Page 35 - Seniors Today - April Issue

chronic conjunctivitis. This leads to mucus
formation and a mild sticky discharge early
in the morning and sometimes throughout
the day. It is always better to wash one’s
hands in case one wants to touch the eyes.
Also do not touch the eyes after using a
sanitiser or after touching a mask. If one
has used the two most unclean items, i.e.
the keyboard or the phone, or after using
a phone or iPad screen shared by various
family members, then hand hygiene is
imperative. One should ideally clean the
surface before somebody else uses it.
5. Moving the eyes as prescribed in the
yogic ‘traatak’, by moving them up, down,
left and right two or three times. The
eyes are anyway moving in all directions
thousands of times in a day. Doing it twice
more is not going to make a difference.
However, it can be done if it makes the yoga
teacher happy!
6. While sitting on the computer or phone,
keep the ceiling fan off. Because the ceiling
fan can cause a lot of watering while staring
at screens. Staring leads to the eye’s blink
rate dropping by 80-85% because in the
real world humans only stare when one has
Staring reduces the blink rate and natural lubrication,
so if you’re going to sit for hours at computers and other
gadgets, then it is better to use a lubricating eye drop
before starting
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #22 | APRIL 2021
Our tears have isoenzymes that fight infection naturally
to aim at a kill. So nature will not allow you
to blink. So if you’re going to sit for hours
on all these gadgets, then it is better to
use a lubricating eye drop before starting.
Also of importance is to take frequent
breaks for the neck and back. We also
recommend the use of anti-fatigue glasses
for those who are younger to avoid rapidly
changing spectacle powers from eye strain.
For the elder age group it is important to
do near work with a separate pair of near
spectacles, not with bifocal or progressive
glasses. Progressive and bifocal glasses
have near power at the bottom of the frame.
The eyes need to be looking down for too
long non-stop, which is not something very
natural. It causes headache and strain. It is
always better to use separate glasses for 15
minutes or longer of non-stop near work.
7. One should not look at a flame or the
rising and setting sun directly for any
period of time. That can harm the centre of
the retina, which is the most sensitive part
of the eye, the macula, which is responsible
for central vision.
8. Some seniors feel that they can’t read
too well even with their prescribed glasses.
After a certain age, the sensitivity of the
retina tends to slightly diminish. One might
feel that there’s a change in power. Often
it’s just that you are reading in slightly
dimmer light. Keeping a focused light on
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