Our eyes are organs that we most often take for granted. Little do we know that these organs that help us see and collect information from the world around us are very delicate and require a lot of care. It is believed that the eyes are a great reflexion of your internal health and all-round well being, so protecting them should ideally be of paramount importance to all of us. But distinguishing between a fact and a myth can be quite difficult. To help you keep your eyes healthy, Dr. Susheel Deshmukh, Glaucoma and Cataract consultant, Bhojraj Chanrai Sankara Eye hospital talks about a few facts and some common myths related to your eye's health.
Fact
Steroids can lead to the formation of cataracts. Steroids, especially if used for a longer period, are known to cause a posterior sub-capsular type of cataract, since they restrict normal lens metabolism, therefore leading to cataracts.
Most people say that looking at the sun help improve eyesight. But there could be nothing farther from the truth. Looking directly at the sun can destroy tiny photo receptors present on the retina, leading to a condition called solar retinopathy and irreversible vision loss. Besides, UV rays also leads to disorders such as mascular degeneration and corneal dystrophies.
Like exercising? Well, weight lifting or strenuous exercise can be dangerous for health. Weight lifting or a strenuous workout can cause venous pooling of blood. Which can damage your eyes. These exercises are also known to lead to problems like hernias and varicose veins.
Crash diet is also not a good idea, as it can affect your eyesight. Diets that cut out carbs or lead to a sudden drop in the amount of nutrition your body damages your metabolism, and can lead to a condition called metabolic keto-acidosis which can have multi-systemic implications. As for your eyes, keto-acidosis can cause retinopathy and adversely affect the vision.
Yoga is good for health though largely believed to be good for general health, but there are a few yoga asanas like shirsannas , where the head is below your body level can cause increased pooling of blood in your head and in turn increase the intraocular pressure (eye pressure) significantly leading to damage within the eyes.
Drinking extensive amount of water is healthy but huge amounts of water can be detrimental. Large amount of water when ingested over a short time interval gets absorbed into the blood and tends to increase the work load on the heart and kidneys. This can also increase intraocular pressure (even in healthy individuals), and can lead to Glaucoma (loss of vision).
Artificial sweeteners are a good alternative to sugar.But when theses sweeteners (like aspartame) are exposed to high temperatures, they break down to form free radicals which can severely harm your retina and optic nerves. Aspartame and its degradation products have also been linked to blurred vision, eye pain, visual hallucinations and blindness. One should only occasionally use it when you need to sweeten a cup of tea or prepare some baked goods that could use a little extra sugar. Substituting aspartame for the sugar can actually be beneficial for you. However, if you are using aspartame routinely, there's a good chance you're putting yourself at risk to suffer from some of the side effects above. Do not exceed 50mg/1kg (FDA Safety limit) body weight when using aspartame. There is a good chance you should use significantly less than that to avoid negative side effects altogether.
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Our eyes are organs that we most often take for granted. Little do we know that these organs that help us see and collect information from the world around us are very delicate and require a lot of care. It is believed that the eyes are a great reflexion of your internal health and all-round well being, so protecting them should ideally be of paramount importance to all of us. But distinguishing between a fact and a myth can be quite difficult. To help you keep your eyes healthy, Dr. Susheel Deshmukh, Glaucoma and Cataract consultant, Bhojraj Chanrai Sankara Eye hospital talks about a few facts and some common myths related to your eye's health.
