General Tips Dry Eyes

Boil some water and cool down then add a pinch of salt and obtain either an eye wash cap or cotton wool and bathe infected eye or use eye wipes and dispose.
Use a cold/compress to cool eyes down if very itchy, sore, swollen and irritated or use warm (not hot) compress (help to stimulate tear production) or run warm water on a clean cloth and wring it out and place over a closed eye. Re-wet when it cools and repeat for five to ten minutes (be careful if your skin is sensitive to temperature change).
Use the warm compress method above when eyelid twitch begins.
Try to blink regularly; it helps to hydrate the eye.
Drink plenty of water.
Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake.
Try to avoid use of air conditioning, central heating and dusty environments
Try to avoid glaring, have regular breaks and plenty of sleep.
Omega 3 fatty helps prevent dry eyes.
Eat at least two portions a week or either tuna, mackerel, salmon, sardine, herrings if suitable.
Stop or cut down smoking
Check if have family history of eye conditions and let your medical doctor know
If irritation around eyes or on eye lids, one can use a paraffin base product or simple eye ointment.
Avoid rubbing eyes. Always wash your hands if you do touch your eyes.
Dispose your used tissues and do not share towels, pillow, flannels, and sunglasses.
Don’t wear eye makeup and dispose infected cosmetic products.
Use a humidifier at home and work. This will help to moisture the air. Have plenty of air circulate (open windows) and maintain a cool temperature.
Do not share eye drops.
Wear quality wraparound sunglasses with CE mark to protect your eyes.
Patient may get a taste of eye drops in mouth or failing that eye drops running back of the throat. This is normal as tears drain at back of nose. Eye drops may drain as well.

General Eye Vision

Limit alcohol intake, coffee, fizzy drinks and tea – they will dehydrate you.
Drink plenty of water.
Have regular eye examinations, especially if over 40 years old at least every two years.
Eat a healthy diet, low in unsaturated fats, high in fruit and vegetables.
Eat plenty of dark green leafy vegetables, kales, spinach, turnip tops, broccoli and carrots. These contain lots of nutrients that convert to Vitamin A.
Eat more Omega 3 fat products: tuna, mackerel, sardines, herring and salmon for good eye function. At least two portions weekly.
Do not smoke
Have regular check up with doctor/optometrist particularly if any eye conditions, blood pressure, weak immune system i.e. diabetes.
One should have routine eye tests at least every two years but if one has concerns one should book an eye test at any point
Persons over 40 years should have eye test at least every 2 years and you must tell drivers authority if it affects your driving

Exercise your eyes

Focus change

This exercise works by challenging your focus. It should be done from a seated position.

Hold your pointer finger a few inches away from your eye.
Focus on your finger.
Slowly move your finger away from your face, holding your focus.
Look away for a moment, into the distance.
Focus on your outstretched finger and slowly bring it back toward your eye.
Look away and focus on something in the distance.
Repeat three times.

Near and far focus

This is another focus exercise.
As with the previous one, it should be done from a seated position.
Hold your thumb about 10 inches from your face and focus on it for 15 seconds.
Find an object roughly 10 to 20 feet away, and focus on it for 15 seconds.
Return your focus to your thumb.
Repeat five times.

Figure eight

This exercise should be done from a seated position as well.
Pick a point on the floor about 10 feet in front of you and focus on it.
Trace an imaginary figure eight with your eyes.
Keep tracing for 30 seconds, then switch directions.

20-20-20 rule

Eye strain is a real problem for a lot of people. Human eyes are not supposed to be glued to a single object for extended periods of time. If you work at a computer all day, the 20-20-20 rule may help prevent digital eye strain.
To implement this rule, every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Vision therapy

Vision therapy may include eye exercises, but only as part of a more specialised treatment program done under the supervision of an eye doctor, optometrist, or ophthalmologist.
The goal of vision therapy can be to strengthen the eye muscles.
It also can help to retrain poor visual behaviour, or help with eye tracking issues.

Healthline : Medically reviewed by Ann Marie Griff, O.D. — Written by Corinne O’Keefe Osborn — Updated on September 29, 2018

Avoid eye injuries (wear protective goggles).
Keep physically active (choose exercise carefully, adopting head down position increases pressure in eyes).
If wearing lenses, always follow good hygiene routines as advised by your optician.
People wearing contact lens more than 5 days a week for longer than 12 hrs a day should see optometrist every six months.

Contact lens wearers

Wash and dry hands before using any lenses.
Clean, rinse and disinfect your lenses each time one remove’s them.
Keep all solutions bottles closed when not in use.
Clean your lens daily and le it air dry and replace every three months.
Always use solution by its expiry date on the bottle otherwise discard
Removes lens before one goes swimming.
See your optician regularly for general checkups.

Never:

Let soaps, cosmetics or other products touch your lenses.
Let the tip of the contact solution bottle touch any surface including the contact lens.
Re-use any lens solution.
Wear your lens in a harmful or irritating vapour and/or fumes environment.
Wear lens more than the time scale stated by manufacturer.
Swap or share contact lenses.

How to use eye drops

Wash hands before opening the bottle.
Bend head backwards and pull down lower eye lid.
Put one drop into the eye and blink few times so medication can spread over whole eye. (Avoid touching the tip of product to eye).
Close the eye for a few minutes;
Wipe away any excess on face.
If you need more than one drop wait a few minutes before putting next drop.
Make sure the tip doesn’t touch your fingers or any other surface to prevent contamination.
Ensure the cap is replaced and hands are washed before resuming activities.
The bottle should be closed and store in a dark cool place after use.
Eye drops must be sterile.
Read instructions carefully. Some eye drops need to be kept in fridge e.g. Chloramphenicol.
Throw away eye drops (used or not) four weeks after opening unless stated otherwise (write the date when first opened on bottle).

Natural treatments and tips (DR Axe)

Click on ‘DR Axe Co founder on ANCIENT NUTRITION’ to find out more about natural treatments, home remedies treatments and much more!

Simply type the symptom/condition in the search bar and read the informative treatments.
(please note Medtick is not responsible for the information on external websites)