Eye Health

The eye is truly the window to one's soul.

Symptoms of poor eye health can include swelling, vision changes, pain in the eye, sensitivity to light (photophobia), redness, drainage, excessive tearing, and vision changes.

Eye problems can be caused by a serious disease such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, infection such as pink eye, and retinal detachment.

Extreme pain, vision loss, or flashing lights in the visual field necessitate immediate medical intervision.

Certain medications can affect your vision. They include antihistamines, anticholinergics, high blood pressure pills, anti-seizure medications, medications for malaria, and many others.

Check your medications for any side effects to be sure that the problem is not caused my a medicine you are using to treat another health condition.

Any problem with the eye should never be ignored. Your sight is precious, and changes with your vision impact the quality of your life.

Professional help is always necessary.

Natural Cures for Eye Health:

To be able take care of our eyes and maintain good eyesight, there are several home remedies and natural cures that are available to maintain optimal eye health.

Melatonin:

Scientists report that melatonin might be helpful in eye health and in treating eye problems such as glaucoma and uveitis. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body that promotes sleep. It is available in supplement and tincture form and

Proper Diet:

We all know that Vitamin A is essential for eye health and good eyesight. Vitamin A deficiency leads to poor eyesight and even blindness.

There are several good sources of Vitamin A that you can incorporate in your daily diet.

Fresh leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale, cilantro, and spinach are just a few of them.

Sweet potatoes, turnip greens, squash and carrots have a really high amount of beta carotene which is converted in the body into retinol, or Vitamin A.

The importance of beta carotene from the diet cannot be overemphasized which is why there is even some research done to incorporate it into rice.

As many of you know, rice is a staple food in many countries in Asia. Incorporation of Vitamin A into the staple food would promote eye health and avoid vitamin A deficiency.

The product of this research is the so called "Golden Rice". Though this is not yet commercially available, other natural cures for Vitamin A deficiency are available such as the above-mentioned vegetables.

Multi Vitamins:

Though we all eat greens and carrots on a fairly regular basis, many of the essential vitamins and minerals are lost in the cooking and preparation of our food.

Even if we consume a proper diet, we can still have some vitamin deficiencies if our food is not prepared right.

This is the reason why daily intake of multivitamins has become a norm in our modern day routine and a home remedy for poor dietary intake of vitamins.

Vitamin A, Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium, etc. are only a few of the ingredients of multivitamin preparations.

Just make sure that you look at the amounts of the essential vitamins in the product you choose and see to it that it reaches the daily recommended dose for the each essential vitamin.

UV-Protected Eyewear:

Ultraviolet light is harmful to your skin as well as your eyes. It dries up your cornea which can cause tearing, eye pain, or blurring of vision.

For this reason, eye wear manufacturers have been making lenses that have UV screens to protect your eyes.

So aside from its fashion appeal, wearing a good pair of shades during winter or at the beach has its eye health benefits.

Adjust the Brightness of your Monitor:

This home remedy is common sense. In this internet age, many people spend long hours in front of the computer monitor.

Long durations in front of the computer can strain your eyes.

Adjusting the brightness of the monitor relative to the surroundings can prevent eye strain and further promote eye health.

Use Proper Lighting:

When you are reading, make sure to position your light source behind your head and with the appropriate brightness.

Improper positioning of your light source and reading in the dark can give you eye strain or even headaches.