Eyes Health

April 16 2021

Could COVID-19 be protected by wearing eyeglasses?

Could COVID-19 be protected by wearing eyeglasses?

How does COVID-19 spread?

When an infected individual cough, sneezes, or talks, COVID-19 is transmitted by respiratory droplets. People may become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their eyes, mouth, or nose.

According to a new study from Hubei Areas of the control/area of land in China, wearing eyeglasses may reduce your chances of catching the coronavirus. The results were published in the medical journal JAMA Eye-related medical care. But does this mean that everybody can shield their eyes from COVID-19?

When an infected person coughs or sneezes near your eye, or if you touch an infected object before touching your eye, the coronavirus will spread through your eyes.

KEY POINTS TO NOTE

As the number of people infected with COVID-19 increases worldwide, it’s more important than ever to practice proper prevention and treatment.
According to a small report, people who wear glasses could have a lower chance of contracting COVID-19.
Can you start wearing glasses as a COVID-19 prevention method?

As the coronavirus spreads across various countries and locations worldwide, India has recently surpassed the United States as the second-worst affected country.

As the number of cases rises and lockdowns are lifted to restore normalcy to the economy and daily life, disease prevention and proper precautions has become even more critical. Hand and respiratory grooming, social distancing, and remaining at home until absolutely necessary are all examples of preventive strategies.

According to a small report, other variables may also play a role in lowering the risk of COVID-19. According to a small Chinese study, people who wear eyeglasses have a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 than those who do not.

The relationship between eyeglasses and coronavirus can exist.

It was discovered that 30 participants, or around 11%, wore glasses. However, only 5.8% of people used glasses for more than 8 hours a day, and this was due to myopia.

When comparing these findings to the general population, the researchers cited a 1985 survey that revealed that about 1/3 of the population had myopia and all wore glasses.

As a result, the researchers concluded that wearing glasses could minimize the risk of COVID-19 since even though a large population of people had myopia and wore glasses, only a small percentage of those people were admitted to the hospital because of COVID-19.

Glasses can serve as a reminder to avoid touching your eyes. It’s also possible that glasses act as a partial barrier, shielding eyes from a cough or sneezing splatter. Other than wearing glasses, several variables may account for the study’s findings.

It’s possible that, as opposed to people who don’t wear glasses, people who wear glasses are older and more likely to stay at home during a pandemic. Perhaps people in China who can afford glasses are less likely to contract the virus because they can afford to live in less congested areas.

Is it necessary to wear eye protection to avoid COVID-19?

Although there is some evidence that wearing eyeglasses can help protect against the disease, experts caution that it is too early to say that anyone can use them as a preventative measure.

More research and studies will be needed to determine if wearing glasses in public has any additional benefit in terms of keeping the virus at bay, particularly when people take other precautions like wearing a mask and social distancing. A few experts had previously recommended switching from contact lenses to glasses to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

People who wear glasses have a lower risk of COVID-19 infection because they touch their eyes less than people who do not wear glasses, which can help minimize the risk of the virus being transferred from hands and fingers to the eyes, where it can reach the body and cause infection.

Although it is still unclear if wearing glasses will substantially reduce the risk of COVID-19, it is recommended that you use all other COVID-19 prevention measures, such as avoiding touching your face.

October 15 2020

EFFECTS OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ON STUDENTS

7 TIPS FOR HEALTHY EYESIGHT

What are the effects of virtual learning?

With most students virtually starting school, extra screen time would be inevitable.

And kids who go back to class face-to-face can spend more time on screens than ever before.
That features a lot of oldsters wondering what would affect the vision of children?

Before the pandemic, the screen time issue was a drag. Now, even more so, with the faculty going online. For a few children, that can trigger vision problems.

The most prevalent problems are short-term, what we call eye strain, if you can, digital eye strain. This leads to eye pain, feeling of fatigue, and dryness of the eyes, and these are stuff that essentially requires you to need some rest.

Tip 1: Wear Glasses, if prescribed

If an ophthalmologist has recommended glasses for your child, ensure they wear them all the time, including while watching screens. Thanks to the reduction of eye pressure, regular glasses can go a long way.

Regular eye exams enable your eye care professional to assist you in correcting or adapting to vision changes and provide you with eye care tips.

“There’s a lot of knowledge about myopia,” said Dr. David Guyton, a pediatric ophthalmologist who has been treating patients with myopia for 40 years and a professor of pediatric ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University, “but the key thing that we’ve discovered over the last 50 years is that what causes myopia is the strain of the eye.”

Tip 2: Always watch screens in a well-lit room and choose the screen wisely

Often look at the digital device in a well-lit room and wisely pick the screen.

In a well-lit room, it is suggested that screens be observed to scale back eye strain. At a moderate brightness setting, the luminosity on a monitor or screen should be kept around the median and thus the same should be seen in a room with sufficient lighting.

Viewing screens in a dimly lit space cause increased eye strain and the risk of retinal injury. Another thing to note about screens is that it is best to let your child use a laptop or tablet at a medium range of 50 cm rather than a smartphone at 33 cm if they prefer.

Tip 3: Frequent Eye blinking

There’s a bent to urge engrossed when watching screens, and youngsters often forget to blink. This can end in the watering of eyes, abnormal blink patterns, forceful blinking, or eye rubbing. These are all a result of the dry eyes caused by the shortage of adequate blinking, which is often worse in air-conditioned rooms. We must remind our youngsters and ourselves to blink consciously when ahead of screens to ensure strain-free viewing.

Tip 4: Take breaks regularly

Regular breaks from screens, both for the eyes and for the body, are essential. ideally, we should all follow the 20-20-20 rule, which states that we should look at an object 20 feet away from the screen for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. (see Syndrome of Computer Vision)

These short breaks cause our eyes to concentrate on a distant object clearly and enable the neck muscles to relax. If we consistently follow this method, we will prevent eye fatigue despite spending the entire day in front of a computer. The duration of online classes can be longer than 20 minutes, so you can not follow this rule precisely.

Still, in such a situation, as soon as a session finishes or is convenient during the session, should take an opportunity. The majority of online courses and classes are not supposed to last longer than 20-40 minutes, and this rule is frequently followed.

Tip 5: Limit screen time to what’s relevant

For different reasons, such as work, schooling, entertainment, and social relations, we need to use screens. Many of these tasks are also done in alternate ways. The use of screens should be held to a minimum and needed for less than the most essential reason. Stop it when possible. As parents, if we are glued to the smartphone’s TV, then it’s only normal for the child to want these devices to be used. We can’t expect to waste time on computers while the kid is reading or doing less interesting assignments.

Tip 6: Spend time Outdoors

Outdoor activities are among the sole proven protective factors for myopia (nearsightedness). In studies from around the world, particularly Singapore, it’s been found that children who spend more time outdoors tend to have a lesser progression of myopia. Thus, the kid needs to spend time outdoors, gazing at far distant objects. Time outdoors within the sun is helpful for the body’s general health, too, with an increase in vitamin D production, enhancement of immunity, and emotional well-being.

Tip 7: Good diet

For all people, a healthy diet is essential and more so for youngsters. Although there is no doubt that each vitamin and micronutrient is necessary for the body, those vitamins and micronutrients are necessary for the eyes. These include vitamins A, C, E, lutein, omega-fatty acids, and zeaxanthin.

In the diet, these are naturally present in carrots, beetroot, mango, papaya, citrus fruits, amla, green leafy vegetables, almonds, walnuts, eggs, fish, etc.. Instead of providing supplements, it is better to take and make the child eat these vitamins in a natural form. However, one thing to note is that there is no positive correlation between eyesight and diet. Poor vision is typically undue to dietary deficiency unless it is in a malnourished child.

So, I hope the following pointers help you take care of your child’s eyes. We would like not to urge the use of technology in education because there is no act that screen time is only going to increase higher in the coming years.

So we should always make the most straightforward use of the time ahead of our screens and teach the kid to undertake the same.

October 11 2020

How to Disinfect Glasses for COVID-19

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO DISINFECT EYEGLASSES TO HELP PREVENT COVID-19

COVID and Your Eyeglasses

Did you realize that our glasses could move infections, such as COVID-19, to our eyes, nose, and mouth? This is because infections — just like microbes — are effectively shifted from our environmental factors to our hands, and then from our hands to our glasses.

Research has shown that COVID can stay on glass surfaces for up to 9 days. Without a doubt, we can contact our glasses at that point by contacting our eyes, nose, or mouth as we proceed with the infection cycle.

The risk is significantly higher for individuals with presbyopia, age-related farsightedness that significantly influences those who have matured forty years or older. Presbyopes who wear (reading) glasses will generally put them on and take them off a few times for the day.

What not to use when cleaning your glasses

A significant number of us may have isopropyl alcohol at home, and we demoralize you from doing so, even though it might seem to be an idea to use it to purify your spectacle. For your eyeglasses, especially if you have any unusual coatings on your glasses, it could be too unforgiving.

High corrosive centralization, such as lemon juice or vinegar, should be avoided, which may harm eyeglass lens coatings and certain eyewear materials.

How to Safely Disinfect Your Glasses

You need to avoid homely glass cleaners as they have synthetics in them that can harm certain lens coatings.

Likewise, you would need to avoid cleansers that have those grating dabs in them.

Basic cleanser and boiling water will clean the eyeglass lens, eliminate microbes and infections, and be alright for all pieces of the glasses.

Another alternative: “A watery solution (70%) of isopropyl alcohol is likewise helpful.

It should not pose any problems with high-quality lenses, but one should be cautious because some ink and colors can be removed from the frame.

Dry them with a microfiber fabric after washing your glasses. Stay away from paper items, like facial tissues and paper towels.

Keeping your hand clean guarantees that your glasses are free of germs and infections that can spread to your face or eyes from your eyeglass lens or frames.

Eyeglass Lens Wipes

Pre-soaked eyeglasses wipes are magnificent for cleaning your glasses, just like your mobile, tablet, and PC screen.

They eliminate microorganisms, residue, soil, and germs from your glasses and the recipe reestablish try to please surfaces without leaving any streaks or buildup.

The sturdy material is sufficiently intense to eliminate stains while being delicate enough not to scratch your screens or eyeglass lenses.

In summary, along these lines:

Try not to use isopropyl alcohol to sterilize your glasses.
Refrain from the use of homely unit cleaners or items with high corrosive groups.
Clean your glasses with tepid water or lens wipe.
Dry your glasses with a microfiber cloth to prevent smirching and scratching.
Sterilizing your glasses isn’t supposed to be upsetting or disturbing. Just follow the simple steps above to ensure your eyeglass lens and well-being.