Good Eye Care & Looking After Your Eyesight

Eyes are known to be the windows of the soul. Bright shining eyes depict intelligence, happiness and good health. Dull, worried eyes are a window of sadness and tension. The various muscles around your eyes are affected by the way you perceive the world.

The skin around the eyes is thin and delicate. Be careful of allergic reactions around your eyes when applying any kind of lotions or makeup. When choosing an eye treatment, gel-based ones are suitable for young or oily skin, and are refreshing to use. However, most women find light eye creams and balms more effective. When using face packs, avoid the area around your eyes. Try and keep your eyelashes and eyebrows as natural as possible.

As regards eye strain, straining makes you screw up the muscles surrounding your eyes. Continuous straining results in the formation of wrinkles. To relax your facial and eye muscles, clean your face with cotton wool after a gentle face wash. Close your eyes and apply either slices of cucumber or damp cotton balls on your eyes. Apply the relaxation technique of ‘good visualization.’ Visualize yourself in places you would like to be in e.g. by the sea or in a nice resort on the hills. Relaxing helps your muscles get good rest. To avoid eye strain, read under proper light. Do not read while lying down. Give your eyes some rest, and when on a computer after every few minutes. Use a protective sunscreen on the computer if you are using it for long hours. Avoid excessive television viewing also.

You should also avoid lack of sleep. Puffiness and dark circles develop as a telltale sign of deficient sleep around your eyes. Lack of fluids and insufficient sleep are mainly responsible for this. Tension, alcohol, drugs and jet lag can be some other reasons. Chronic illness can also result in dark circles. To help lift droopy eyes, you can sweep a light-toned eyeshadow all over your eyelid. Then apply a little eyeshadow with a clean cotton bud under your eyes, sweeping it slightly upwards. Apply extra coats of mascara on the lashes just above the iris of the eye to draw attention to the centre of your eyes rather than the outer corners. Puffy eyes are one of the most common beauty problems. You can help remove or relieve the puffiness by gently tapping your skin with your ring finger when you are applying eye cream, to encourage the excess fluid to drain away. Store eye creams in the refrigerator, as the coldness will also help reduce puffiness. You can also place thin strips of potato underneath your eyes to reduce swelling. The starch in the potato seems to tighten the skin. You can also fill a small bowl with iced water or ice-cold milk. Then soak two cotton wool (cotton) pads and lie down with the pads over your eyes. Replicate the pads as soon as they become warm. Continue for 15 minutes. This treatment will reduce the puffiness and brighten the whites of your eyes.

Cucumbers also are a super-quick and simple treatment, that gently tone and soothe the skin around the eyes. Just place each cucumber over each eye, then just lie back and relax for 15 minutes. A compress (herbal eye pads) over your eyes will refresh them, reduce puffiness and relieve itchiness. You can even use a tea bag to make tea, then apply to the eyes when cool. Chamomile is good for tired eyes. The tannin in Indian tea is an astringent and will firm the skin. Rosewater can also help with puffiness. Soak the cotton wool pads in an infusion of rose petals and purified water.

LOOKING AFTER YOUR EYESIGHT:

The eyes undergo a number of changes as you grow older. The lens becomes more opaque and loses its flexibility, the iris becomes more sluggish, the retina can become less sensitive to light, and a condition called glaucoma-in which pressure builds up inside the eye-becomes more likely. On average, the eye of a 60-year old person lets in half as much light as a younger person’s. The most common type of age-related vision change is long-sightedness.

Warning signs of eye problems include difficulty seeing objects close-up (this may be caused by long-sightedness). Also hazy vision, a blur around lights and the sensation of looking through fog (this may be caused by cataracts). Other warning signs include loss of peripheral vision, flashes of light and floating shapes (this may be caused by retinal detachment). Other warning signs include blurred vision, sudden and severe eye pain, teary and aching eyes, halos around lights, headache, nausea and vomiting (which could be caused by glaucoma). The last set of warning signs include rapid or gradual vision loss and distorted vision when reading (this may be caused by macular degeneration).

You should have your eyesight tested yearly as you get older, and consult your doctor or ophthalmologist about any changes in your vision. If you have adult-onset diabetes, you should be particularly vigilant about having regular eye checks. Diabetes is one of the main causes of blindness.

You should try to protect your eyes as much as possible by not working in poor light, avoiding spending long hours in front of a computer, learning some basic Bates method exercises, eating a healthy diet and you should also wear sunglasses in bright light. For glaucoma, Nutritionists suggest a diet rich in Vitamin A may be of assistance in protecting sight. Also by splashing the eyes with warm water and then cold water, circulation can be increased which may help against eye degeneration.

‘The Bates Method’ is a series of eye exercises that may help to improve vision:

• You can splash the eyes with warm water 10 times, and then cold water 10 times to increase blood circulation to the eyes.

• Twice a day, rest your elbows on a table and cup your hands over your eyes. Allow yourself to relax for 10 minutes. If you do a lot of close up or computer work, try to do this for one minute on a regular basis.

• Try not to stare rigidly at any object for a long period of time. Every five minutes look away briefly and focus on something else for a few seconds.

• To strengthen the eye muscles, hold one index finger 10cm/4 inches in front of your eyes, and place the other index finger at arm’s length behind it. Focus with both eyes on the nearest finger for a few seconds, blink, and then focus on the distant finger. Repeat this exercise 10 times, blinking between each change of focus to lubricate and clean the eyes.

Model is Ms. Gillian Gaspard. Contact us at info@globalspecialtysourcett.com to find out more about our special eye creams (natural and organic) to soothe the eyes, revive the eyes, remove dark circles and puffiness. These eye creams also help with smoothing and reducing wrinkles by the eyes. GHG GLOBAL POWERHOUSE-giving you the power to lead a happier and healthier life!