Very many people these days work at a computer, which can impair vision. The computerisation of our world has reached such a level that we practically never part with electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets or, in fact, desktop and laptop computers. These can contribute to the appearance or worsening of eye diseases and defects.
How do you look after your eyesight?
Here are some good tips that are sure to help your eyes:
- Wykonuj regularne badanie dna oka z rozszerzeniem źrenic; możesz być przekonany, że z Twoimi oczami, z ich zdrowiem, wszystko jest w najlepszym porządku, ale jedynym sposobem na potwierdzenie tego przypuszczenia jest wizyta u okulisty. Bardzo często choroby takie jak jaskra, problemy cukrzycowe, czy zwyrodnieniowe (np. AMD), nie dają żadnych znaków świadczących o swoim występowaniu i powolnym rozwoju. Niejednokrotnie badanie z rozszerzeniem źrenic jest jedyną szansą na wczesne wykrycie takich chorób.
- Find out if there is a family history of eye disease and, if so, which diseases it was. This is important to find out if you are at increased risk of developing a disease due to the inheritance of a particular disease.
- Try to follow a healthy eating style. Eat plenty of green vegetables, fruit and fish, rich in omega-3 fats.
- Take care to maintain a healthy body weight. Being overweight increases the risk of diabetic and other problems that can lead to loss of vision.
- Wear safety goggles when participating in contact sports or when performing activities that may cause eye injury.
- Stop smoking / don't start smoking. Smoking cigarettes is very unhealthy for the whole body - including the eyes.
- Wear sunglasses bought from an optician, not at a stall - for £10.
- Try not to strain your eyes. If you spend a lot of time in front of the computer, try to look at objects in the distance from time to time. If you have the opportunity, look out of the window. Remember to blink when doing visual work - when you don't blink, the surface of your eyes gets very dry. Dry eyes cause burning, redness and a foreign body/sand feeling in the eyes and can lead to very unpleasant complications.
- Do not touch your eyes before washing your hands. Do not remove or insert contact lenses with dirty fingers. You can cause very dangerous eye infections.
- Learn good habits - use eye moisturising drops, don't swim in contact lenses, try to get an adequate amount of sleep per day if possible, make regular follow-up appointments with your eye care professional.
Electronic devices have a considerable impact on our eyes. It is worth pointing out that each monitor screen emits different types of radiation, we can distinguish:
- X-rays - X-rays that are emitted from the back of the monitor,
- ultraviolet - UV, which is emitted in negligible quantities,
- infrared - IR, which is also emitted by the back of the monitor,
- low-frequency - VLF, ELF, which, like the previous ones, is emitted through the back of the monitor.
Low-frequency radiation contributes to exacerbating defects, while infrared radiation causes eye diseases. Every monitor also emits blue light, which is particularly dangerous to the eyeballs. It is received in the eye by the light-sensitive cells of the retina and transmitted to the pineal gland. It can damage the retina and disrupt the body's secretion of melatonin, thus disrupting your diurnal cycle.
If you want to keep your eyes in good condition, you should first of all work at the right distance from the monitor, which should be around 60 cm. Regular breaks are also extremely important when working at the computer.
How do you look after your eyes?
Let us first look at the structure of the organ of vision. The eyeball consists of three layers: the outer fibrous membrane - the sclera and cornea; the middle vascular membrane - the iris, ciliary body, choroid; and the inner layer - the retina. The outer layer is formed by the sclera, which transitions into the transparent cornea at the front of the eyeball.
How do you look after your eyes when working at a computer? Having a visual impairment, contact lenses for computer work may not be the best idea. Eyeglasses with an anti-reflective coating to protect you from the adverse effects of blue light may be the best solution in this case.
Have regular eye examinations, protect your eyes from the harmful effects of the sun, avoid prolonged use of electronic devices, use moisturising drops, avoid smoking and excessive drinking of alcohol, provide your body with adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals and avoid extremes of temperature, smoke and other harmful external factors. This is essential to maintain good vision throughout your life and avoid serious health problems.
What regenerates the eyes?
By practising good eye hygiene, you can avoid unpleasant symptoms and enjoy good vision for a long time. Tired and red eyes will make it harder for you to focus and require more effort to see sharply. What is worth doing to take care of your eyes?
- When working at a computer, it is a good idea to take a short break at least once an hour and give your eyes a rest, and it is also worth remembering to choose contact lenses with an anti-reflective coating.
- Make soothing compresses from time to time, a very good one will be a skylight poultice, which has astringent properties, soothes irritation and helps to reduce swelling.
- Practising sport also has a great effect on your whole body, and it is well known that prevention is better than cure, so it is worth living a healthy life at all times. Exercise has a good effect on improving circulation and its flow to all organs, that is also the eye (optic nerve, retina).
- Do eye exercises, this reduces the feeling of tension and pain in the eyeballs, the muscles are relaxed and accommodation is improved.
- Massage your eyelids is a good way to cope with tired eyes, just close your eyes and massage your upper eyelids and then your lower eyelids in gentle circular motions.
Simple ways to protect your eyes!
How do you look after your eyes? If you have a visual impairment and use contact lenses, a good choice would be to use eye drops regularly to moisturise them properly, especially when working at a computer your eyes may be tired and contact lenses may not be a good option.
Remember to:
- when working at the computer, take 5-minute breaks every hour,
- take your eyes off the monitor and look away,
- The colour green is soothing, so it is worth focusing on this colour,
- spend as much time as possible outdoors, as this allows the body to be oxygenated, which benefits the whole organism,
- monitor the air humidity in the room, as too dry is not good for the eyeballs,
- only work in well-lit rooms,
- use food supplements containing vitamins such as D, A, C, E, zinc and selenium.
Our eyes do not have it easy in a digital world. So we need to use the equipment properly, so that one of the most valuable inventions of mankind does not turn against us. It is worth taking care of the comfort of our eyes. Regular eye examinations at the ophthalmologist's are extremely important for the early detection of any diseases or defects. If your visual acuity has deteriorated recently, do not delay, as this could be a significant alarm signal.
