Different Eye Colors?

Heterochromia is when a person has different colors in their eyes. Eye color is dependent on the amount of melanin in our irises. It usually occurs when one part of the iris, or the whole iris has a different level of melanin to the rest of the iris or other eye’s iris. When you have more melanin your eyes will be darker. People with less melanin in their eyes will have blue irises and people with more melanin have brown irises. People are either born with heterochromia or they develop it in early childhood days. If heterochromia is developed later in life, that would be concerning and would be encouraged to get a full check up with an optometrist. 

Don’t Forget to Drink Water!

We already know drinking water is essential to remain healthy. Being well hydrated can affect our eye health too, for our eyes to stay healthy and comfortable they would need to be well hydrated with a good balance of tear film. Our eyes’ tear film has 3 different components which are a watery layer, oily layer, and mucus layer. If you are not drinking enough water to stay hydrated, your tear film won’t be balanced. The tear film is the aqueous layer which is composed of water. It is important that the 3 parts of your tear film are balanced so that way you are free from dry eye disease symptoms.

Add These Foods to Your Meals

There are many foods that could help with your vision. For example:

• Raw red peppers: Brightly colored peppers pack eye-friendly vitamins A and E. They also give the most vitamin C per calorie which is good for the blood vessels in your eyes and it could also lower your risk of getting cataracts.
• Sunflower seeds and nuts: Seeds and nuts contain vitamin E that can help slow age-related macular degeneration from getting worse and it may also prevent cataracts.
• Dark, leafy greens: Kale, spinach and collard greens have vitamins C and E. They also have carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. These plant based forms of vitamin A lower your risk of long term eye diseases.
• Salmon: Our retinas need two types of omega-3 fatty acids to work, DHA and EPA. Both of those can be found in fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, trout and other seafood. Omega-3’s also seem to protect your eyes from age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Eyesight Changes During Pregnancy

A woman’s body already goes through some big changes. Eyesight is one, it is affected by changes to metabolism, hormones, fluid retention, and the cardiovascular system. Blurry vision could be caused during pregnancy because fluid retention in the eyes can increase pressure in the eyeball, resulting in a thicker cornea. Some other changes other than blurred vision are dry eyes, puffy eyelids, flashing lights, spots or unusual floaters, or loss of vision. If you do lose your eyesight even just temporarily, it’s important to seek medical attention. 

Why Are People With Light Colored Eyes More Sensitive to Light?

The answer is they have less melanin than brown eyes do. The melanin helps protect the retina from UV damage and blue light, blue eyes are at higher risk of developing UV-related eye damage. Light eyes such as blue, green or gray are more sensitive to sunlight. Even though light colored eyes are more sensitive to sunlight that does not mean they are more sensitive to vision. Blue eyes have better visual acuity than brown eyes which means people with blue eyes can see small details more clearly. 

Blood Clot In The Eye

Blood clot in the eye might freak you out a bit, but it is rarely a medical issue. Just by a strong sneeze or cough, a blood vessel in the eye can burst or even increased blood pressure may also cause these blood spots to appear on the eye. It causes conjunctiva when a tiny blood artery bursts just below your eye’s clear surface. It is usually a harmless condition that goes away in 2 weeks, but if it does not consult your doctor.

Red spot can be caused by:

• Sneezing 
• Coughing 
• Vomiting
• Excessive physical effort
• Damage to the eye (trauma)
• Irritability or allergic responses
• Rubbing one’s eye vigorously
• Excessive straining while using the restroom
• Use of contact lenses

Dilated Pupils

Dilated pupils are the area in the center of the black part of the eyes, that is known as the pupil. It gets bigger if your pupils are dilated. Each eye’s pupil is the same size, the size of your pupils can alter how much light enters your eye. This means that the iris, which is the dark-colored part around the pupil, has small muscles that regulate pupil size. Pupils enlarge when it is dark to let more light in and pupils shirk in bright light to block light. 

Having dilated pupils isn’t anything to be concerned about, but if you notice one pupil is larger than the other one and you experience vertigo, headache, confusion or difficulty balancing it may be a sign of a severe condition.

Red Eyes After Swimming

After being in the pool for a while, your eyes could look red and irriating. Many will say it’s the high chlorine concentration, but red irritated eyes are caused by sweat and urine in the water according to the CDC. In order to remove bacteria, swimming pools are cleaned with chlorine. If you wear contacts it’s highly recommended to not wear any if your vision allows you to swim safely. If you do decide to swim with your contacts in, make sure to cover them with goggles and throw away the lenses if they get wet. 

Your Heart & Eyes

It’s amazing how the eyes can tell emotions and illnesses. Looking into the inner parts of your eyes may be able to identify other abnormalities that indicate diseases of the heart and of the blood vessels. Narrowing blood vessels, swelling, microaneurysms, and leaking of fluid from blood vessels may indicate complications from diabetes and high blood pressure. When retinal blood vessels either to or from the heart are clogged by blood clots, inflammatory cells, or fatty deposits, a “stroke in the eye” can occur. The heart delivers oxygen and essential nutrients to the different parts of the body. Any problem that occurs with how the heart is functioning will affect the functioning of the eyes. Make sure to stay up to date with your eye exams, early signs of heart disease may manifest in the eyes before any other organ. 

Do Not Sleep With Contacts!

Many of us wear contacts and accidentally fall asleep with them in. That could be very dangerous for your eyes, could develop infections and possible vision loss. In order for your eyes to remain healthy and appear white your eyes require oxygen. You may also scratch the lining of your eyelid and get dry eyes, your eyelids may also stick to your cornea if you have dry eyes. Once you wake up and try to open your eyes, you may rip off some of your cornea’s epithelium which leads to corneal abrasion and pain. Protect your eyes and take your contact lenses out before falling asleep.