| |
| Your Eye and Its Care |
| |
Sight is one of the most wonderful gifts that God has given to us. Most of us take this gift for granted and ignore the fact that the eye is one of the most complex and sensitive organs of our body.
How does an Eye Function
The best way to understand function of the eye is to compare it to a camera. Just like a camera creates images by focusing on an object and allowing specific amounts of light to pass through a hole to create a visual impression on film, the eye functions in much the same way.
 When light enters the eye, it passes through the cornea, which transmits the light on to the pupil. The light then passes through the pupil (similar to the aperture in a camera) adjusts the amount of light that is allowed to enter. The remaining 1/3 of focus is then achieved when the light passes through the lens (camera lens).
The shape of the lens alters itself by adjusting the eye muscles to achieve the desired focus. The focused light finally reaches the retina, which one can equate to a camera film. It is in the retina, where the image is converted into electrical systems, which are then sent to the brain. The brain interprets these signals into what we know as sight.
What are Refractive Errors
Changes in the shape and/or size of your eyes can cause situations that affect the way you see things that are nearby or far away. These conditions are referred to as refractive errors. Various types of refractive errors can occur, which are classified as: Myopia (nearsightedness), Hypermetropia (farsightedness), Astigmatism and Presbyopia.
 In a normal person (emmetropia) refraction occurs at cornea and lens ans the rays of light come to focus on retina without any extra effort to focus.
Myopia or nearsightedness is very common, and starts affecting people at a young age itself.
It is a condition in which people have difficulties seeing objects in the distance, but may have no problems focusing on objects that are up close. They need to use minus lens to she clearly.
There is tendency of the number to increase with age and usually it stabilizes by age of 20 years. Myopia occurs when the eyeball is too long or the cornea is too steep (curved). When rays of light enter a myopic (long) eyeball, they are focused in front of the retina instead of directly on the retina. Symptoms of nearsightedness can include eyestrain, blurred vision or headaches.
 Hypermetropia or farsightedness is also common. In this condition people have difficulty in focusing at near but can see objects at far distance clearly. Hypermetropia occurs when the eyeball is too short or the cornea is too flat. When rays of light enter a hyperopic (short) eyeball, they are focused behind the retina. Because of this, the focusing apparatus in the eye must work constantly to make up for the problem and focus images. Symptoms of farsightedness can include eyestrain, blurred vision, or headache (especially when reading or at the end of the day). Symptoms can increase after long working hours. They need plus lens to see clearly. This glass number has tendency to increase with age.
Astigmatism means that the cornea is oval like a football instead of spherical like a cricket ball. Most astigmatic corneas have two curves – a steeper curve and a flatter curve. This causes light to focus on more than one point in the eye, resulting in blurred vision at distance or near. Astigmatism often occurs along with nearsightedness or farsightedness. The patient having astigmatism have tendency to squeeze the eyes to see the things clearly.
Presbyopia is a condition in which focusing for near objects as reduced. It generally affects people over the age of 40. Presbyopia is generally believed to stem from a gradual loss of flexibility in the natural lens inside our eye. The eye’s lens stiffens with age, so it is less able to focus when you view something up close. The result is blurred near vision. There is a need to wear reading glasses for this.
Medical technology has advanced rapidly and now a variety of solutions are available to treat these various eye conditions. From simple spectacles to modern contact lenses and further on to advanced LASER surgeries, people now have corrective options to suit every condition and budget.
What care one should take to keep eyes healthy?
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
|
Always wear ultraviolet blocking sunglasses, when out side. UV 400 blocking in glasses protects the eyes from macular degeneration and cataracts.
Be sure to get regular eye examinations.
Good Diet: Diet rich in vitamin A like carrots, papaya, green leafy vegetables, milk, almonds and fish is important.
Good relaxation: Computer users should take breaks in their busy schedules to relax their eye muscles.
Good illumination: While reading and working on computers one should have good illumination.
Good Optical aids: One should ware proper optical aids (glasses) as per eye specialist’s recommendations. They should be scratch free and clean to avoid eye strain.
|
| Just a proper care while doing day-to-day activities will keep your eyes healthy in long run! |
| |
| |
|
