Tanning Beds: What's the Cost to Your Vision?

Now that summer is officially here, many people are starting to work on their perfect summer tan. There’s no doubt a nice tan is a bonus in the summer months, and thanks to tanning beds you can now get that sun-kissed glow year-round.

Much has been made of the damage tanning beds can do to your skin, but what about your eyes? How does the intense UV light affect your sight both short-term and long-term?

Unfortunately, the tanning goggles or one-time-use eye stickers you can get from a tanning salon do not offer you total protection from the harm of UV light damage. In reality, it’s best to avoid tanning at all—for both the health and safety of your skin and your eyes.

Not only can UV light contribute to the development of cataracts, but it can also cause skin cancer and ocular melanoma.  Macular degeneration has also been linked to UV light exposure. Oftentimes these long-term effects may not show up until much later in life, when it’s too late to undo the damage.

Photokeratitis is a short-term example of damage from UV light. Photokeratitis is essentially a sunburn on the cornea of your eye (one of the most integral parts of your eye). While only temporary, photokeratitis can be painful, cause swelling to the eye, and even result in blurred vision.

The implications of UV damage to vision are not relegated to only the outdoors. The strong UV light from tanning beds can be even more damaging because of the high concentration of UV exposure. For this reason, our practice recommends you avoid tanning beds. It's a smart choice to make because your eyes will be much less susceptible to the UV light-related conditions we discussed today.

Amazing Facts About The Human Eye: An Infographic

The human eye is a fascinating organ--that's why this week we're sharing a nifty infographic full of amazing facts about the eye. Enjoy!

 

What to do When Something Gets in Your Eye

Everyone’s been through this situation: One minute you’re going about life as happy as a clam, but then suddenly you feel something in your eye. It’s an unpleasant feeling, and your first instinct is to rub your eye to try to remedy the situation—we’re here to tell you, do not rub your eye!

You can harm yourself by rubbing your eye. Rubbing only irritates your eye more and increases the risk of dragging the object across your eye and scratching its surface. This is a painful injury because the cornea of your eye (the clear portion of your eye that contains the iris and pupil) contains a lot of nerve endings and is very sensitive. What’s more, you can also imbed objects into your eye when you rub it.

In lieu of rubbing out the offending object, here’s what you should do when you get something in your eye:

Try blinking your eye quickly. This can easily dislodge and dirt or debris that may have entered it.

Have someone else look at your eye to determine the location of the foreign body and whether it can be easily removed.

Use artificial tears or saline fluid to try to flush the object out of your eye.

Pull your upper eye lid down and out over your lower lid and then let it slide back. This simple trick can often help dislodge an object.

If you’ve already done the deed of rubbing your eye and you’re experiencing pain, please contact our office immediately. Our doctor will check for any scratches or embedded particles in your eye and effectively treat your case.

How You Can Beat Digital Screen Fatigue

When was the last time you looked at a device screen? Chances are you’re doing it right now. In today’s world, people spend hours in front of their computers and mobile devices. While being a part of a connected world has its benefits, it also has one sneaky drawback. You might not even realize it, but all of that time spent looking at a screen may be causing you eyestrain.

Eyestrain can happen when your eyes become tired from overuse.
So while it’s easy to blame electronic devices for this annoying condition, it’s not the only contributing factor. Some people experience eyestrain after driving for extended periods of time, reading non-digital books for long hours, being exposed to bright light or glare, or straining to see in dimly-lit areas.

At the top of the list, though, is computer eyestrain. Because it’s the most common cause of eyestrain, it actually has its own diagnosis: computer vision syndrome. Underlying conditions such as an eye muscle imbalance or uncorrected vision can cause or worsen a case of computer vision syndrome.

So what can you do to counteract this common ailment? The steps are quite simple.

User proper lighting. As a rule of thumb, your ambient light should be almost half as bright as what’s used in most office settings. You can reduce that light by closing shades or blinds, turning off overhead fluorescent lights, and using floor lamps.

Reduce glare. From screen glare to reflective walls and surfaces, you want to create an environment where bright light is reduced. Glasses with anti-reflective coating can help minimize glare by reducing the amount of light that reflects off your lenses.

Upgrade your monitor. If you sit at a computer for work and still use an old CRT monitor, it’s time to move to a flat-panel LCD. LCD screens aren’t as harsh on your eyes--they don’t “flicker” images like bulky CRT monitors.

Give your eyes a break. To prevent dryness and irritation, you should blink while looking at electronic screens. Every 20 minutes, you should try to take a break to blink 10 times. This will properly rehydrate your eyes and help prevent fatigue. You can also exercise your eyes to offset focus-related fatigue. Do this by following the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes you should look away from your screen and gaze at a distant object for at least 20 seconds.  

The Correct Way to Use Eye Drops

When you’re trying to combat dry eye, eye allergies, or eye infections, it’s likely you’ll use some sort of over-the-counter or prescribed eye drop solution to treat your ailment. To properly use the drops, you should follow the steps below.

1. Wash your hands—this will prevent new bacteria from getting into your eye.
2. Tilt your head back and look at the ceiling.
3. Gently pull your lower eyelid down so that it forms a small pocket.
4. Turn your eye drop solution bottle upside-down and squeeze its bottom to release a single drop into your eye. If you missed your eye on the first try, go ahead and squeeze a second drop. (It’s important that you don’t touch your eye or eyelid with the nozzle of the bottle.)
5. Release your lower eyelid and gently close your eye for 30 seconds. Dab any excess medication with a tissue.
6. If you need to apply another type of eye drop medication, make sure you wait 3 to 5 minutes before doing so. This lets you get the maximum effect from each medication.
7. When you’re done, immediately put the cap back on your eye drop solution.

There are some other things to keep in mind when it comes to eye drops. First, don’t share your medication with others, as you can easily spread infections. And if you need to use an eye drop as well as an ointment for treatment, always use your eye drops first and wait five minutes to apply the ointment. If you wear contact lenses, you’ll need to stop wearing your lenses until your treatment is finished or follow your eye doctor’s instructions.

And finally, some eye drops can enter the blood stream very quickly and cause side effects. To counteract this, you can slow the eye drop absorption by pressing your index finger where your lower lid meets your nose.