You rely on them from the moment you wake up to when you turn off the lights at night. But are you really giving your eyes the care they deserve? We talked to Deeba Chaudri, OD, a New York City-based optometrist about her patients’ biggest bloopers when it comes to taking care of their baby blues (or browns, greens, or hazels).
1. Sleeping in Contact Lenses
There are two types of
contacts that are FDA-approved for overnight wear, but Chaudri says even those
can be risky. In fact, an American Academy of Ophthalmology study revealed that
the risk of developing a corneal ulcer is 10 to 15 times greater in
extended-wear contact lens users than those who only wear their contacts during
the day. And don’t even think about sleeping in any other type of contact lens.
“You’re depriving your corneas of oxygen, and that’s a great way to cause
infection and encourage bacteria to grow,” Chaudri says. It’s fine to take a
20-minute nap in your contacts, she says, but it’s safer to take them out
beforehand—just in case you oversleep! If you do wake up to realize you’re
still sporting your lenses, don’t try to take them out right away; if your eyes
are dried out, you could actually pull the top layer of your cornea away with
them. Instead, wait 20 to 30 minutes and lubricate with artificial tears before
you remove the contacts. Then stick to glasses for the rest of the day.
2. Touching and Rubbing Your Eyes
Whether you wear contacts or
not, you’re asking for trouble by unnecessary poking and rubbing your eyes.
“Sometimes your eyes itch and you have to rub, but it’s best to keep the lid
closed and only touch the outside of the eye,” Chaudri says. Rubbing too hard
can also lead to broken blood vessels and inflammation. Another reason to keep
your hands off? Your eyes are protected by mucous membranes—moist tissue that
can easily collect dirt and germs—so they’re a great place for bacteria to
grow. “If you shake someone’s hand and then you rub your eyes, you’re
transmitting those germs and there’s a good chance you can catch whatever cold
he’s got.”
3. Staring at Devices All Day (and Night)
Electronic screens, like
those on our computers, tablets, and smartphones, emit blue light, which eye
doctors believe to be as harmful as the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Plus, focusing
on anything for hours on end can cause eyestrain and headaches, Chaudri says. “If
I told you to run around Manhattan and not stop for hours, your calves would be
pretty sore afterward, wouldn’t they? Think about what your eyes are going
through when you don’t take a break from your computer all day,” she says.
Instead, follow the 20-20 rule: For every 20 minutes you look at a screen, take
a 20-second break to look into the distance, refocus your eyes on something else,
and make a conscious effort to blink—you may not have been doing enough of it
before!
4.
Applying Eyeliner to Your Waterline
Even though makeup
artists often swear by putting liner on the inside of your lower lashes,
Chaudri says it’s actually quite risky. “When you put liner inside your eye,
you’re mixing it with your tears,” she explains. If you’re wearing contacts,
your lenses then get coated in tiny makeup particles, which can deprive your
eyes of oxygen. And even if you’re not wearing contacts, those makeup particles
can also be carrying germs that can cause infection. Liquid liners are
especially dangerous, she adds, since the applicator tip sits in a tube that
can harbor bacteria. Soft pencils are safer since they are continuously being
worn down and a new “tip” is exposed, but she still recommends applying them
outside the eye only.
5. Not Getting Annual Exams
“A lot of first-time
patients tell me ‘I haven’t had an eye exam in 12 years because my vision was
20/20 the last time I was checked,'” Chaudri says. Vision changes aren’t even
the most important reason you should still see an eye doc every year, she says.
“It’s about getting your overall eye health checked out: There are no pain
receptors behind the eye, so if you have a broken blood vessel or a tumor back
there, you would otherwise not know it until it starts to interfere with your
vision, or worse.”
6.
Sleeping In Your Make-Up
Hitting the sack
without washing your face can do more than leave mascara stains on your pillow;
it can also clog the glands around your peepers and lead to irritated skin,
pimples, and even styes—painful, raised bumps that can appear on or around the
eyelids. False lashes are a no-no in Chaudri’s book, too. “If you’re sleeping
in them and rubbing them, that glue can get into your cornea and lead to major
inflammation.”
7.
Using Expired Solution, Lenses or Drops
There’s nothing wrong
with saving a slightly-past-its-prime bottle of contact lens solution, right?
Actually, there could be. “These solutions have cleansers that kill bacteria on
your lenses, so you want to make sure all of those ingredients are still doing
their job,” Chaudri says. The same thing goes for the lenses themselves, which
sit in a sterile solution that can break down over time. Artificial tears and
prescription eye drops also have expiration dates that you should pay close
attention to, as well. And definitely don’t rinse your contact case or store
contacts in any liquid that’s not sterile, like tap or distilled water; both
have been associated with Acanthamoeba keratitis, a drug-resistant corneal infection.
8.
Relying on Redness-Reducing Drops
“My biggest pet peeve
is the overuse of redness-reducing eye drops,” Chaudri says. The kinds you buy
in the drugstore contain vasoconstrictors, which shrink blood vessels and
temporarily make your eyes appear less red. “But they also contain
preservatives and other chemicals that can make your problem even worse in the
long run, and it’s only a matter of time before you experience a rebound
effect.” If your eyes are constantly red or irritated, it’s important to see an
eye doctor who can get to the root of your problem, Chaudri says. He or she can
recommend an over-the-counter product (like a moisturizing “artificial tears”
drop) or suggest other forms of treatment.
9.
Not Wearing Sunglasses Year-Round
“A lot of people
think sunglasses are only for the summer, or that they’re only for fashion
purposes,” Chaudri says. “But wearing them in the winter can be even more
important because the sun reflects off the snow.” Failing to wear proper UV
protection can result in corneal burns, skin cancer on the eyelids, and visible
spots on the whites of the eyes. Make sure your glasses provide protection
against UVA and UVB rays, advises Chaudri, and wear them whenever you’re out in
the sun.
ABC News August 17, 2014
By Amanda MacMillan (This article originally appeared on Health.com)
