Health Care and Vision

If you walk a lot, your legs get tired. If you lift a lot, your arms get tired. So it follows that if you stare at a computer screen all day, your eyes will get tired. Sore, dry eyes are symptoms of eyestrain, according to MyDailyMoments.com. But did you know eyestrain can also cause headaches? Throughout the day, make sure you close your eyes for a bit and look away from the screen. Above all, DON'T rub your already-parched eyes. If you need some soothing relief, choose eye drops with lubricating or anti-red properties.

According to Tifaq.org, visual problems, such as eyestrain and irritation, are among the most frequently reported complaints by people, especially by computer operators. These visual symptoms can result from improper lighting, glare from the screen, poor positioning of the screen itself, or copy material that is difficult to read. These problems usually can be corrected by adjusting the physical and environmental setting where the computer users work. For example, work stations and lighting can and should be arranged to avoid direct and reflected glare anywhere in the field of sight, from the display screen, or surrounding surfaces. You also can reduce eyestrain by taking vision breaks, which may include exercises to relax eye muscles after each hour or so of operating a computer. Changing focus is another way to give eye muscles a chance to relax. You only need to glance across the room, or out the window, from time to time and look at an object at least 20 feet away. Other eye exercises may include rolling or blinking the eyes, or closing them tightly for a few seconds. Inadequate vision can strain your posture as well as eyes -- have your eyes checked annually, you may need special glasses.

According to NaturalMedicine.com, wearing glasses in current society is just accepted as normal, although there are schools of thought that believe it is the problem and not the cure. TV, computer screens, and reading classroom chalkboards/displays, all contribute to weakened and stressed eyes. The muscles around the eyes get fixed in unhealthy patterns. The strain on the eye muscles makes it difficult for them to work properly, and eyesight suffers. The popular solution is wearing stronger glasses, which just weakens the eyes further. Compare it to using a wheelchair for the remainder of life because the leg muscles were overly exerted in running a race. It is obvious the wheelchair would just weaken the legs further, and the same goes for the eyes.

According to Tifaq.org, your vision is important, and eye strain in the work place can cause serious damage to your eyes. Here are a few tips to help your vision and to implement while focusing on your computer screen for long periods of time:
· Every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break, and look away 20 feet to give your eyes a rest.
· Remember to blink. Contact wearers blink less often than people without contacts. Blinking is critical to help lubricate the eyes.
· Keep your computer screen clean. This will help reduce strain on the eyes and protect your vision.
· Glare from your computer screen can cause unnecessary strain on the eyes, so use a high quality glare reduction filter for your screen.
· Reduce glare by proper lighting, cover windows, and make sure lights are behind or to the side of the screen.
· Even though you may have good vision, set the size of your font 3 times larger than the normal size. So if you use 12pt, then enlarge the font to 36pt, to help reduce eye strain while reading the information on the screen.
· Try to keep the lighting in your office at an even level. Contrasting light increases eye strain.
· To help vision, the monitor should be 20-30 inches from you, about arm’s length.
· If you notice the computer is bothering your vision, have eye exams regularly.
Proper care of your vision is very important and implementing these tips can save you from unnecessary eye strain.

Mental strain is the main cause of eyesight problems and ailments according to Helena Sanson on EzineArticles.com. If strain can be eliminated from the eyes, eye sight will improve naturally. Teaching the eyes to relax is an important factor in getting rid of vision problems. Unfortunately, outside stressors and strain cannot always be controlled. The only thing we can control is our reaction to outside sources, but those outside factors can really do a number on our eyes. There are a number of things each day that can cause us stress. Some are within our power to chance, but most are not. Financial problems, heartache, family problems, death, illness, or weather are some of the stressful factors we face in our lives. We may be able to chance a financial situation, heartache, or a family issue, but it's hard to control the weather or a death.

One thing you always have control of is thought patterns as reported by EzineArticles.com. If negative thoughts are keeping your down, you are the only one who can change that pattern of thought. Dealing with your negative thoughts can actually solve many of the problems we once though were out of our control. Thinking more positive will cause less strain in the family and eliminate those problems. Positive outlook on life can make you feel better and leave you less susceptible to disease and illness. It is human nature to look for outside sources and reasons for our own negative behavior. Often, there is the tendency to blame other people or the weather or the traffic for our negative thoughts. Although, these outside sources can initially make us angry or frustrated, we are the ones who decide to stay in the negative mind set. Negativity causes stress and strain in our lives and causes excess strain on the eyes. Take charge of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Take time to figure out why you are feeling so negative. What is it that is it keeping you upset or frustrated? What steps can you take to fix those problems and emotions? Once you figure out what is causing the emotions, fix it. Don't wait for others to come and fix it for you, you will be waiting a long time. Strain and stress is the main cause of eye ailments. Concentrate on positive thinking to increase health and reduce eye strain.

According to Reader's Digest, they are two of your most precious possessions, but chances are, you take your eyes for granted. Most of us do. But think for a second what life would be like without being able to gaze on your grandchild or your flower garden or even navigate the kitchen without incident. Prevent Blindness America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to vision issues, estimates that 50,000 people lose their sight needlessly every year and that 80 million Americans are at risk of eye diseases that can lead to low vision and even blindness. The good news: The most common diseases -- age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), cataracts, glaucoma, and dry eye disease -- are all preventable to some extent. The first step, if you smoke, is to stop. Smoking increases your risk of cataracts, glaucoma, dry eyes, and age-related macular degeneration.

Think back to some of the most wonderful, sights of your life. Is it the first time you laid eyes on your child? The shimmer of the sun on the ocean during a summer evening? Perhaps the outline of your home town coming into view after a long time away. It’s memories such as these that should motivate you to look after your eyes, and to help you find simple, inexpensive ways in which you can protect this precious sense of yours, according to NaturalMedicine.com.

Until next time. Let me know what you think.