opthalmology class

whenever i go to see a doctor, i try to learn as much as i can from them. if they are friendly enough, i get the health class i hoped for. with all my OT work lately, i felt my eyes become more tired easily and always dried up. so last saturday (since it was baby's monthly checkup) i had my eye checked at the healthway clinic at the market market. the doctor was a friendly man (with a girly name) and i asked away. these were the lessons i learned:

Q: During our company's APE, there was also an eye exam and I was diagnosed with slight astigmatism. A sort of refractor equipment was used to measure our vision and I got a 20/25 vision. This result prompted me to purchase eyeglasses (from the same people who did the eye exam). Was the glasses really necessary (coz I didn't really used them much)?
A: I don't wanna say anything, but (translated from "Ayoko sanang magsalita, pero"..nice ni doc no? heheh) if you use an equipment, since these have to be calibrated, you will most certainly get a reading that is not perfect(20/20) but the actual test is that the patient can read the (Snellen) chart. Usually the people who does the eye exam just want you to buy their glasses.

Q: Do we need to have a daily cleansing regimen for our eyes, like water or eye-mo?
A: Actually when you use water to cleanse your eyes, sometimes it comes out even worse. This is because there are some ingredients in the water that might irritate our eyes. We are not sure about its chlorine content, for example. Our eyes, like our body is really low-maintenance. As long as we do not abuse them, they work fine. (This probably means that as long as we blink the normal number of times per day, our eyes get the normal amount of nutrients it needs)

Q: Does prolonged computer use, damaging to the eyes?
A: There is no proven study that indicates that. But since using a computer is different from reading a paper, because the computer emits light, when we focus so much on it and we forget to blink, that is when we feel eye stress. Our eyes get dried and if we keep at that nonblinking way, for long ours, we tend to strain our eyes.

Q: So eye damage is really a genetic thing..
A: Yes. The way your eyes are structured determines its normalcy (/damage), so when you are born with the wrong structure or there is something not right about it physically then you have eyesight problems. Even with babies, there are tests to determine this. The pediatricians are trained to watch out for the signs (like when they are unable to focus on one thing or when they keep on rubbing their, trying to see things clearly) and when they suspect something, they recommend the patients to an eye specialist.

Q: I often read with low illumination, will that destroy my eyes?
A: That won't actually destroy your eyes but may strain the eye muscles that do the focusing. The eye has the ability to focus itself so that you can see or read in any light. (kaya pla i seem to be able to read in any light )

Q: Are there recommended eye exercises? (Coz I read somewhere about the 20 eye exercises for 20/20 vision- like blinking your eyes fast for 20 times and looking at a thing near you and then suddenly at something faraway and near again and far....all exercises, i think are to induce tears )
A: Nakakapagod naman yon. When you are looking at something close like the computer for long periods of time, you can look at something far for awhile. So as to relax your eye muscles (coz they will refocus).


That's all i can remember...should've taken notes..heheh
(BTW, I was diagnosed with dry eyes, cillary spasm and given eye drops.)