Exam time for eyes too?

HYDERABAD: With the onset of March, arrives exams and with exams comes its first casualty: Eyes. Exam time means a lot of reading, writing that brings a lot of stress and strain to the eyes, the usually neglected part of our body.

Dr LVK Raju –senior consultant (cataract and refractive) Maxivision Super Specialty Eye Hospitals guides us through ten commandments for eye care:

1.    Never lie flat on your back and read.
2.    As far as possible, try to maintain a reading distance not less than 25 cm from the eye.
3.    Take adequate intervals of rest (five to ten minutes) in between reading for long hours. One can also relax the eyes by looking at a distant object 5 metres away.
4.    It is crucial that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables such as carrots, spinach, papaya and mangoes, because all of these are rich in beta-carotene and therefore help you to have healthy eyes and proper vision.
5.    Do not compromise on sleep.
6.    In order to keep the eyes fresh one should avoid rubbing the eyes and should splash cold water instead.
7.    Never read in dim illumination as that may lead to eyestrain.
8. Never read when in motion (as on a moving train or a bus).
9.    While working with reflecting surfaces like computer terminals, use anti-reflection coated glasses, to avoid glare and eyestrain.
10.    Position the monitor in such a way that there is a 45-degree angle between the eyes and the bottom of the screen.

Get your eyes examined once a year by your optometrist/ophthalmologist even in the absence of an eye problem. Always follow the instructions of your optometrist in using glasses or contact lenses.