adds.
You can also set the lighting and brightness of your monitor to a lower glare, as per your comfort level.
ii. Dry Eyes
This problem can be worse for those who wear contact lenses to work on a daily basis. Dry eyes occur when our blink rate declines considerably while working on a computer. More so since we are looking straight ahead into the monitor, as compared to desk work where we look down at our books/ files.
The very act of looking into a monitor without blinking results in tear evaporation. An air-conditioned office environment also contributes to this problem, dehydrating our eyes and causing them to itch.
Some of the basic symptoms of dry eyes are a feeling of dryness and irritation, a gritty/ grainy feeling in the eyes, a blurring of vision, redness, feeling a strain on the eyes, general stress, an intolerance to light, and headaches.
Prevention: Follow certain precautions like keeping a minimum distance of 25 inches from the screen.
Fix an antiglare screen on your monitor.
Take regular visual breaks lasting few minutes, at intervals of 20 minutes -- such as looking away from the screen for about a minute and then getting back to work. This will help your eyes focus better.
Blink your eyes several times so they are nourished with tears.
Use preservative-free re-wetting eye drops; these can be safely used even by those of you who wear contact lenses.
iii. Vision related headaches
Most of us have suffered from vision related headaches. These signal eyestrain and are usually caused by improper workplace conditions. Glare from the computer screen and poor lighting are some of the main culprits. Some of the main symptoms include headaches that occur mostly toward the front part of your head or forehead, and you finding yourself pressing the point between your eyes and upper part of your nose.
Prevention: If at home, have lemon tea. If at work, try a hot cup of tea, as it helps soothe headaches.
"The best thing is to get some rest for yourself and for your eyes," suggests Dr Belvi.
Published in Rediff.com, on January 13, 2006.
Link: http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2006/jan/13health.htm
Many of you have jobs that require you to work on the computer. These strenuous computer-intensive work conditions have given rise to what is known as Computer Vision Syndrome.
Dr Harish S Belvi, a practising ophthalmologist (eye specialist) based in Mumbai, says that this occurs "when there is a shortening of tear break up time. In other words, tears that form a defensive film over the eyes start drying up. This occurs when the eyes are open and looking into the monitor for too long. The tears evaporate from the eyes faster, causing the eyes to dry up." CVS could lead to various eye problems.
i. Eyestrain
Eyestrain, which is a common problem, mostly occurs when we are working on something for a long time without taking adequate breaks. It can be caused by activities such as watching television, working on the computer, reading a book or studying for long hours. In such cases, your eye muscles are working hard to help you focus.
During these times, your inner eye muscles tighten up, causing your eyes to get irritated, dry up and feel uncomfortable. In addition, lack of sleep, fatigue, poor lighting and an incorrect posture (such as slouching on your chair), can aggravate eyestrain.
Symptoms include a mild headache, coupled with irritated/ smarting eyes. You might also find it difficult to focus after a prolonged session of reading or looking at your computer screen.
Prevention: Apart from placing your monitor 25 inches away from where you sit, tilt it a little below eye level. How does this help? Dr Belvi says, "When your eyes are looking down at a lower level, they are opened less as compared to when you look directly into a monitor tilted at a higher level. Thus, keeping the monitor at a lower level helps minimise evaporation of moisture from your eyes."
Opt for LCD/ plasma monitors as they are more soothing, compared to cathode ray tube monitors. "LCD or plasma monitors are technologically more advanced. As a result, the pixilated picture quality and colour contrast are soothing to the eyes. Compared to that, cathode ray tube monitors are harsh on the eyes as they display focused light on the eyes," he adds.
You can also set the lighting and brightness of your monitor to a lower glare, as per your comfort level.
ii. Dry Eyes
This problem can be worse for those who wear contact lenses to work on a daily basis. Dry eyes occur when our blink rate declines considerably while working on a computer. More so since we are looking straight ahead into the monitor, as compared to desk work where we look down at our books/ files.
The very act of looking into a monitor without blinking results in tear evaporation. An air-conditioned office environment also contributes to this problem, dehydrating our eyes and causing them to itch.
Some of the basic symptoms of dry eyes are a feeling of dryness and irritation, a gritty/ grainy feeling in the eyes, a blurring of vision, redness, feeling a strain on the eyes, general stress, an intolerance to light, and headaches.
Prevention: Follow certain precautions like keeping a minimum distance of 25 inches from the screen.
Fix an antiglare screen on your monitor.
Take regular visual breaks lasting few minutes, at intervals of 20 minutes -- such as looking away from the screen for about a minute and then getting back to work. This will help your eyes focus better.
Blink your eyes several times so they are nourished with tears.
Use preservative-free re-wetting eye drops; these can be safely used even by those of you who wear contact lenses.
iii. Vision related headaches
Most of us have suffered from vision related headaches. These signal eyestrain and are usually caused by improper workplace conditions. Glare from the computer screen and poor lighting are some of the main culprits. Some of the main symptoms include headaches that occur mostly toward the front part of your head or forehead, and you finding yourself pressing the point between your eyes and upper part of your nose.
Prevention: If at home, have lemon tea. If at work, try a hot cup of tea, as it helps soothe headaches.
"The best thing is to get some rest for yourself and for your eyes," suggests Dr Belvi.
Published in Rediff.com, on January 13, 2006.
Link: http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2006/jan/13health.htm
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