Health Topics
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Healthy Living
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| Computer Viewing: Not Quite Vision 20-20
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| Dr Snehasis Basu |
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Tips to keep your eyes happy and healthy
- Take a break. Avoid working at a stretch with computers. Give a break in between. Enjoy the greenery outside.
- Enjoy leafy green vegetables like spinach, cabbage, fruits rich in vitamin C, and protein-rich food like milk, eggs, small fish etc.
- Wash your eyes with clean water several times a day.
- Avoid touching your eyes with dirty hands.
- Take precautions during festivals like Holi and Diwali, where there is a high risk of eye injury.
- Over-the-counter medicines are dangerous for eyes. Never apply any eye drops or ointments in your eye without your doctor’s advice.
- Go for an eye checkup at least once a year.
With a little care, awareness and precautions, you can keep these two priceless gems in excellent shape and enjoy the wonderful world.
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Cataracts
The major cause of blindness not only in India but also around the world.
- Cause - Tobacco has a close relation with this common disease. Smoking and even chewing tobacco raises the incidence of cataract. Inhalation of cigarette smoke and chullha smoke increases the incidence of cataract to a great extent, as revealed by the scientists of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, and Food Technology Institute, Mysore. Other causes that accelerate cataract formation include exposure to Ultra Violet rays (UV rays), malnutrition, deficiency of vitamin A, C and E, high blood pressure, diabetes, exposure to smoke etc.
- Symptoms - How would you feel if a translucent curtain is kept before your eye, even if it is for just five minutes? That is exactly what happens to the cataract patients, 24/7, and at an increasing intensity. Gradually, the cataract becomes thicker and the person loses sight completely.
- Treatment – Surgical treatment of cataract has become increasingly simpler with the availability of phacoemulsification, where the opaque layer is removed using ultrasound vibrations. In most cases, a lens is placed inside the eye, known as intraocular lens or IOL. It enhances vision clarity and in many cases, can do away with the need for glasses.
- Prevention – Consuming anti-oxidizing Vitamin C-rich food helps in reducing cataract incidences. Turmeric is also helpful.
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Sun on my glasses
Elton John, Michael Jackson, Rajnikath, Jacqueline Kennedy, Sylvester Stallone - can you think of one common factor among all of these celebrities?
Yes, you guessed right. They have generated their unique style statement with sunglasses. Besides being a style statement, fashion accessory and personality reflector, there are more reasons for putting on those glasses that come in various sizes, shapes and colours. Sunglasses protect the eyes from UV rays, which can cause both short and long term problems like photokeratitis, snow blindness, cataracts, pteygium and some forms of eye cancer.
Tips on buying sunglasses
- The most expensive one is not necessarily the best one.
- The transmittance to UV B should not be more than 1%.
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Dr Snehasis Basu is Consultant Ophthalmologist, Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata.
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