Houseplants for Healthier Eyes

 

We usually think of air pollution as being outdoors, but the air in your house or office could also be polluted. Sometimes 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors. Sources of indoor pollution include:

• Mold and pollen
• Tobacco smoke
• Household products and pesticides
• Gases such as radon and carbon monoxide
• Materials used in the building such as asbestos, formaldehyde and lead

These pollutants and particles affect our eyes dramatically by creating super dry indoor air, which can also cause a host of health issues including chronic dry eye.

Plants are indispensable to human life. Through photosynthesis, they convert the carbon dioxide we exhale into fresh oxygen and then can also remove toxins from the air. Besides helping your eyes studies suggest that having house plants can reduce stress and increasing attention span.

House plants increase humidity in the air through a process known as transpiration. Transpiration is the loss of water from a plant in the form of water vapor. Water is absorbed by roots from the soil and transported as a liquid to the leaves. In the leaves, small pores allow water to escape as a vapor. Of all the water absorbed by plants, less than 5% remains in the plant for growth. Certain high transpiration plants also remove up to 87% of indoor air pollutants within 24 hours. The bigger and leafier the plant the better.

Best air purifying indoor plants based on a 1989 experiment by NASA:

• Pothos
• Dwarf Date palm
• Peace Lily
• Philodendron
• Spider Plant
• Rubber Plant
• Boston Fern
• Areca Palms
• Pineapple Plant
• Dracaena
• Ficus
• Snake Plant
• Aloe Vera
• English Ivy
• Flamingo Lily
• Lady Palm
• Chinese Evergreen
• Kimberly Queen Fern
• Bamboo palm

Besides helping your eyes, studies suggests that having houseplants can reduce stress and increase attention span. House plants are not only pleasant living companions, but that they also provide a number of evidence-based health benefits. Studies have shown plants can knock out stress by calming the sympathetic nervous system, and can also make people feel happier. More research shows spending time around nature has a positive effect on a person’s mood and energy levels.

#eyegotcha

Sources:

www.epa.gov

www.visionsource.com

www.time.com

www.medlineplus.gov


Image: www.bbc.co.uk

Halloween Safety 2020

Over the past several years I have written about the dangers of a Halloween. Dangers such as cosmetic contact lenses costumes trick-or-treating and automobiles.

Halloween 2020 has its own safety tips in the era of Co-vid 19. After many fun activities for families postponed or canceled this year, many communities have decided to allow Halloween festivities to go on by following CDC guidelines.

Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses, there are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween activities. The CDC has released a list consisting of risk levels for Halloween 2020 click here http://bit.ly/37jtOC8

In addition to Co-vid related Halloween safety just a reminder of common Halloween injuries.

• Be sure costumes and masks give those little ghosts and goblins have a clear view of traffic, are not running out in the streets and are visible to drivers by having a flashlight or glow in the dark costumes or accessories.
• If a sword, cane or stick is part of a costume make sure it is not sharp or long. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if he or she stumbles or trips causing puncture wounds or injuries that penetrate the eye.
• The most common eye specific injuries during Halloween is caused by decorative contact lenses. Contact lenses found in novelty shops, salons, Halloween shops or online are not FDA-approved and are being sold illegally. Contact lenses are medical devices and should be treated as such. Decorative or cosmetic lenses have also been found to contain chlorine.
• It isn’t uncommon for children to break glow sticks, splashing the liquid into their eyes. Some glow sticks contain a chemical called dibutyl phthalate and hydrogen peroxide. If your child has gotten this substance in their eyes, the liquid from the glows sticks doesn’t usually cause serve long term injury, but can cause alarming eye pain.

Are you joking?

 

1. Did you hear that there’s a web page for people who suffer from chronic eye pain? 

2. What do you call it when an apple user looks you in the eye? 

3. What do you call a fish with no eyes? 

4. What happens after you rub ketchup in your eye? 

5. Where do rabbits get their eyes checked? 

 

Answers

1.    It’s a site for sore eyes

2.    iContact

3.    Fishually impaired.

4.    You feel silly in Heinz sight.

5.    At the Hop-ticians.

How Does a Vitamin A Deficiency Affect Vision?

Vitamin A (retinol, retinoic acid) is a nutrient important to vision, growth, cell division, reproduction and immunity. Vitamin A also helps the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs work properly. Vitamin A also has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances that might protect your cells from free radicals. Free radicals might play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Vitamin A plays an important role in your vision. To see the full spectrum of light, your eye needs to produce certain pigments for your retina to work properly. Vitamin A deficiency stops the production of these pigments. Your eye also needs vitamin A to nourish other parts of your eye including the cornea. The cornea becomes dry, leading to clouding of the front of the eye, corneal ulcers and vision loss.

Without enough vitamin A your eyes can not produce enough moisture to keep them properly lubricated. Over-the-counter lubrication eye drops contain vitamin A.

High intakes of some forms of vitamin A can be harmful. Getting too much preformed vitamin A (usually from supplements or certain medicines) can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, coma, and even death. High intakes of preformed vitamin A in pregnant women can also cause birth defects in their babies. Women who might be pregnant should not take high doses of vitamin A supplements.

 Sources:

www.aao.org

www.AllAboutVision.com

www.mayoclinic.org

www.nih.gov

Image:

www.medical-actu.com