Human eyes are designed by nature to look at far of things and for viewing nearby things, the eyes have to work a lot or strain. The work done by the eye to see near objects is called accommodation and it involves a lot of internal adjustments in the eye. A resting eye can see far of things without any additional work. This is so because for the primitive cave dweller pursuit of life was interactions with a bit far of things such as a running dear for an aggressive tiger. To react he had to get the visual information so that he can run towards the prey or run away from the beast. So for his fight and flight distant vision was essential.
The fight and flight for life of modern man has changed considerably for getting his food and to protect him from adversities. He has more sophisticated methods those warrant more near vision than the cave dweller. Hence an executive trapped in a small cubicle has to stare at his monitor to fiddle with numbers from morning to eve and even more which taxes his eyes by constant accommodation. A strained eye is a tired eye. When you are tired you fall prone to diseases so are your eyes.
Eye diseases are more prevalent today and are identified more frequently because we want our eyes more and more now a day. An illiterate can avoid using a presbiopic a pair of spectacles because he need not read but it is not the case with the today average intelligencia. So we have more men and women wearing spectacles or contact lenses today.
Distance matters, but more than the distance the size and nature of what we look at, etc has changed. Looking at a twinkling star at night, when the sky is clear is a calm thing but the strain imposed on our eyes by driving at nights against the constant flow of vehicles with bright head lights from the opposite direction is not that calm. Eyes are for seeing. Sure. But to see what? Everything human has its ranges. Our eyes too have. Hence working in dim light or in over lighted areas taxes our eyes and makes them weary. Unfortunately most of us are destined to work in poor lighting conditions worsened by frequent voltage drops.
It is not only the shift of our target of vision but changes in environment, work in time, dietary habits etc are also have contributed considerably for the increase prevalence of eye diseases. We now live in a dusty world supplemented with unhealthy fumes of all source. Dust and fumes tamper our eyes. They irritate our eyes. Chronic irritation of the eyes causes itching, redness and tearing of the eyes which are ample background for generating more serious eye diseases. Pterygum is a good example. Pterygum is an overgrowth of conjunctiva (Outermost layer of the white of the eye and the inner surface of the lids) on to the cornea (the glassy cover of the black of the eye). This is the outcome of chronic irritation of the eye and in most cases requires frequent surgery.
Sleep is another important factor which has a say on the health of our eyes. Now we are turning nights into days and burning a lot of nights oil right from our childhood for studies, work and entertainment. Man is designed to sleep at night and to be wakeful at day time. Our physiology is tuned for it but our nights are shorter now. This means our eyes have to work overtime. This also makes the eyes weak.
In short our life today is different and the eyes find it difficult to cope up with the changing times and often tense to lag behind. In other words we are making our eyes the lame soldier of the army and our whole health suffers due to this defective scout. In spite of this awareness we are helpless because we cannot mostly amend the environment working style and the lifestyle prompted by them. Here is the relevance of protecting the eyes. A welder can save his eyes by wearing dark goggles, but a driver cannot do that. Improving working conditions, modulating the working time, air-conditioning etc may be of help but these measures are inadequate to nullify the massive load of atrocities showered on our eyes. That is why we have to resort to medical aid to protect our eyes, strengthen them and to cure eye diseases.
Ayurveda, the wisdom of ages, has proclaimed that eyes are the most important among all the sense organs and has suggested measures for protecting the eyes and prevent and cure eye diseases. The seers of Ayurveda have almost exhaustively listed the eye diseases occurring in different parts of the eye such as lashes, lids, the white of the eye (Sclera), the black of the eye, the refractive media of the eye and the whole eye. Ayurveda has a special clinical branch called Shalakya Tantra dealing with diseases of head and neck and it deals substantially with eye diseases. Ayurveda suggests innumerable prescriptions to combat eye diseases. It has also advised various procedures for the eye such as application of collyrium (Anjana), eye drops (Aschyotana) and eye bath (Tarpana & Putapaaka). Medical procedures of Ayurveda on head such as oil irrigation and oil retention on the scalp (Sirodhara & Sirovasti) and various pads on scalp (Pichu) as well as general procedures such as oil massage are useful in preventing and curing eye diseases.
Many Eye problems look minor and fleeting at initial period. But most of them lead to permanent loss of vision. Some common eye problems causing blindness are :
· Pathological Myopia (Short sightedness)
· Catract (Clouded Lenses)
· Glaucoma (Pressure in the eyeball)
· Diabetic Pigmentosa (Pigmental degeneration of retina)
· Age related Macular Degeneration
· Retinal Detachment
Contemporary problems induced by our present lifestyle are:
Computer Vision Syndrome
Dry Eye Syndrome
Conjunctivitis (Allergic or infective)
Contact Lens induced complications
Eye strain/Pain/Pin and Needles in the Eyes
Your best defense is to have regular check ups, because eye diseases do not always have symptoms. Early detection and treatment could prevent vision loss to its maximum. The clinical; features which need attention to the Eyes are :
· Gradual loss of Vision or Dim Vision
· Distorted Vision
· Colored halos around the light
· Black spots or Floaters in front of the eyes
· Flashes of light in front of the eyes
· Diplopia or doubt vision
· Pain and redness of the eyes
· Watering of the eyes
· Asthenopic symptoms (Refer to mild eye ache, head ache and Tiredness of the eyes)
Preservation of good eyesight is almost impossible without proper eye education. The quieter the knowledge of Eyes, better is the eyesight preserved.
· By blinking eyes work under rest
· Reading fine print daily is extremely beneficial to the eyes
· Facing the morning sun with eyes closed for a few minutes improve the health of the eyes
· Closing the eyes and covering them with palm of hands in such a way that there is no pressure on the eyeball and no light enters the eyes for a few minutes called palming makes mind quiet and gives good relaxation as it is a well known fact that vision is a process of mental interpretation.
· Massaging the feet with medicated oil regularly maintains the quality of Vision
The fight and flight for life of modern man has changed considerably for getting his food and to protect him from adversities. He has more sophisticated methods those warrant more near vision than the cave dweller. Hence an executive trapped in a small cubicle has to stare at his monitor to fiddle with numbers from morning to eve and even more which taxes his eyes by constant accommodation. A strained eye is a tired eye. When you are tired you fall prone to diseases so are your eyes.
Eye diseases are more prevalent today and are identified more frequently because we want our eyes more and more now a day. An illiterate can avoid using a presbiopic a pair of spectacles because he need not read but it is not the case with the today average intelligencia. So we have more men and women wearing spectacles or contact lenses today.
Distance matters, but more than the distance the size and nature of what we look at, etc has changed. Looking at a twinkling star at night, when the sky is clear is a calm thing but the strain imposed on our eyes by driving at nights against the constant flow of vehicles with bright head lights from the opposite direction is not that calm. Eyes are for seeing. Sure. But to see what? Everything human has its ranges. Our eyes too have. Hence working in dim light or in over lighted areas taxes our eyes and makes them weary. Unfortunately most of us are destined to work in poor lighting conditions worsened by frequent voltage drops.
It is not only the shift of our target of vision but changes in environment, work in time, dietary habits etc are also have contributed considerably for the increase prevalence of eye diseases. We now live in a dusty world supplemented with unhealthy fumes of all source. Dust and fumes tamper our eyes. They irritate our eyes. Chronic irritation of the eyes causes itching, redness and tearing of the eyes which are ample background for generating more serious eye diseases. Pterygum is a good example. Pterygum is an overgrowth of conjunctiva (Outermost layer of the white of the eye and the inner surface of the lids) on to the cornea (the glassy cover of the black of the eye). This is the outcome of chronic irritation of the eye and in most cases requires frequent surgery.
Sleep is another important factor which has a say on the health of our eyes. Now we are turning nights into days and burning a lot of nights oil right from our childhood for studies, work and entertainment. Man is designed to sleep at night and to be wakeful at day time. Our physiology is tuned for it but our nights are shorter now. This means our eyes have to work overtime. This also makes the eyes weak.
In short our life today is different and the eyes find it difficult to cope up with the changing times and often tense to lag behind. In other words we are making our eyes the lame soldier of the army and our whole health suffers due to this defective scout. In spite of this awareness we are helpless because we cannot mostly amend the environment working style and the lifestyle prompted by them. Here is the relevance of protecting the eyes. A welder can save his eyes by wearing dark goggles, but a driver cannot do that. Improving working conditions, modulating the working time, air-conditioning etc may be of help but these measures are inadequate to nullify the massive load of atrocities showered on our eyes. That is why we have to resort to medical aid to protect our eyes, strengthen them and to cure eye diseases.
Ayurveda, the wisdom of ages, has proclaimed that eyes are the most important among all the sense organs and has suggested measures for protecting the eyes and prevent and cure eye diseases. The seers of Ayurveda have almost exhaustively listed the eye diseases occurring in different parts of the eye such as lashes, lids, the white of the eye (Sclera), the black of the eye, the refractive media of the eye and the whole eye. Ayurveda has a special clinical branch called Shalakya Tantra dealing with diseases of head and neck and it deals substantially with eye diseases. Ayurveda suggests innumerable prescriptions to combat eye diseases. It has also advised various procedures for the eye such as application of collyrium (Anjana), eye drops (Aschyotana) and eye bath (Tarpana & Putapaaka). Medical procedures of Ayurveda on head such as oil irrigation and oil retention on the scalp (Sirodhara & Sirovasti) and various pads on scalp (Pichu) as well as general procedures such as oil massage are useful in preventing and curing eye diseases.
Many Eye problems look minor and fleeting at initial period. But most of them lead to permanent loss of vision. Some common eye problems causing blindness are :
· Pathological Myopia (Short sightedness)
· Catract (Clouded Lenses)
· Glaucoma (Pressure in the eyeball)
· Diabetic Pigmentosa (Pigmental degeneration of retina)
· Age related Macular Degeneration
· Retinal Detachment
Contemporary problems induced by our present lifestyle are:
Computer Vision Syndrome
Dry Eye Syndrome
Conjunctivitis (Allergic or infective)
Contact Lens induced complications
Eye strain/Pain/Pin and Needles in the Eyes
Your best defense is to have regular check ups, because eye diseases do not always have symptoms. Early detection and treatment could prevent vision loss to its maximum. The clinical; features which need attention to the Eyes are :
· Gradual loss of Vision or Dim Vision
· Distorted Vision
· Colored halos around the light
· Black spots or Floaters in front of the eyes
· Flashes of light in front of the eyes
· Diplopia or doubt vision
· Pain and redness of the eyes
· Watering of the eyes
· Asthenopic symptoms (Refer to mild eye ache, head ache and Tiredness of the eyes)
Preservation of good eyesight is almost impossible without proper eye education. The quieter the knowledge of Eyes, better is the eyesight preserved.
· By blinking eyes work under rest
· Reading fine print daily is extremely beneficial to the eyes
· Facing the morning sun with eyes closed for a few minutes improve the health of the eyes
· Closing the eyes and covering them with palm of hands in such a way that there is no pressure on the eyeball and no light enters the eyes for a few minutes called palming makes mind quiet and gives good relaxation as it is a well known fact that vision is a process of mental interpretation.
· Massaging the feet with medicated oil regularly maintains the quality of Vision
dear vedayuj team,
ReplyDeletethe article is comprehensive except in one very important aspect, that of preventive measures by optimal nutrition, which has not been elaborated upon. we have heard of many cases where night blindness and early cataracts have been successfully resolved by increased doses of vitamins, esp vit A and carotenoids. Could u pls throw some light on what Ayurveda considers important in terms of dietary factors, for the preservation of the gift of sight.
Very good article with thoughtful insights on evolutionary history of man!
ReplyDelete