Care For Your Eyes

Image from: en.wikipedia.org

Two weeks back, I had a bad case of eye spasms - the one when your eyes just go haywire on you out of nowhere. I was using the computer then for just a few minutes when suddenly my eyes were literally zooming in and out uncontrollably. I was dizzy, nauseous and my head ached so much I thought I was going to throw up. I went to the bathroom to check on my eyes. I was normally low-blood so I thought maybe it was the culprit for all these symptoms sprouting but I looked fine. I returned to my chair and when I focused on the computer screen again, the spasms were there again. I begged off of work that day and scheduled an appointment with an ophthalmologist the soonest possible. And there I found out that I have over-dilated pupils. 

So what are over-dilated pupils? Normally when our eyes are exposed to light our pupils constrict or go smaller to protect them from eye strain due to too much light coming in. A normal person's pupil is measured about 2 - 2.5 mm. Mine were 4.5 mm and they weren't constricting. 

My doctor asked me if my head felt heavy every after I use the computer. I use the computer many times a day for leisure but not for straight hours like at work. I did notice that my head feels really heavy after a day of being in front of the computer. I just thought it was normal. 

I was given eye drops that will help my eyes relax and was required to rest. But these eye drops do not cure the fact that I cannot overexpose my eyes to too much light whatever the source since my pupils are naturally over-dilated. I'm almost on my second week and I still wear sun glasses even inside the house because my eyes are not yet well-adapted to normal and natural light conditions. 

You may be asking why I am sharing this with you? I am sharing this with you to make you aware of how valuable your eye sight is. For a week, I was not able to watch TV, use the internet, read, write. I could not even text and go out of my dark bedroom because light made my head hurt. I am improving steadily everyday but a lot of things had to be put on hold because I have, in some way, abused the gift of sight. I take pride that I have near perfect vision but it is pretty much of no use if your eyes cannot take much light. 

Eye Exercise

Taking care of your eyes at work is simple. The ophthalmologist recommends that you give your eyes a rest every 15-20 minutes. Just take your eyes away from the computer screen for about a minute and focus on something else before going back. When we are so busy at work, our eyes fail to blink sometimes and this can cause eye strain and eye spasms. 

Yes, our eyes get tired and I hope nobody takes this fact lightly especially if you have over-dilated ones like mine because it can eventually lead to blindness. If you are having eye problems, I suggest you visit your ophthalmologist as soon as possible and have them checked. If you feel fine, take care of them by doing this simple eye exercise and by wearing sun glasses so as not to over-expose it. 

Our eyes are not just the windows to our soul. It is also the window to the beauty of the world and the people we love. Let us not take it lightly. I am certainly learning this lesson well. Care for them not when it's too late and be grateful for this gift.