Relieving Tired Eyes

Have you been noticing an increase of those red lines on the whites on your cornea? You may have tired eyes.

If you're a long-hour computer user, the red lines happen when you're not blinking enough hence the eyes create more blood vessels to carry oxygen to the surface of your eyes. The resulting damage is the red lines on the cornea that looks bloodshot like you've been smoking weed.

Maybe that was an exaggeration. But really, if yer' eyes are similar to this, you may need to cut down on the computer use.

Before you opt to check with an eye doctor, I suggest that you try these simple home remedies. 

1. Warm water

What you do is, have a bowl of hot boiling water, fold a small towel into a rectangular shape, and dip the flat surface facing downwards in the boiled water. Like this:

Just click on the image for larger view =D

After doing so, you might wanna wait until the hot water is comfortable enough to be placed on your eyes. But make sure it is still hot. Gently place them on your eyes closed, room lighting is dim-to-dark. You can leave the hot vapour do it's job or you may like to press them on the eye gently. I prefer to press them since my eyes are large but deep set and it doesn't touch properly on my eyelid. Once the heat have cooled down, repeat the process and do it as many times as you like or until the boiled water lost it's cool.

You should feel significantly better and the red lines should have decreased.

ps: everytime you open your eyes after basking your eyes on the warm towel. the eyes might feel a little blurry to the vision. This is normal. Just blink a few time DO NOT RUB! You'll lose the moisture if you rub.

2. Drink and eats fruits

They're a natural anti-oxidants to the eyes. Carrots, honeydew, papaya & cucumber are hydrating fruits so it is beneficial to eat them.

3. Supplements

I am currently drinking Brand's Innershine 7 Berries Essence. As much as home remedies are a stellar, I suppose nutritional 'eye food' is a plus. I have yet to see any difference upon drinking this 'eye food' supplement as I have drank 2 bottles so far. Mind you this is malt-like drink made from chicken essence and some fruits meant to feed the eyes of lost nutrients so you might not be too fond of the taste. I am used to drinking alcohol-free malt drinks so this is kinda tasty for me. (^v^)

 Besides, you'd want to have tried your best at improving your sight at home before visiting the doctor if these didn't work - 

3. Artificial Tears

Eye drops like EyeMo and Optrex are over-the-counter eye lubricants. EyeMo are eye drops while Optrex is kinda like an eye-wash. I find Optrex particularly soothing and gives me a relief when I wake up in the morning with dry, red eyes ='(. This happens only when I wake up early mornings like 5am or so if late morning my eyes are fine.

4. Simple Eye Yoga/Eye Exercise

The gold rule: look away from the screen and look at greeneries like trees, even your mum's potted plant can do. If you live in the city and trees are scarce, you simply close your eyes(you can keep them open but the constant changes in peripheral vision as you move your eyes may cause you dizziness), and roll them clockwise 10-15 times, medium speed. Do it again for 10-15 minutes counterclockwise. Do this simple eye yoga every 30mins-1hour to avoid strain on your eye muscles. 

Also, close an eye, have a book, newspaper or anything at hand with semi-large words on them and concentrate on those. Count to 12, and move 5cm closer. Repeat this until your elbows are in a V-shape and the book/newspaper is 10com away near your eyes. Repeat this on each eye 3 times a day =). 

5. Spots, photosensitivity and 'shadows' that gradually move across your eyes.

Photo curtesy of mmu.edu

This is a WARNING sing. I urge you to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist immediately as a gradual 'shadow' that moves across your peripherals are a sign of detached retina and can lead to blindness if left untreated. I currently have this symptoms and it freaked me out when I made an appointment with Vision Space Optometrist(thanks guys for giving me a free consultation and being so professional in examining my eyes!]. Test each eye by focusing on a dot or an object and if you have 'shadows' gradually covering all or part of your peripherals I URGE YOU to see an eye doctor immediately. This is preventable if detected at early stage!  I will be updating this after my visit to eye doctor this Saturday. 

Try the aforementioned home remedies and hope it works. See ya!