BEWARE THE “HARMLESS” TOUCH…

How many times a day do you rub your eyes?

Most of us do it often enough that we might not even notice it every time it happens. Whether we’re tired, our eyes are dry or itchy, or we get something stuck in one of them. Rubbing them is a quick and easy way to make them feel better, but you are harming them. Every time we rub our eyes, we contaminate them with germs from our fingers, including viruses.

Many different micro-organisms live on our skin, making up an ecosystem called “skin flora.” Some micro-organisms are harmless, while others may cause infections leading to diseases if they breach the skin barrier. The eyes are a vulnerable entry point for such germs and viruses. Our hands pick up these from everything we touch. Most of these germs stay trapped under our fingernails, where they can breed and spread to other surfaces, including the eyes.

How do our eyes defend themselves?

Fortunately, our eyes are not entirely without their defense. Our eyelashes keep out irritants, and blinking helps with that too. We also have the tear film, a three-layer drainage system that protects the cornea from debris and germs that can reach the surface. The trouble with rubbing our eyes is the risk of causing injuries to the cornea that give germs the opening they need to get inside.

How can we protect our eyes from germs?

We cannot always avoid touching our eyes, especially those who wear contact lenses. It is best to keep the contact to a minimum and thoroughly wash our hands with soap before touching them. We should also keep our fingernails trimmed to minimize the ability of germs to hide under them. Germs under fingernails are the main reason medical professionals wear gloves when working with patients! Getting rid of them is hard. In addition, this concern applies to fake nails as much as real ones.

Contact Us With your Eye Infection Concerns

When you experience itchiness, redness, tenderness, watering, or burning in your eyes, you may have an eye infection. Please get in touch with us and get an appointment so we can make sure it’s not something worse. In the meantime, resist rubbing your eyes.

Blinking helps the health and function of our eyes

Have you ever counted the number of times you blink in one minute? On average, adults blink between ten and twenty times per minute, and each blink lasts just one-tenth of a second.

We blink to keep our eyes clean and fresh

Tears are like the “windshield wipers” of our eyes. With every blink, our eyelids spread fresh layers of tears across the surface of our eyes. It keeps them from drying out and brushes away tiny irritants like dust and dirt that might interfere with our vision.

Focusing hard? You might be blinking less.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re concentrating hard on something like a book, show, game, or project, you are blinking less than the usual? We tend to blink as few as three times per minute. It is much lesser in frequency. The longer we go without blinking often, the more it can compound the problems like dry eye and eye strain.

Train yourself to blink more

If infrequent blinking leads to eye trouble for you, especially when doing activities that require intense concentration, making a conscious effort to blink more could help. Work on making it a habit to close your eyes when thinking or performing tasks you don’t need your vision. Setting reminders to do a few blinking exercises each hour can help.

One good exercise we can do to keep our eyes feeling fresh is to close them, pause for a moment, squeeze our eyelids, and then open our eyes again.

If you are experiencing eye strain or dry eye and blinking exercises that aren’t helping, call us to get an appointment!

 

 

Frequent headaches could be a symptom of an uncorrected vision problem

If you experience frequent headaches, it is better to schedule an eye examination. Not every headache is related to vision problems, and not all untreated vision problems result in headaches, but the connection between the two is significant.

Eye strain and headaches

Thanks to modern technology, especially during the enforced lockdowns due to Covid 19, we have been spending long hours in a day on our devices. Viewing these bright screens without a gap can compromise eye care. Typical symptoms include blurred vision, tired and aching eyes, difficulty focusing, and frequent headaches.

Eye strain does not have to come from screens. It can be due to farsightedness (hyperopia), age-related farsightedness (presbyopia), or astigmatism. This strain occurs because it tries to compensate for your vision. In the case of astigmatism, the shape of the cornea is abnormal, so it bends light in ways it should not, leading to an excess of squinting. That alone can sometimes contribute to headaches.

With hyperopia and presbyopia, the eyes lens focuses images a little behind the retina instead of right against it, making nearby objects look blurry. Therefore attempting to read small print under such conditions gives you a headache. As we age, our eyes lenses become less flexible. It also happens to people who may not need eyeglasses during their younger days.

Eye problems can be a headache for kids too

Like adults, children with undiagnosed vision problems are prone to frequent headaches. It is one main reason children should undergo a comprehensive eye examination with a competent ophthalmologist, in addition to the standard screening at school.

The wonders of a correct prescription

Most people who experience headaches due to vision problems need an updated prescription for their eyeglasses or contact lenses. Wearing the new corrected lens can drastically relieve headaches!

When headaches cause sight-threatening conditions

The connection between eyes and headaches is not always as simple as an outdated prescription. Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes high pressure to the optic nerve resulting in permanent loss of eye vision. Headaches and cataracts can also cause similar losses. Cataracts develop as the proteins in the lens clump together, clouding the eye’s vision. Regular eye examinations are essential for detecting sight-threatening conditions early on.

An Eye Exam Is No Headache!

We may have a busy schedule every day, and allocating time for an eye exam appointment is worth it. Especially for anyone suffering from frequent headaches and not knowing their cause. Why not cross-eye problems off the list of possible causes by scheduling your next eye exam?