High Eye Pressure

High eye pressure is also known as ocular hypertension, it refers to any situation in which the pressure inside the eye is higher than usual. This does not necessarily mean it is a disease, but it would be important to be on the look out for the onset of glaucoma which is referred to as a “glaucoma suspect”. The causes of high eye pressure is an imbalance in the production and drainage of the aqueous humor which is the fluid in the eye, post-menopausal women could be at a higher risk of ocular hypertension and people older than 40 are at risk of developing ocular hypertension and primary open-angle glaucoma.

Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma is a kind of pediatric cancer affecting the eye’s retina. It usually occurs in children under 5 years of age. The retina has layers of cells that detect light and transmit data to your brain, this is found at the back of the eye and helps in visualization. There is a combination of therapies required for the successful treatment of Retinoblastoma, and if it is detected and treated timely, the child can have a tumor-free life. Some of the therapies include Cryotherapy, chemotherapy, radiation and surgery if required. Symptoms for Retinoblastoma include a squint in the eye followed by redness, pain, poor vision, etc. The most common symptom parents notice is the white reflux which is also called the cat’s eye reflux.

Eye Floaters

When you have spots in your eyes, they are called eye floaters. Once you move your eyes, they could appear as black or grey specks, strings or cobwebs that move around and seem to dart away when you glance at them directly. Eye floaters usually start to occur when the liquid vitreous (the jelly-like substance inside your eyes) becomes more prominent, which majority of eye floaters are age-related. There are different types of eye floaters, cloud-like, ring shaped, fibrous strand, squiggly, cobweb and some floaters could also be transparent, somewhat shadowed, or virtually black.

Your eye doctor will identify eye floaters during a eye checkup. Your eye doctor will dilate your eyes so that they can see inside of your eye clearly, this will help check your retina and find any floaters. Sometimes treatment isn’t necessary if the person is generally healthy, but if the person is experiencing sudden increase in floaters, they should visit an ophthalmologist immediately and get a dilated retinal examination.

Yellow Eyes

When we see yellow eyes the first thing that comes to mind is jaundice. Jaundice is when your eyes’, sclera or whites, frequently turn yellow. Sometimes yellow eyes can occur by medication or specific medical conditions. The white of the eye should always be white, if this area of your eye is red or discolored it is essential to consult an ophthalmologist so they can figure out the cause. Jaundice can affect newborns, kids and adults, while the causes vary depending on age group. It isn’t a separate disease, jaundice yellow eyes can be an indicative sign of a diseased liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts. If the type of jaundice is identified, specific yellow eye causes can be located and classified.

Home Remedies for Eye Irritation

There are many different ways to cure eye irritation for different eye problems. If you have swollen eyes from a stye. allergy or just inflamed eyelids, the home remedies you should try are eye compress twice daily for 15-20 minutes each time, wash your eyes and eyelids gently 2-3 times a day, apply cucumber, and lastly the most effective use tea bags as caffeine is believed to penetrate the skin and cure swelling and puffiness. For eye irritation and redness that could be caused by blepharitis, an injury, allergy, conjunctivitis, glaucoma, and dry eye using a cool compress on your eyes and using artificial tears could help cure that. Sore eyes are often caused after using digital devices, direct exposure to the sun, smoke, rubbing the eyes, swimming in water containing chlorine or dehydration. To cure your eye pain, mixing fresh aloe vera gel in a small amount of water soaked in cotton pads to put on your eyes will ease the pain since Aloe vera has anti-inflammatory properties. Dry eyes could be caused by ageing, desensitivity of the corneal nerves, reaction of medications, medical issues or exposure to a windy dusty city. The home remedies to try for dry eyes are to consider having a more nutritious diet rich in proteins, vitamins and fibers and using eye drops. Lastly, avoid smoke, try to bring a change into the environment and avoid being around any smoke. Avoid going into polluted area and use protective glasses.

Clean Your Eyeglasses!

You can strain your eyes if you have dirty glasses. When straining your eyes you could get all sorts of uncomfortable side effects like headaches, itchy or burning eyes. Be sure to properly clean your glasses: wash your hands, rinse glasses, wash lenses with a eyeglass solution or even a drop of lotion-free dishwashing liquid on each lens and gently lather it on the lenses with your fingertips for a few seconds then rinse again, lastly dry hands with a clean towel then dry the glasses with a microfiber cloth. Avoid cleaning your glasses with the “clean” edge of your shirt, Windex, rubbing alcohol, cleaning products with harsh chemicals or any type of Kleenex or paper towels. 

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.