Ways to Protect Your Eyes This Summer

Ways to Protect Your Eyes This Summer

Here are a few ways to keep your eyes safe this summer:

1. Don’t forget your shades:-

The sunlight reflecting off the water, reflective surfaces, and sand into your eyes, can result in photokeratitis. This is a painful condition and is caused when the UV rays of the sun not only burns your skin but also burns the surface of your eye. It causes redness, pain, blurriness and may even cause temporary blindness are some of the symptoms of this condition. Wear sunglasses with 100% UV protection for avoiding photokeratitis.

Even if you are wearing sunglasses, wear a hat to protect your eyelids and eyes. Sunglasses have gaps on the sides and top. The sun rays may reach your eyes through the gaps. Wearing a hat will help reduce the exposure.

2. Avoid getting a Swimmer’s Eye:-

Pools – the name sounds so refreshing and brings a feeling of relief during hot summer days. But the pool water can be really tough on your eyes. The chemicals that are used for keeping the water clean affect the tear film in your eyes. As a result, you suffer from redness and blurry vision. Wear swimming goggles to protect your eyes. If the pool water gets into your eyes, splash your eyes with fresh water once you get out of the pool.

3. Protect your eyes from dryness:-

Spending time outside during summers can be tough for your eyes. As the wind is hot and dry and can cause a common issue called Dry Eyes. The hot and dry weather affect the tear film in your eyes and make them dry. Protect your eyes by wearing wrap-around glasses. Use artificial tears to keep your eyes moist. If you are suffering from dry eye consult the eye specialist in south Kolkata.

4. Be Safe from Home/DIY Projects:-

Protecting your eyes doesn’t only mean wearing sunglasses. Take care of them while doing DIY projects at home. Buy professional quality goggles to avoid injury while gardening. In case anything hits your eyes, put some ice on the affected eyes and immediately rush to the doctor.

5. Wash Your Hands:-

Do this before touching your eyes. Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes while you are out. In case you wear contact lenses, take care. Dirty hands may cause eye infections.

6. Eat healthily and Stay Hydrated:-

Fruits and veggies contain lutein and zeaxanthin. These are antioxidants that can help in resisting cataract, and macular degeneration. Additionally, you get easily dehydrated during summers. And this can affect your eyes. Serious dehydration makes it tough for the eyes to produce tears and as a result, you may suffer from dry eye symptoms and other vision issues. Drink plenty of water. This helps in reversing the negative effects of dehydration.

Protect your eyes. Visit professional and experienced eye specialists in Kolkata at Disha Eye Hospital:-

Apart from taking these precautions for protecting your eyes during summers, it’s important that you regularly visit your eye doctor. Do not ignore any eye issue (even the smallest one).

At Disha, our experts take the utmost care to protect your vision. We have the most sophisticated technology to provide you with the best eye care.

To get in touch with our eye specialists across West Bengal, visit http://www.dishaeye.org/appointment

13 Eye Health Related FAQs

13 Eye Health Related FAQs

Have doubts about eye health? Check out the FAQs below:

1) How do cataracts develop and what are the treatment options?

There are two risk factors for the development of cataracts; age and exposure to ultraviolet rays.

Age-related cataracts occur when proteins in the eyes form clumps and restrict the amount of light that enters the retina. Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays is another cause of cataracts. Other causes of cataracts include eye diseases and eye injuries.

Cataracts can be treated with an eye surgery in which the surgeon replaces the cloudy lens with a clear, artificial lens. But the surgery should be done from the best eye hospital in West Bengal.

2) How is cataract diagnosed?

Cataract can be diagnosed through a comprehensive eye exam, including dilated eye exam and visual acuity test.

In a dilated eye exam, the doctor dilates the pupils using eye drops. By doing this, the doctor can determine cataracts’ opacity and impact on vision. The doctor is able to determine the extent of vision impairment through the visual acuity test.

3) Can I get a cataract surgery done during summers?

Yes. You can undergo a cataract surgery during summers. In fact, you can undergo a cataract surgery during any time of the year. Cataract surgery not being feasible during summers is just a myth.

4) What is diabetic retinopathy and what are its symptoms?

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes; the eye condition is one of the leading causes of blindness. It occurs when high blood sugar levels damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina.

The early symptoms of diabetic retinopathy go almost undetected, but can gradually worsen over time, leading to vision loss. Some of the common symptoms of diabetic retinopathy include eye pain, double vision, eye floaters and spots, and blurred vision.

5) Who are at the risk of diabetic retinopathy?

People suffering from diabetes, both Type 1 and Type 2, stand at the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Pregnant women with diabetes are at the equal risk. Disha Eye Care Hospital is the best among the top ten hospitals for retina treatment in Kolkata.

6) Can diabetic retinopathy be prevented? If yes, how?

There are several steps to lowering the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Managing diabetes is the first step to minimising the risk of onset of the eye condition. Other steps involve regularly checking blood sugar levels, testing urine for ketone levels, and undergoing an annual comprehensive eye exam.

7) Can eye injuries affect vision?

Yes, but it totally depends upon the severity of the eye injuries. Minor injuries can cause eye pain and temporary blurred vision while major injuries can have serious implications such as eye infection and vision impairment.

8) How to protect the eyes from diseases?

There are several ways how you can lower the risk of development of eye diseases. First off, maintain a healthy diet by choosing fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, and fish over unhealthy food items such as deep-fried snacks and frozen meat items.

Exercise regularly, drink plenty of water, and get your eyes checked every year. These steps help you maintain an overall good health and keep the risks of eye diseases at bay.

9) What is glaucoma and what are its symptoms?

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can cause vision loss by damaging the eyes’ optic nerve. The eye disease is linked to the build-up of pressure (intraocular pressure) inside the eyes

Some of the common symptoms of glaucoma include eye pain, narrowed vision, nausea, vomiting, eye redness, vision loss, and seeing halos around the light.

10) What are the treatment options for glaucoma?

Your doctor may plan the treatment depending upon the severity of the condition. Eye drops for Glaucoma can either increase fluid flow or reduce its formation in the eyes.

Laser surgery is another treatment option for glaucoma. This procedure can help increase fluid flow in the eye. A surgery known as Trabeculoplasty involves opening a new channel to drain the fluid and lower eye pressure.

11) Why is it not safe to wear contact lenses past expiry/recommended date?

Contact lenses (as the name suggest) get into direct contact with the eyes when worn. Therefore, it’s crucial that you follow safety precautions to avoid serious implications. Wearing contact lenses past their expiry date can increase the risk of eye infections, which, in turn, can worsen and cause vision impairment.

The same applies to the cleaning solution. Make sure that you replace it after reaching the expiry date.

12) Will reading in dim light damage my eyes?

Reading is a precision activity, and when you do it under dim lighting, you increase strain to your eyes. As a result, you can suffer from symptoms such as eye redness, itchiness, pain, and dryness. The best practice is to read under bright lighting.

13) How to avoid eye injuries?

Eye injuries cannot be completely avoided. However, you can take steps to drastically lower the risks. For example, wear a protective eyewear when working at the workshop or travelling outdoors.

Choose quality eye treatment at Disha Eye Hospital – one of the best eye hospitals in Kolkata.

Our specialised team of eye experts at Disha Eye Hospital can help you maintain a good eye health through comprehensive eye check-up and quality treatment. For more information, visit us.

Tips for Living With Glaucoma

 

Tips for Living With Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the most common eye diseases as it affects millions of people worldwide. The eye disease is common in older adults. It involves build-up of pressure in the eyes and impairment of vision.

Glaucoma can affect the quality of life as patients face discomfort and difficulty in doing regular activities with deteriorating vision.

Do you have Glaucoma? Here are the essential tips for living with the eye disease:

Coping with changing vision:-

As Glaucoma starts to worsen, it affects the vision. Low vision is one of the most common symptoms of the eye disease. Low vision can hamper the quality of life as it can cause difficulty in doing everyday work such as reading, working on a computer, driving, cooking, etc. In most cases, patients aren’t able to cope with low vision caused by Glaucoma even by wearing prescription glasses or contact lenses.

The best way to cope with low vision is to use visual aids or visit the best eye care hospitals in Kolkata for glaucoma treatment. There are a number of visual aids available including colours lenses, magnifiers, and computer text enlargers. Talk with your doctor to choose the visual aid that best suits you.

Getting organized:-

Getting organised is the key to dealing with vision changes caused by Glaucoma. It’s important to designate a specific place for every item. For instance, keep the keys, medicines, and your purse in a specific place where you have no difficulty reaching for them. It’s highly important that other members of the family respect and maintain the organisation system.

Marking and labeling items:-

Glaucoma patients with low vision face a great deal of difficulty working with specific items such as washing machine, microwave oven, etc. If you are on the same track, use a dimensional fabric paint to mark everyday items to feel the correct positions with your fingers.

Label your medicines with a highlighter to properly store them and have no difficulty finding them.

Improving lighting:-

One of the most important changes to make for dealing with low vision caused by glaucoma is to improve lighting in the home. Make sure that your home is properly illuminated. Use additional lights while working on a specific task. Also, improve lighting in rooms such as kitchen, hallway, and bathroom where there are risks hazards. When your home is properly illuminated, dealing with low vision becomes much easier.

Increasing contrast:-

Increasing contrast in every item helps you to better cope with low vision. For instance, use a white cup for your tea and coffee, use white chop boards for dark coloured vegetables. Increasing contrast is the key to effectively dealing with vision changes.

Listening to audiobooks:-

Googling all of your concerns can be a difficult task when you have low vision caused by glaucoma. This is where Audiobooks come as a great help as you don’t have to rely on your vision while taking in information.

Choose Glaucoma treatment in Kolkata at a reputed eye hospital:-

Do you or your loved ones suffer from Glaucoma? Opt for a professional treatment at Disha Eye Hospital as it is one of the best eye hospitals in India. The team of eye care experts provides meticulous care when it comes to addressing proper treatment not just for Glaucoma but for other major eye diseases as well.

Learn more about Disha Eye Hospital at http://www.dishaeye.org.

8 Questions on Cataract Surgery

8 Questions on Cataract Surgery

Cataracts are one of the leading causes of vision loss all over the world. Fortunately with, advances in medical science, the eye disease can be treated through a specialised surgery known as cataract surgery.

Although cataract surgery is the sole treatment option for the eye disease, there are confusions and misconceptions about it. Here, we seek to clarify them by these 8 commonly asked questions:

1)  How is cataract surgery performed?

Before the surgery day, the doctor will give you medicines to relax you and numb your eyes. The doctor uses a local anaesthetic which makes the surgery virtually painless. The first part of the surgery involves removing the clouded lens. To do this, the surgeon, with the help of precision tools, makes a small incision in the eye to remove the natural lens. The surgeon will use the same incision to place the artificial (intraocular) lens. To get the best cataract surgery in Kolkata, contact Disha – Best Eye Hospital in West Bengal.

2) What is the success rate of cataract surgery?

Cataract surgeries have a high success rate. In fact, cataract surgeries are one of the most successful surgeries performed the world over. It’s because of the high success rate of cataract surgery that it is chosen as the sole treatment option for cataracts.

3) How do I determine whether cataract surgery will benefit me?

There are several ways how you can benefit from a cataract surgery. First, the eye surgery is a quick procedure and can be completed within 2 hours. Plus, you don’t have to get admitted to the hospital as it’s required with other surgeries.

By undergoing a cataract surgery, not only is your eye disease treated but you also have your vision corrected. Lastly, the recovery period for a cataract surgery is quite short. It may take you as less as a week to fully recover.

4) Are there any side effects of a cataract surgery? 

After the surgery, you may experience itchiness, slight discomfort, and redness. But these effects only last for a couple of hours and eventually subside. Your eye doctor may suggest you tips to fully take care of the operated eye(s) post-surgery.

5) What is phaco?

Phaco, or Phacolemulsification is a technique used during a cataract surgery. In this technique, the eye surgeon makes a small incision to insert a tiny ultrasonic probe. The doctor uses the probe to break cataracts into tiny pieces. The next step involves removing the tiny pieces using a suction. After the cataracts are completely removed, the doctor inserts the intraocular lens.

6) What is an intraocular lens?

Intraocular lens is a small convex-shaped lens and is harmless to the eyes. Apart from being an alternative to the natural, clouded lens, intraocular lens also helps correct vision. Once the intraocular lens is placed during the cataract surgery, it does not move and remains in the eye permanently. There are several types of intraocular lens and your eye doctor can choose the best lens for you.

7) Is it true that I have to wait for my cataract to become ripe in order to undergo a cataract surgery?

Previous cataract removal methods involved heavy sedation and making large incisions so that the entire affected lens could be wholly removed from the capsular bag. As such, ripe cataracts would make the removal process easier.

But with technological advancements, modern-day cataract surgeries require a small incision and minimal sedation as the lens is suctioned out. In other words, you don’t have to wait for your cataracts to become ripe for undergoing a cataract surgery.

8) Where can I opt for a safe and quality cataract surgery in West Bengal?

If you or someone in your family is planning to undergo a cataract surgery, then our advice would be to get a precise diagnosis at Disha Eye Hospital, one of the best eye hospitals in West Bengal.

After a comprehensive diagnosis, our eye specialists will plan the surgery based on your overall eye health. At Disha Eye Hospital, we use advanced cataract surgery techniques such as Phacoemulsification to ensure that patients who choose us with trust get the best and safest treatment.

We believe quality eye treatments don’t have to come at higher prices. At Disha, we are aimed at offering the best eye treatments at affordable prices. For more information about our cataract treatment, visit http://www.dishaeye.org/cataract

Common Eye Disorders and Treatments

The eyes are undoubtedly one of the most crucial yet fragile sensory organs. There are a number of eye disorders which have different causes, can impair vision, and even lead to permanent blindness.

Eye disorders are prevalent all around the world and therefore the list all disorders can be exhaustive. However, we have listed some of the common ones for a brief understanding:

1. Glaucoma
Unlike other eye disorders, Glaucoma is a range of eye conditions that are associated with the damage to the optic nerve.  The different types of Glaucoma include Closed-angle Glaucoma, Primary Open-angle Glaucoma, Low-tension Glaucoma, and Pigmentary Glaucoma.

Glaucoma is caused by the build-up of pressure in the eyes which, in turn, damages the optic nerve. Failure to treat Glaucoma can result in total blindness. Some of the common symptoms of Glaucoma include blurred vision, pain in the eyes, vomiting tendency, and frequent headaches.

2. Macular Degeneration
Macular Degeneration is another serious eye disorder which can lead to vision impairment and blindness. Macular Degeneration, as the name suggests, is caused due to the degeneration of the macula.

Macular Degeneration is largely associated with ageing and therefore it is also known as Age-related Macular Degeneration.  This eye disorder has been classified into two types; Wet and Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration.
Some of the common symptoms of Age-related Macular Degeneration include blurred vision, colour distortion, reduced ability to focus on intricate objects.

3. Cataract
Cataract affects millions of people worldwide every year. As it generally affects people aged 65 or older, it comes under the classification of degenerative eye disorder. Although Cataracts tend to develop as a natural ageing process, the disorder is also related Diabetes.

Some of the common symptoms of Cataracts include double vision, cloudy/blurred vision, glare from bright lights, and poor night vision.

4.Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic Retinopathy is a serious eye disorder that is solely caused by Diabetes. People with Diabetes have high blood sugar levels which have damaging effects on the blood vessels in the retina. High blood glucose levels can cause the blood vessels to swell and leak, impair blood flow, and can even cause abnormal growth of new blood vessels. These changes, in turn, impair vision.

There are two stages of Diabetic Retinopathy, including Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPPDR) and Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR). Some of the common symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy include blurred vision, vision loss, fluctuating vision, seeing dark spots and floaters, and impaired colour vision.

5. Dry Eye Syndrome
Dry Eye Syndrome is one of the most common eye disorders faced by people worldwide. Insufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eyes is the main cause of Dry Eye Syndrome. If left untreated, Dry Eye Syndrome can lead to frequent eye irritation and even inflammation.

Some of the common symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome include burning sensation in the eyes, sore eyes, itchy eyes, red eyes, fatigued eyes, sensitivity to light, and dryness sensation.

Choose proper treatment for your eye disorder from Disha Eye Hospital

Disha Eye Hospital is coming to the forefront providing leading eye health care at affordable prices.  The team of experts at Disha comprises of some of the best eye surgeons in Kolkata. Learn more about Disha Eye Hospital at http://www.dishaeye.org.