Positive Care for Your Eyes
Is it true that reading in poor light can cause eye strain ?
No, You don't strain your eyes like you strain a muscle in your thigh or calf. Your eyes may feel tired when you read small print or do embroidery for long hours, especially in dim light.
In fact, however dim or distorted the image received by the eyes, it makes no difference to them - they just pass them to the brain to sort it out. So, if you're getting a headache from reading small print or sewing in bad light, it's not because of straining your eyes, but of tiring your brain, which struggles to sort out the bad quality of images it's receiving.
Tip: For that soreness you sometimes feel, just try blinking a few times. For extra lubrication cup your eyes with your hands or just shut them for a minute.
Short Sight and Long Sight
If you're short-sighted, it means that you can see nearby objects clearly, but have difficulty in focussing on distant objects. The reverse is true if you're long-sighted. Both these are quite common and result from differences in the shapes of eyeballs.
It is nothing to worry about and spectacles can correct the vision. By the time one reaches their twenties, eyes settle down for better of worse. After this eyes generally remain unchanged for the next 25 years.
What About Astigmatism?
This is another problem related to the slight distortion of the eye's shape. Here, the eyes are flattened, resulting in the image being slightly compressed, and thereby the object appears blurred. This too can be corrected by spectacles.
How often should you have an Eye Test?
It all depends on whether your eye is troubling you or not. For example, if the images on your TV screen seem blurred or you have difficulty in reading fine print, then you must see an eye specialist.
A test is recommended for school-going children since a child may not know that his sight is affected. And this could be resulting in poor scores at school. For adults in their forties, an eye test once in 18 months is recommended.
Does everyone's Eyesight worsen with age?
No, it depends on the individual. It's natural to find it hard to read small print, as you reach your fifties.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 26, 2006 03:57 PM