In this tech-driven world of ours, we often spend hours-on-end staring at computer screens and screens get smaller and smaller as we get into reading on Kindles, tablets and smart phones. And staring at the screens all day causes most of us some serious eyestrain, sometimes leading to headaches and other problems. Here, we take a look at five simple things to do when you’ve been staring at a screen a little too long to reduce and possibly avoid any signs of eyestrain at home or at the office.

Break Often

Not only is this a good overall suggestion for those of us who sit at a desk all day, but it particularly benefits your eyes. Taking as little as a 5-to-10 minute break every hour to stretch your legs, grab a glass of water and remove your eyes from your computer screen will help you decrease eye strain and give your mind a little refresher.

Eye Exercises

This might sound strange but simple looking away from the screen every 15 minutes or so and focusing on an object that’s far away will help your eyes tremendously. This exercise will also encourage blinking which gets your eyes wet and prevents dry eyes and particles from sitting on the eyes for too long.

Ergonomics For The Eyes

Believe it or not, ensuring your chair is at proper height with your desk is just as important to your eyes as it is for your back and arms. Purchase an antiglare screen for your computer as well which will help reduce the reflections on your computer screen. Making sure everything is adjusted according to your requirements goes a long way in improving eye strains.

Artificial Tears

Most people blind about 20 percent as often when they are staring at computer screens for extended periods of time. As a result, your eyes are drying out faster and this may lead to soreness and other problems. If you find that’s the case, purchasing over-the-counter artificial tears to help keep your eyes properly lubricated.

Eye Exams

One of the most, if not the most, important things you can do to treat eye strain is to visit your eyecare specialist and have your eyes examined on a regular basis. Having regular checkups will help to ensure your eyes are carefully being looked after, that no diseases are progressing too rapidly and that any issues are being addressed in a timely fashion. These are all important steps in ensuring healthy vision for years to come.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re seeing something in front of your eye, but there was nothing there, it is likely just a floater. Nothing to be alarmed about, floaters are not dangerous and are simply small pieces of tissue inside the eye. These small pieces of tissue are actually on the back of your eye, or inside, and when light hits shadows are created on the retina which result in you seeing something in front of you that isn’t there.

Floaters are a common occurrence as we get older. Typically, by the time you reach your 50s or 60s, you’ll have a few floaters of your own.

What Are Floaters?

Your eyeball contains what is called the vitreous humour (Latin meaning liquid) — a jello-like substance that holds your eye together. The older you get, the less solid this substance becomes, and sometimes, while still maintaining the eye together, it easily splits apart into clumps. And when the lighting conditions are just right, and you’re looking in the right direction, you might just be able to see some of these clumps that are happening behind-the-scenes so to speak.

Should I Worry?

Typically, no you shouldn’t worry if you see floaters. Having said that, once you start to see floaters, or if you notice the amount of floaters is increasing, it’s always a good idea to see your eye doctor. As a precaution, seeing your doctor will help to ensure you’re floaters aren’t causing any more serious damage and aren’t the result of any underlying issues as well, such as a tear in your retina.

Why Am I Seeing Floaters?

Though it’s generally a problem that occurs with aging, there are many reasons why people, young and old, might see floaters.

• If you have migraines
• If you are nearsighted
• If you had cataract surgery or other eye surgeries
• If you experience inflammation of the eyes
• If you are pregnant
• If you have had head and/or neck injuries,
• If you have a history of diabetes or other circulatory problems

How Do I Treat Floaters?

Floaters are not painful, and unless you see them, you won’t really know they are present. Sadly, there is no treatment, no medicine and no surgery to treat for floaters. Depending on the floaters you have, they do sometimes float to the bottom of the vitreous fluid at the bottom of the eye, making it harder for you to see them on a regular basis. If you find the floaters to be really bothersome, try moving your eyes quickly in all directions to try to move the floaters away from where you’ll see them. Remember that the vitreous fluid is a jello-like substance so by moving your eyes, you might move the floaters in another part of the vitreous and won’t be bothered again.

When Should I See My Eye Doctor?

You should see your eye doctor if you find you are seeing an increased number of floaters to make sure these additional floaters are not caused by a detached retina. By understand your vision health and the signs to look for, you’ll know when it’s time to contact your eyecare professional for an exam. But always feel comfortable to call your doctor if you’re unsure. They will gladly answer any questions you might have. After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

What you put into your body is vitally important to how healthy you are. Good diet can reduce the risk of heart attack, diabetes and cancer. The benefits of nutritious foods and beverages spread across every part of your body. You can help fight specific health problems by changing your diet. You can also try to eat and drink things to benefit a specific part of your body.

Eye health is important. What you eat and drink determines whether or not your eyes are getting the right nutrients to be healthy and strong. Drinking tea can give you antioxidants and nutrients. Some people drink tea because they love the taste. Others drink tea specifically because it’s good for them.

Here are some teas to drink that will benefit your eye health.

Green tea

Green tea is rich in antioxidants. These benefit your eyes as well as your overall health. The antioxidants in green tea are called catechins. These include vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein and zeaxanthin. They protect the eyes from glaucoma and other diseases. The catechins reach eye tissue and can have benefits there. The retinas absorb the most catechins. Japanese researchers found that rats exposed to green tea had healthier eyes.

Drinking green tea can reduce the effects of oxidative stress. The entire body including the eyes can experience the effects of oxidative stress. It happens when there is an imbalance between free radicals and other chemicals and the body’s ability to neutralize them with antioxidants. Damage can occur because of this imbalance. Oxidative stress is linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, heart failure, autism and chronic fatigue syndrome.

It can also cause damage to the eyes. The retina is a highly metabolically active. It consumes oxygen a lot of oxygen compared to other parts of the body. Oxidative stress can cause diseases like macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. These can result in blindness. Drinking teas rich in antioxidants can help combat this problem.

White tea

White tea is also rich in antioxidants that can benefit the eyes. It is made from the same plant as green tea but is picked earlier and processed differently. White tea is not fermented at all allowing it to keep all those rich antioxidants. Green tea is partially fermented and black tea is fully fermented. White teas are light in colour as the name suggests.

White teas usually have more antioxidants than green teas, as much as three times as many. Like green tea white tea can fight glaucoma and other eye diseases.

Oolong tea

There are many varieties of oolong tea. It is made from the same plant as green and white tea. Oolong tea is partially fermented. The varieties range in how fermented they are. Oolong tea contains antioxidants including catechins, thearubigin and theaflavin. These antioxidants help fight the harmful effects of free radicals.

Remember not to over do it with tea consumption. All things are good in moderation. If you consume too much of anything it can go from being beneficial to harmful.

Spring is the most common time for eye allergies to strike with pollen in the air and other seasonal allergens. Still eye allergies can strike any time of year and affect different people in different ways. Other things like dust from construction sites or dust mites can cause general eye allergies. Regardless of what time of year it is allergies can be an inconvenient and painful.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of eye allergies are itching, redness, burning and watering eyes. Some will also experience dark circles under the eyes, puffy eyelids, sensitivity to bright lights and mucus.

Eye allergies will sometimes be accompanied by more general allergic symptoms like sneezing, sniffling and nasal discomfort depending on the type of allergy you have. Fever may also occur. Symptoms can range from mild to severe.

If the eyes are itchy it is best not to rub the eyes as this may worsen symptoms, hurt the eyes, introduce germs or cause infection.

Seasonal allergens

Seasonal allergens are most common in the spring, summer and fall when plants are producing pollen and there is other plant material in the air. For many these are regular allergies that come every season. During these times you avoid areas with plants that you know you are allergic to and keep windows closed to avoid letting pollen in.

Indoor allergens

There can be sources of allergens within your home that should be investigated if you are experiencing eye allergies especially outside the normal seasonal periods.

• Pet Dander

Pet dander is one source of allergies in the home. If you have been near a pet or recently acquired a pet and begin to experience allergies you may be allergic to it. Make sure to minimize your exposure to pets and to get breeds you are not allergic to if you still wish to own a pet.

• Dust Mites

Dust mites can also cause allergies. They are small bugs that often live in homes and other spaces inhabited by humans. They find on organic detritus like the skin humans shed. They are most commonly found in bedrooms and mattresses. Dust mites produce digestive enzymes, which along with their exoskeleton are the main source of these allergies.

It is easy to take steps to reduce the effect of dust mites. They can’t survive in dry and cool places and are usually at their worst during the summer months. Cover your mattress and pillows in airtight plastic dust mite covers. Buy polyester pillows. Wash your bedding in hot water to kill dust mites.

• Mould

Mould is a common and problematic indoor allergen. It grows in wet places in the home so watch for signs of leaks or water build up. In some cases mould spores cause allergies in others mould can produce toxic spores. If you suspect that your home has a mould problem bring in a professional to take a look.

Eye irritants

Cigarette smoke, dust, perfume and air pollution can irritate your eyes and spark allergic symptoms. If your eyes are suddenly irritated think about potential irritants they may have been exposed to and avoid these in the future. Some irritants like air pollution are a part of life in certain places while others can be avoided and minimized.

Treatment

There are a range of non-prescription allergy treatments that can be taken in the short term to reduce the symptoms of allergies including artificial tears, eye drops and general antihistamines sold in pill form. The oral antihistamines can cause tiredness and may dry your eyes out.

If you have persistent and problematic allergies see an eye doctor or allergist about the problems. They can offer you prescription options including eye drops, allergy shots and oral antihistamines.

If there are irritants like dust, smoke or allergens like pollen in the air you can wear goggles, sunglasses or glasses to minimize exposure to your eyes. Minimize indoor allergens in your home and workplace. Minimize exposure to eye irritants.

Seeing an eye doctor can also rule out less common causes of these symptoms like a parasitic infection.

An eye examination is very important because the eyes can tell the doctor what is going on in the human body even before other body organs begin to send out distress signals or before it is too late. Some professionals hold the eye examination with as much regard as a physical examination when it comes to determining the health of an individual. When your doctor starts to look at your eyes even when your vision has never been better, just know that he or she is looking for other health conditions that may be in their developmental stages.

Here are conditions that the eye doctor is likely to discover first if you visit him or her regularly:

1.       Thyroid disease – Graves’ disease or Thyroid disease results from a disorder of the immune system where the thyroid hormone is overproduced. A doctor will look at you and if he or she establishes that the protruding eyeballs are not normal, then he or she can assist in finding the correct course of treatment

2.       Diabetes – When a doctor looks at your eyes and discovers leaky blood vessels in the retina, then he or she will know that you are developing a condition called diabetic retinopathy. This form of bleeding is a symptom of type 2 diabetes. If an individual does not seek treatment for this condition, he or she can become blind. However, proper management of the condition will reduce the negative risks by up to 50%.

3.       Tumors – A tumor developing in any part of the body is never a pleasant thing, especially if it is cancerous. When a doctor looks at your eyes and discovers that your eyelids have an irregular shape or if they are drooping, this may be a sign of tumour development. Furthermore, if the field of vision of an individual keeps changing, then there are chances that an individual has a brain tumor.

4.       Hypertension – When a doctor looks at your eyes and discovers that the blood vessels have kinks, bends, or tears, he or she will immediately test you for high blood pressure. High blood pressure will damage an individual’s blood vessels and even cause someone to suffer a stroke, a heart attack, and other heart diseases.

5.       Autoimmune disorders – An autoimmune disorder is a condition that results from the immune system being either too active or remaining abnormally inactive. When the doctor looks at the eyes and discovers some inflammations, then he or she will proceed to test the likelihood of an autoimmune disease such as Lupus.

6.       Cancer – The eyes can show that a patient is suffering from cancer, and this early detection can save someone’s life. When a doctor notices that the structure of the eye is abnormal, most likely he or she will refer you to a skin cancer specialist. Furthermore, if the specialist discovers the presence of basal cell carcinomas on the eyelids, the condition is about to get very serious because it can spread to the brain and even become life threatening.

7.       High cholesterol – It is very important to have a healthy cholesterol intake to allow the body to continue in the creation of new and healthy cells; however, when cholesterol is too high it can lead to serious heart diseases. A doctor will detect that you have high cholesterol by looking at your eyes and discovering a yellowish ring on the cornea, or detect a yellowish appearance on the same.