Coloured Contact Lenses

It may sound like science fiction but more and more people are opting to bin their reading glasses in favour of having artificial plastic lens implants inserted into their eyes instead. The procedure is becoming increasingly popular, particularly amongst middle aged people wanting to avoid the onset of presbyopia, or the deterioration of sight related to age. It sounds too good to be true, surely if it really works it could be the end to all our vision worries?

The idea of having your natural lenses removed from your eyes and replaced with a piece of plastic might not be one for the squeamish, but in fact the procedure does work surprisingly well. The number of patients opting for the surgery has doubled since 2004, with most people reporting that the implants have made a huge difference to their sight, often meaning they no longer need to wear their prescription glasses at all.

So how does it actually work? Well, the natural lenses in the eye can often stiffen with age, losing their ability to bend and focus properly. The lens implant procedure removes the natural lens from the eye and replaces it with an Intraocular lens, which uses the muscles of the eye to mimic normal lens movements and enhance the eye’s optical abilities. The procedure takes less than half an hour – the patient is given a local anaesthetic and then a small incision is made, the old lens removed and the new one inserted.

Lens implants as a preventative measure are not yet available on the NHS and the cost of the private procedure is not cheap, usually falling somewhere between £2,500 and £3,000 per eye. But when you think about it, being able to see both near and far without being dependant on glasses, escape from the discomfort of wearing them, or even being able to wear stylish designer sunglasses without having to worry about buying prescription lenses could actually be worth it!

So many of us these days have vision problems are need to wear glasses or corrective lenses. Recent research has showed that as much as 50 per cent of the US population is short sighted. I certainly see a lot more kids at school these days with glasses than there were when I was growing up. Because of all of this it is more and more important to look after your eyes and make sure there’s no way your lifestyle could be making your vision worse. So I decided to share my top 5 tips for healthier eyes:

Get your eyesight checked regularly.

It is advisable to schedule a visit to your optician at least once every year as some eye problems can often go unnoticed until it is too late. Getting regular eye tests can prevent the need for costly corrective treatments in the future so make sure you always follow your optician’s advice – if they say you need prescription glasses, start wearing them straight away.

If you need glasses, wear them!

It doesn’t matter whether you think they look good or not, if your optician has told you that you need glasses then you need to be wearing them. Not wearing your glasses can damage your eyes further and will only mean that you will need a stronger prescription later. If you don’t like the way they look shop around, there are hundreds of frames available and you’re sure to be able to find something that will suit you.

Maintain a healthy diet for your eyes

Research has proven that certain vitamins and nutrients are good for your eyesight, so making sure that your diet contains plenty of vitamins A, C and E, folic acid, selenium and zinc could help prevent future vision problems. If your prescription is very low (-0.25) it’s possible that your vision problems could actually be corrected by switching to a diet rich in these important nutrients.

Always make sure your eyes are protected from the sun

It may sound obvious to say that UV rays can cause severe damage to your vision, yet hundreds of people still allow this to happen every year. Sunglasses are an absolute must for going out in the sun, whether you have existing vision problems or not. With an endless range of designer sunglasses on the market, it’s easy to find a pair that you like and that will give you the all-important protection you need.

Give your eyes regular breaks!

If you spend a lot of time at your computer, it’s important that you give your eyes regular breaks. Just closing your eyes or focusing on an object in the distance for 10 seconds at least once an hour can make a really big difference and helps to prevent headaches and vision problems associated with prolonged use of a screen. Don’t forget these problems don’t just happen at work, the same applies to watching TV and playing video games too!

After years of being told that video games are bad for your health and especially your eyes, a new study has proved that in fact playing some games may actually help improve your vision, and could even prevent you from needing glasses in the future. The study, conducted by the University of Rochester, demonstrates that regularly playing certain games improves a person’s contrast sensitivity function, or their ability to distinguish easily between different shades of grey. But does that really mean your eyesight has improved?

Shades of grey might not sound all that ground-breaking, but contrast sensitivity is one of the most commonly and easily damaged functions of the human eye. People who suffer from low contrast sensitivity find it harder to see at night or to pick out small details like spots on clothing, and often the only way to treat the problem is with increasing strength prescription glasses or eye surgery. It’s now believed that computer games could be used to train the eyes to develop these skills, and that it’s possible the same method could even be used to treat people who suffer from Amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’, a condition that affects the brain’s ability to correctly register signals from one eye.

But not all video games are thought to have this effect. The study compared two different types of games by testing young adults who did not normally play games both before and after a period of playing them regularly. The results suggested that subjects who played first-person shooter or action games like Call of Duty showed a 43 per cent improvement on average, whereas those who played non-action games such as The Sims 2 showed hardly any.

So if gaming could help us avoid eye problems should we all be rushing out to buy an XBOX with as many action games as we can find to ensure that our designer sunglasses will remain our only visual aids far into our future? Well, no. For a start the study makes a point that not all action games will work, in other words, most of them probably won’t. Not to mention the fact that although these games may help develop some areas of your sight, it’s still not advisable to be sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time, or to allow computer games to replace other activities necessary to staying fit and healthy. In theory it’s a nice idea, but it’s important not to forget that it’s just as possible that video games could well be harmful in other ways.

If you are serious about the health of your eyes, then you should make sure that you see your optical doctor on a regular basis. Making sure that you have regular optical exam, for example your yearly exam for glaucoma, will go a long way towards insuring that you keep your vision. Open angle glaucoma affects more than 80 percent of the people that contract glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye disease that can be cured if found in the early stages.

There are other types of glaucoma but open angle is the one that affects the eyesight of most people. The sad fact is that there are more than 3 million Americans who have glaucoma but are not aware of it yet, based on statistical research. Glaucoma works by damaging the optic nerve through pressure in the eye or decreasing the blood supply to the optic nerve. If it is caught early enough by scheduling eye exams, then glaucoma can be arrested, and a person’s vision can be saved. However, any damage that glaucoma has caused up to that point is not fixable. The people who are most at risk of contracting glaucoma are black people, people over 40, or anyone that has a history of glaucoma in their family.

Anyone who discovers that they have contracted open angle glaucoma will be happy to know that they have a good chance of saving their vision. Once glaucoma is discovered doctors can stop it in its tracks. As long as a person has not waited until their vision is so bad that they cannot see well, they will be able to recover from glaucoma. If you are having your regular visits to your doctor, then you should be safe and not have anything to worry about. Additionally, if you feel there are any eye problems, then you should immediately make an appointment with your optical doctor.

Even though having health issues is not something anybody wants, it does happen to people. Glaucoma is one of the most common types of disease that can affect the eyes, and open angle glaucoma is the most common of the group. This disease is the most common and the most treatable, yet at the same time, it is the one that causes the most cases of blindness.

Everyone wants to have eyes that are in great shape, but sometimes no matter what you do to stay healthy you still get sick. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that attack the optic nerve bundle, which is located at the back of the eyes. Depending on the person, glaucoma can be caused by a few different things. However, the end result is not good news for the health of your eyes.

Anyone who is serious about eye health issues and about keeping their eyes healthy will make sure that they get regular eye exams. As we get older, parts of our body breakdown and the eyes are especially vulnerable. A glaucoma test is done once a year and is basically a puff of air blown into each eye. While this is not the most comfortable test, it is a very important test because glaucoma works slowly and can sometimes do a lot of damage before it is detected. If detected early, then there is a better chance of successful treatment. Once the damage has occurred, it is irreversible and that is why it is important to take your doctor visits seriously. This is also why it is important to have regular screenings for glaucoma and it usually starts with the peripheral vision. Without regular screenings for glaucoma it is possible for a large part of the nerves to be destroyed before anyone realizes what has happened.

Glaucoma is an eye disease that wreaks havoc by causing increased pressure on the optic nerve. The causes and treatments of glaucoma will be different for every person based on their own unique circumstances. Glaucoma tends to happen as a person gets older but it can affect anyone at any age. If you happen to have glaucoma in your family history, then you are at an increased risk for getting it. Making sure that you take care of the health of your eyes is crucial. The best way to fight this disease is to find out that you have it as early as you possibly can. Once it is discovered, treatment can begin immediately, and is usually quite successful. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done for the damage that glaucoma has already caused.

Regular eye examinations are especially important to have as we age. Aging causes the body to break down; an unfortunate fact of life. Eyesight is one of the highest rated of the five senses and you want to make sure that yours stays as functional as possible, for as long as possible. Make sure you take the health of your eyes seriously. See your doctor if you have any concerns, as this is the central key to making sure that your optical system stays in top shape.