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Tips for healthy eyes

Neglect can cause eyestrain, headaches, disease


by Amanda Marinaccio
Thursday, January 29, 2009 12:59 PM EST
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In preparation for the New Year and in honor of January, which is designated National Eye Care Month, the Jewish Guild for the Blind and Metro Optics provide advice and recommendations for healthy eyes.

It is essential for people to execute proper eye care. Many are unaware that neglect can cause eyestrain or eye disease, leading to headaches, nausea, general fatigue, tenseness, discomfort, pain, or poor vision.

“Ideally we encourage eye exams every year, but many insurances won’t cover that, so for age 21 to 40 every two years is acceptable. Children should have an annual exam because from age 5 to 18 their eyes typically change every year,” said Doctor Aurora Susi, Optician at Metro Optics, located 25 Westchester Square. “A glaucoma check is necessary every year for anyone over the age of 40, and for many their medical plan will allow this with an optometrist.”

According to the Jewish Guild for the Blind, people should use enough light for vision and comfort, wear safety glasses when working with tools, look away when opening cans with liquids, chose safety toys for children, keep scissors and sharp object out of children’s reach, and remove all object that stick out at eye level from the home, office, or school.

Even the most common actions play a key role in the eye’s health, such as blinking.

“Blinking is very important, especially for people who stare at a computer and don’t blink enough, which causes dry eye” said Susi. “Your cornea needs to stay wet, blinking is a natural eye wash.”

Susi also strongly encourages the use of sunglasses to protect against UV Rays, adding that even most designer sunglasses can have prescription lenses put in if necessary or desired.

Self-prescribing is severely frowned upon, including purchasing magnified reading glasses or misusing wetting drops, such as Visine or Clear Eyes.

“One of the worst things my patients can do is to go to the pharmacy and purchase magnifiers. Your eye will adapt to anything you give it so you may make your eyes worse,” said Susi. “And I have a problem with people abusing wetting drops. They should follow the directions and use one drop.”

For more information about Metro Optics contact (718) 597-6162 or for the Jewish Guild for the Blind, located 15 W. 65th Street, visit www.jgb.org.


In preparation for the New Year and in honor of January, which is designated National Eye Care Month, the Jewish Guild for the Blind and Metro Optics provide advice and recommendations for healthy eyes.

It is essential for people to execute proper eye care. Many are unaware that neglect can cause eyestrain or eye disease, leading to headaches, nausea, general fatigue, tenseness, discomfort, pain, or poor vision.

“Ideally we encourage eye exams every year, but many insurances won’t cover that, so for age 21 to 40 every two years is acceptable. Children should have an annual exam because from age 5 to 18 their eyes typically change every year,” said Doctor Aurora Susi, Optician at Metro Optics, located 25 Westchester Square. “A glaucoma check is necessary every year for anyone over the age of 40, and for many their medical plan will allow this with an optometrist.”

According to the Jewish Guild for the Blind, people should use enough light for vision and comfort, wear safety glasses when working with tools, look away when opening cans with liquids, chose safety toys for children, keep scissors and sharp object out of children’s reach, and remove all object that stick out at eye level from the home, office, or school.

Even the most common actions play a key role in the eye’s health, such as blinking.

“Blinking is very important, especially for people who stare at a computer and don’t blink enough, which causes dry eye” said Susi. “Your cornea needs to stay wet, blinking is a natural eye wash.”

Susi also strongly encourages the use of sunglasses to protect against UV Rays, adding that even most designer sunglasses can have prescription lenses put in if necessary or desired.

Self-prescribing is severely frowned upon, including purchasing magnified reading glasses or misusing wetting drops, such as Visine or Clear Eyes.

“One of the worst things my patients can do is to go to the pharmacy and purchase magnifiers. Your eye will adapt to anything you give it so you may make your eyes worse,” said Susi. “And I have a problem with people abusing wetting drops. They should follow the directions and use one drop.”

For more information about Metro Optics contact (718) 597-6162 or for the Jewish Guild for the Blind, located 15 W. 65th Street, visit www.jgb.org.



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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of yournabe.com.

Michael Edson MS L.Ac. wrote on Jan 29, 2009 8:52 PM:

" Along with proper ergonomics, taking regular breaks from the computer to do eye exercises can help prevent or reduce the effects of computer eye strain.

Our eyes and vision were designed for viewing distance as hunters and gatherers, and not for ongoing near work as required by regular computer use. As a result, Computer Eye Strain is becoming one of the major eye complaints heard by eye doctors today.

Symptoms can include increased myopia, blurred vision, headaches, slow refocusing, difficulty concentrating, neck, shoulder and back pain

Eye strain can be reduced significantly by taking regular breaks from the computer, resting your eyes, stretching and doing eye exercises.

For a demo of 3 great eye exercises by Dr. Grossman, one of the Country's leading behavioral optometrists, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W10j2fL0hy0

Dr. Grossman also offers his free eye exercise booklet at his website at Natural Eye Care Free Eye Exercises with his 11 favorite eye exercises and acupressure eye points to massage regularly.

Finally, there is also an excellent section at his website on "Computer Eye Strain" under "Eye Diseases" that provides a Computer Eye Strain “Self-Help“ section with great tips of relieving eyestrain due to computer use.

Also, a few research studies show that supplementing with 6mg per day of astaxanthin per day significantly improved eye strain at week 2 and 4 of the test period.

For more information, go to Natural Eye Care for Computer Eye Strain "

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