Restoring Vision Naturally

A complet e g uide t o understanding and im proving y our eyes ight

nat urally

Table of Contents
Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I ntroduct io n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What is Vision? ............................................................................. 3
Hea ling th e Eyes, Na tu ra lly ................................ ............................. 3
How to Proceed Through the Book .................................................... 4
S ection 1 UNDERSTANDI NG VISIO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 1 How the Eye Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Anatomy of th e Eye ................................................................ ....... 6
Wo rkin g Prin cip le of th e Eye ................................ ........................... 8
Field of View of the Hu ma n Eye ................................ ....................... 9
C ha p t e r 2 C o mmo n R e as o ns fo r E y e s tr ai n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
Cau ses o f Eye strain ................................ ................................ ..... 11
Symptoms of Eye Strain ................................................................. 12
Preventing Eye strain ................................ .................................... 12
1.

C orrecti ng Bad H abi ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Breaking Bad Habits...................................................................... 14

1.

Find a Good Habit to Replace Your Bad Habit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.

Eliminate Glare .................................................................. 16

3.

Reduce the C ontrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4.

Toug hen Your Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5.

Rest Your Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6.

Focus from a Di stance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chapter 3 Poor Eyes ight: Facts and Mis unders tandi ngs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9
Myths ........................................................................................ 20
Facts ......................................................................................... 23
C ha p t e r 4 T y p e s o f V is i o n Pr o b l e ms and T he i r S o l ut i o ns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6

Loss and Impairmen t of Vision ........................................................ 27

What Causes Vision Loss? ............................................................ 28
Level of Visual Impairment ........................................................... 28
Visual Disturbances ................................................................ ...... 29
1.

Diplopia .............................................................................. 30
C auses of Double Vi si on (Di pl opi a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Types of Di pl opi a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

2.

Halo Vision .......................................................................... 33

Causes of Halo Vision .................................................................. 33

3.

Blurred Vision ...................................................................... 33

Types of Blurred Vision ............................................................... 34
Symptoms of Blurred Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Causes of Blurred Vision .............................................................. 34

4.

Color Blindness .................................................................... 35

Types of C olor Blindness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Defects in the Three C ones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Missing Cone ............................................................................. 37
Black and White ......................................................................... 37
C auses of C olor Blindness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

5.

Blindness ............................................................................ 38
Types of Blindness ..................................................................... 39
Causes of Blin dness .................................................................... 39
Risk of Blindness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Bli ndness i n I nfants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Symptoms of Vi sual Impai rment i n Young C hil dren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

6.

Ey e Pa in ................................ ................................ .............. 41

Types of Eye Pai n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Ocular Pain ............................................................................... 41
Orbi tal Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Eye Conditions ............................................................................. 42

Ref raction: What is it? .................................................................. 43
Presbyopia .................................................................................. 43

How Does Presbyopia Occur? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Who May Be A ffected By Presbyopi a? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Symptoms of Presbyopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
H ow Can Presbyopi a Be Diagnosed and Corrected? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Myopia (Nearsightedness) .............................................................. 45
How Does Myopi a Devel op? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Who May Be A ffected By Myopi a? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Symptoms of Myopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 46
H ow Can Myopi a Be Diagnosed and C orrected? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Hyperopia (Farsightedness) ............................................................ 47
How Does Hyperopia Devel op? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Who May Be A ffected By Hyperopia? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Symptoms of Hyperopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
H ow Can H yperopi a Be Di ag nosed and C orrected? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Astigmatism ................................ ................................................ 49
H ow Does A stig matism Devel op? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Who May Be A ffected By A sti gmatism? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Symptoms of Asti gmatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
H ow Can A stigmati sm Be Di ag nosed and C orrected? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Glaucoma ................................................................................... 51
What is Glaucoma? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Risk of Glaucoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Sym ptom s of Gl aucoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Treati ng Glaucoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
C ataract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
C auses of Cataract Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Risk of C ataract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 58
Symptoms of C ataracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Diagnosing Cataracts .................................................................. 59
Treati ng C ataracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Preventi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Age-Related Macular Degeneration .................................................. 61

Types of Ag e-Related Macular Degenerati on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Sym ptom s of Age -Rel ated Macul ar Deg enerati on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Treati ng Macul ar Deg enerati on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Risk Factors .............................................................................. 64
C harles Bonnet Syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Amblyopia .................................................................................. 65
Causes of Amblyopia ................................................................... 65
Recognizing Amblyopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Risk Factors .............................................................................. 67
Tests for Diagnosi ng Ambl yopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Treati ng Ambl yopi a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Pto sis (Droop in g Eyelid s) ................................ ............................... 68
C auses of Ptosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 69
Symptoms of Ptosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 70
Treati ng Ptosi s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
C ompli cati ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Conjunctivitis .............................................................................. 72
Types of C onjunctivi tis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Symptoms of C onjuncti vi ti s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Treati ng C onjunctivi tis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Keratoconus ................................................................................ 76
C auses of Keratoconus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Symptoms and Di ag nosi s of Keratoconus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Treati ng Keratoconus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Retinal Detachment ...................................................................... 81
C auses of Reti nal Detachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Symptoms of Retinal Detachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Risk Factors .............................................................................. 82
C om pli cati ons of Reti nal Detachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Treatment for Retinal Tears and Detachm ent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Eye Floaters ................................................................................ 85
Why Do Eye Fl oaters Appear? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

C haracteri sti cs of Ey e Fl oaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

What do they i ndi cate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Diabetic Retinopathy .................................................................... 87
C auses of Diabeti c Reti nopathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Symptoms of Di abeti c Retinopathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Treatment of Diabeti c Reti nopathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Dry Eye S ynd rome (Kerato con jun ctiv itis S ic ca )................................ ... 89
C auses of Dry Eye Syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Di ag nosi s and Treatment of Dry Eye Syndrom e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 5 Drugs H armful to the E ye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5
Acne Medication .......................................................................... 96
1.

I sotreti noin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

2.

Mi nocy cli ne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Alzheimer's Medication ................................................................. 97

1.

C holi nesterase I nhibi tors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Antibiotics .................................................................................. 97
1.

Fluoroquinolones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

2.

Sy ntheti c Peni ci lli n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

3.

Terbinafine ........................................................................ 98

4.

Tetracy cl ine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Antidiuretics ............................................................................... 99
Antihistamines ............................................................................ 99
Anti-Anxiety Medication .............................................................. 100
Arthritis Medications .................................................................. 101
1.

H ydroxychl oroquine Sulfate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Asth ma Med ication ................................................................ ..... 101

1.

C orti costeroi ds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Birth Control ............................................................................. 102

Parkinsons Disease Medication ................................ .................... 102
Blood Pressure Medication ........................................................... 102
Blood Thinning Medication .......................................................... 103

Cancer Medication...................................................................... 104

Depression Med ication ................................ ................................ 104
Diabetes Medication ................................................................... 106
Dilatin g Ey e (Pup ils) Med icin e ................................ ...................... 106
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) ............................................................. 107
Heart Medications ................................................................ ...... 107
High Cholesterol Medication ........................................................ 108
Hormone Replacement ................................................................ 108
Inf lammation ............................................................................ 109
Insomnia ................................................................ .................. 109
Malaria Medication .................................................................... 109
Pain Relief Medication ................................................................ 110
Psychiatric Medication ................................................................ 110
Steroids ................................................................ ................... 111
Vitamins ................................................................................... 112
W eig ht Lo ss ................................ ................................ .............. 112
S ection 2 T reating Defective Vis ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 3
Chapter 6: Wearing G las s es : I s it s afe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 4
The Op tics of Eye Gla sses ................................ ............................ 115
Minus Lenses for Reading ............................................................ 116
Impo rtan ce o f th e Op tic Cen ter of Eye Gla sses ................................ . 117
Gla sses and Th eir Eff e cts on the Size of Eyes ................................ ... 118
Glasses: Annoyances and Inconvenience ......................................... 118
Chapter 7: L as er E ye S urgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 9
Types of Laser Eye Surgery ........................................................... 120
LASIK ..................................................................................... 120
PRK ....................................................................................... 120
LA SEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
RLE ....................................................................................... 121
EpiLasik ................................................................................. 121
PRELEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
I ntacs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

P haki c Intraocul ar Lens Im pl ants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

AK......................................................................................... 122
RK......................................................................................... 122
S ide Ef fects of Laser Su rgery ................................ ........................ 122
I nfecti ons and Del ays i n Heali ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Under or Over C orrection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Worsening of Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 123
Excessive Corneal Haze.............................................................. 123
Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Halos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Damage or Loss of Fl ap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
S e c t i o n 3 N at ur al W ay s to I mp r o v e E y es i g ht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 5
C ha p t e r 8 : B at e s M et ho d o f I mp r o v i n g E y es i g ht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 6
The Bates Method ...................................................................... 127
Conventional Way of Treating Vision ............................................. 128
Bates Treatment Method ............................................................ 129
Circle of Eye Stra in ................................ ................................ ..... 130
Principles of Clear Vision ............................................................. 131
1.

C entral Fixati on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

2.

Shifti ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

3.

Sunning .......................................................................... 132

4.

Rel axati on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

C ha p t e r 9 : I mp o r t a nc e o f a H e al t hy D i e t

.. 133
Nu tritio n fo r th e Eyes ................................ ................................ . 134
Lutein and Zeaxanthin ............................................................... 134
Important Vitamin and Minerals ................................ ................... 135
Vi tami n A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Vi tami n C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Vi tami n E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Zinc....................................................................................... 138
Beta-C arotene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
C ha p t e r 1 0 : E xe r c i s e s fo r I mp r o v i ng V i s i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 0
Exercise 1 Breathing ................................ ................................. 141
Exercise 2 Aff irmation s of Vision ................................................ 143
Present Affirmations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 143
Future Affi rmati ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Natural A ffirmati ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Exercise 3 Palming ................................................................ ... 145
Exercise 4 Figure Eights ............................................................ 146
Exercise 5 Scanning .................................................................. 147

Disclaimer

C opyright 2014 - A ll Ri ghts Reserved

No part of this publi cati on may be reproduced i n any form or by any means,
i ncl udi ng scanni ng , photocopyi ng , or otherwi se wi thout the pri or wri tten
permission of the copyright holder.
The A uthor has stri ved to be as accurate and compl ete as possi bl e i n th e
creati on of this book, notwi thstanding the fact that he does not warrant or
represent at any tim e that the contents wi thi n are accurate due to the
rapi dl y changi ng nature of the subject.
Whi le all attempts have been made to verify i nformati on provided i n this
publ i cati on, the A uthor assumes no responsi bili ty for errors, omissi ons, or
contrary i nterpretati on of the subject matter herei n.

Introduction
Ey es are am ong one of the m ost complex y et fragil e organs of our body. We
often take thi s blessing for g ranted until we begin experienci ng probl ems
wi th i t. The eyes are nothi ng short of bei ng extraordi nary. They l et us
perceive our surrounding s i n ways that cannot be conv ey ed i n words.
Throug h our ey es, we enjoy the colors of li fe after all , sig ht i s con si dered
to be among the Five Senses of the human body.
H owev er, the capabili ti es of our eyes tend to decli ne wi th tim e. Such a
decl ine sometim es occurs far qui cker than y ou may hav e been expecti ng. A
couple of ey e tests foll ow where the opti ci an tries to d etermi ne how m uch
y our vi si on has deteri orated. The next thi ng y ou know, y ouve been
prescri bed a pai r of gl asses or contact lenses apparentl y i n an attempt to
assi st your eyes to functi on normal ly.
There is no doubt that y oull see much better and clear er wi th a pai r of
gl asses or contact l enses, but the truth behi nd them i s far more daunti ng
than people believe. Research has proven that these vision aids do not help
i n improvi ng your eye sig ht i n anyway. Thi nk of them as an aid desi gned to
help you deal with your vision problems on a temporary basis whereas the
underlyi ng probl em li es as i t i s, and wi th time, may even g et worse as
experienced by most peopl e when their visi on continues to g et poorer.
Thi s does not m ean that glasses or contact lenses are of no use. On the
contrary, wi thout gl asses, peopl e wi th vi si on problems woul dnt have been
able to lead their lives as normally as they do now. Nevertheless, the whole
poi nt is, why not seek a more permanent solution? A sol uti on that perhaps
heal s your eyes and improves your visi on to an extent that you dont need
glasses any longer?
In this book, we will begin by learning about how the human eye actually
works, what factors determi ne vi si on and how they affect the perform ance of
y our preci ous, del i cate o rg an. Well then proceed to study the mai n reasons

that lead to the decli ne in vi si on, al ong wi th the comm on ty pes of problem s
rel ated to the ey e whi ch are experienced by a l ot of peopl e.
I t i s also i mportant to know the parti cular types of drug s that are known to
cause damage to the eye. The eye, no matter how val uabl e, i s extremely
del i cate whi ch m akes i t prone to harm from a v ariety of thi ng s. A cl ear
understandi ng of these thi ng s is vi tal so that we can carry out the needed
precauti onary measures ag ai ns t such harm.

What is Vision?
We have been used the word Vision several times, but do we really know
what vi si on i s? I t is comm only used to im pl y things whi ch we see. H owev er,
i t i s much more than that.
A vision i s an outl ook on li fe. I t i s how you percei ve the worl d around you. I t
encompasses more thi ng s than just eye sig ht. I t is a wonderful blend of an
i ndivi dual s imagi nati on, their feeli ng s and thoug hts regardi ng an um pteen
number of things.
You may be wondering, what has this got to do with your eye si ght? Well, it
has everything to do with it. As we previously said, sight is one of the five
senses humans are blessed wi th. As humans, we need inputs from all of our
senses in order to comprehend, and to feel and propel oursel ves towards a
bright future.
I f even one of your senses starts to gi ve up on you, your awareness of the
things around you will begin to change. Such is the importance of your eye
sig ht. I t i s preci ous bey ond any m easure.

H e a l i n g t h e E y es , N a t u r a l l y
Let us return to the c ore topic of this book; that is, the natural ways through
which you can heal your eye sight and improve your vision.
I n thi s book, well l earn about a very i nteresti ng idea by a Professo r of
Ophthalm ol og y. A Professor called William H orati o Bates carried out a

detailed study of the use and effects glasses have on its wearer. He believed
that almost all of vi si on problems were rel ated to some ki nd of a habi tual
strain on the eyes. He even believed that wearing glasses had nothing but
harmful effects, and that they are no t necessary.
Surprising, isnt it? You must be growing more interested in Professor Bates
research. However, its always a good idea to proceed through this book one
step at a ti me so that you are abl e to g rasp all the i mportant knowledg e
rel ated to your eyes.
The aim of this book is to empower y ou to l ead a m uch more confi dent and
pleasurable li fe, wi th ou t yo ur gl asses. Thi s book conveys vi tal knowledg e i n
an interesting and l ogi cal way to hel p y ou m ake the rig ht deci si on related to
your eye sig ht.

How to Proceed Through the Book

Thi s book is carefully di vided i nto three di stinct secti ons.
The first section deals with how the eye works, the common problems which
affect i t, thei r sol uti ons and contai ns informati on about drug s that can harm
the eye sight.
The second secti on discusses the treatment methods for heali ng eye si ght,
i ncl udi ng use of g lasses and surgery .
The thi rd secti on tal ks about natural ways that can hel p you heal and protect
y our eyes from harm . Thi s secti on i ncl udes useful information abou t a
heal thy di et, eye exerci ses and other thing s that can contri bute to im provi ng
your vision.

Section 1 U N D E R S T A N D I N G V I S I O N

Chapter 1: How the Eye Works

C h a p t e r 2 : C o m m o n R e a s o n s f o r Ey e s t r a i n
C h a p t e r 3 : P o o r E ye s i g h t : F a c t s a n d M i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s
C h a p t e r 4 : T y p e s o f V i s io n P ro b l e m s a n d T h e i r S o l u t i o n
Chapter 5: Drugs Harmful to the Eye

Chapter 1
How the Eye Works
The eye is extraordi nary to say the l east. Similar to
the way our other senses of sound, taste, heari ng

FACT: On average, people

bli nk around 12 times a
mi nute

and touch are connected to the human anatomy, the

sig ht i s al so v ery cl osely interconnected to other parts of our anatom y - most
importantl y, the brai n.
Before we begi n to discuss how the eye performs i ts functi ons and gives us
visi on, i t i s necessary to understand the anatomy of the eye i tsel f.
Whi le a detailed understandi ng of the ey e i s not necessary to be able to
improve your vision naturally, i t sure i s i nteresti ng to l earn about how our
del i cate eyes work i n order to be abl e to appreci ate the deli cate yet
powerful organs.

A n a t o m y o f t h e Ey e

Cornea
C ornea is a cl ear cov eri ng whi ch is responsi bl e for transmi tti ng and focusi ng
the i ncoming lig ht.
Fovea
The Fovea i s the center of macul a and provi des the sharp vi si on.
Iris
I ri s is the col ored part of our eyes. I t hel ps in reg ulating the amount of lig ht
that enters the eye. I n brig ht lig ht conditi ons, the i ri s contracts the pupil i n
order to reduce t he i ncomi ng lig ht. On the other hand, i n l ow lig ht
condi ti ons, the opposi te happens and the iris causes the pupil s to di late to
l et i n more lig ht.
Lens
The l ens i s responsi ble for di recting the li ght onto
the retina at the back of the eye. The lens is
transparent. Degradati on i n l ens i s common as we
grow older. C ataracts are among one of the

FACT: When compared to

all the other m uscles i n
your body, the muscles
that control the eyes are
the most active.

common eye problems, as we will l earn in C hapter

3.
Macula
Macul a i s the area found i n the retina whi ch contai ns lig ht sensi tiv e cell s. I t
i s due to these cells that we are abl e to v iew the finest of detail s clearly at
the center of our vi sual field. The macula deteri orates wi th age.
Optic Nerve
The opti c nerves consist of mi lli ons of nerve fi bers that act as a transport
passag e all owi ng transmissi on of visual messages from the reti na to the
brain. These signals are then interpreted by the brain and it is this
i nterpretati on that all ows us to percei ve thi ng s as they are.

One of the m ost comm on probl ems of the ey e i ncl udes Gl aucoma that i s
rel ated to opti c nerv es, whi ch we will learn about i n detail i n C hapter 3.
Pupil
Pupil is the darker opening in the center of the iris. We learned that the
pupi l al ters i ts si ze i n order to adjust the amount of l ig ht that enters the eye
(see Iris).
Retina
FAC T: The reti na regi sters
images as being upside
down. It is the brain that
turns the images the right
side up.

Reti na is the nerve that li nes the back of

the eye. The i ncomi ng lig ht i s di rected onto
the retina whi ch then g enerates electri cal
impul ses that are sent to the brai n to be
converted into images.

W o r k i n g P r i n c i p l e o f t h e Ey e
The whol e worki ng pri nci ple of the ey e is based on the correct worki ng of
each of the v ari ous parts of the eye. I n essence, the human eye works i n
rem arkably simi lar way s to a di gi tal camera.
1. The corne a focuses the incoming lig ht, similar to the way the l ens of a
camera does.
2. The l ig ht focused by the cornea enters the iris, whi ch acts simi lar to
the di aphragm of a camera controlli ng the pupil s to determi ne the
correct amount of lig ht reaches the back of the eye.
3. The len s automati call y adjusts i n order to focus near and approaching
objects correctl y, just li ke an auto -focus camera lens.
4. The l ig ht that i s focused by the cornea and the lens (and controlled by
the pupil and i ri s) then hi ts the retin a. The retin a acts as an el ectroni c
im ag e sensor of a camera by carryi ng out the conv ersi on of opti cal
images into electrical signals.
5. These electrical signals are then transmitted to the brain through the
optic nerves.

6. The visual cortex (part of the brai n that control s sig ht) then helps us
to see.

F i e l d o f V i e w o f t h e H u m a n Ey e
The fi eld of view is simpl y the extent of the envi ronment that can b e seen at
any gi ven moment. The placement of the e yes determi nes the extent of the
field of view. Many birds are able to see 360 degrees meaning they are
able to see who or what i s at the front, the si des, and the back!
For humans, the combi ned fi el d of view i s limi ted to around 180 deg rees.
Thi s expl ai ns why you can see from the corner of y our ey e even when y ou
are focusing ahead of you.
Several ey e condi tions can restri ct and sig ni fi cantly degrade thi s fi el d of
view, thereby g reatl y limi ting a person s abili ty to see.

Monocu lar Vision (orange

area) i s the vi si on when each
eye is used on its own. This
increases the field of view,
but restricts the depth of
perception

B inocu lar Vision (red area)

i s the vi sion when both eyes
are used sim ultaneousl y.
This decreases the field of
view, but increases the
depth of perception

The di fference between the two visions determi ne s the abi li ty to cal cul ate di stances
correctly

Chapter 2
Common Reasons for Eye strain

Simpl y put, eye strain is a ki nd of di scomfort in the eyes that occurs

whenever our eyes tire after focusi ng on any parti cul ar task for an extended
peri od of ti me. There is no doubt that ey e strai n can be extremel y annoyi ng
and uncomfortabl e. H owev er, i t i s not harmful i n m ost cases and dim inishes
once the eyes are gi ven some ti me to rest.
Nevertheless, the probabili ty that certain symptoms of eye strai n can
i ndi cate certai n underl yi ng eye probl ems cannot be ig nored. This is why i t i s
of an utm ost im portance that peopl e underst and the causes and effects of
eye strai n so that they can m aximi ze thei r efforts to keep the eyes well rested.

10

C a u s e s o f Ey e s t r a i n
The causal factor that result s in eye strain is health - the lack of it, to be
m ore preci se. P oor heal th g oes a l ong way i n reduci ng vi si on al ong wi th
sev eral other factors that are li nked to a persons lifestyl e. This is why i t i s
v i tal that a person, who is experi enci ng from frequent eye strai n i ssues,
anal yze his or her li festyl e to fil ter out any factors that may be behi n d the
diminished vision.
One of the thi ng s that
would need to be
anal yzed is the type of
life a person leads. The
pace at whi ch they lead
their lives a hectic,
under pressure and a
stressful life can
sig ni fi cantl y reduce the
streng th of the eyes.
I t i s often necessary to trace the steps back to the chil dhood of an
i ndivi dual. I t i s often as a chil d that we acqui re and dev el op poor habi ts
whi ch i n turn l ead to the weakeni ng of the ey esi ght. A l ot of sci entifi c
evi dence is av ail able to prove the fact that infants and toddlers hav e
brilli ant eyesig ht, and this starts to deteri orate when a chil d begi ns to g o to
school.
The questi on that com es up i s, how can school contribute to a weakening of
eyesight? Well, the answer is simple enough: school puts a lot of p ressure on
the students to l earn and keep up wi th thei r peers. Thi s pressure causes
stress to build up in many of the pupils; and as we already know, stress is a
factor that has detri mental effects on heal th, l eadi ng to eye strain .
Some of the factors tha t contri bute to eye strai n are:

11

Focu sin g th e eyes f or exten ded p eriod s Focusing on an object for extended
peri ods of tim e can resul t i n eye strai n. Due to the very nature of the eyes,
they are desi gned to shi ft thei r focus between near and remote objects ; this
i s why forcing them to focus on an object at cl ose rang e persi stentl y can ti re
them.
P oor or i nadequate lig hti ng P oor l ig hting forces the ey e to work i n di ffi cul t
condi ti ons, thereby putti ng strai n on the eyes.
Excessive Glare Glare, regardless of whether its direct or indirect, makes
creates problem for proper v isi on. A di rect gl are occurs when a lig ht from
any type of li ght source - shi nes upon the eyes di rectly. Indi rect gl are, on the
other hand, is the gl are that i t reflected off com puter s creens.

S y m p t o m s o f E y e S tr a i n
N ow that i ts cl ear as to what factors cause eye strai n. I t is i mportant to be
able to recog ni ze the symptoms of eye strai n.
The foll owing symptoms can mean that a person i s sufferi ng from eye strain :
1. Burni ng or i tching ey es
FAC T: Eyes are strai ned
more easily when they are
focused on nearby objects
for prolonged periods as
compared to focusing on
di stant objects.

2. Blurred/Double Vision
3. Sore Eyes
4. Sore Neck
5. Frequent Headaches
6. Shoulder Pain
7. A H eig htened Sensi ti vi ty To Li ght

A s i t was previ ousl y sai d, the effects of eye strai n do tend to vanish when
the eyes are all owed to rest. Nonetheless, repeated strai ni ng of the eyes wil l
ul timately resul t i n weakeni ng of the vi si on .

P r e v e n t i n g E y e s t r ai n
Our dail y lives are fill ed wi th stressful routi nes and the work that we do
pl aces enormous am ounts of stress on our ey es. I n today s tech -sav vy worl d

12

where digi tal devi ces are found alm ost ev erywhere, i t i s extrem ely di ffi cul t
to completely eli mi nate eye strai n. H owever, certai n preve nti ve measures
can be taken that would greatly reduce the chances of eye strai n.
Here are some ways to help you prevent eye strain:

1. Correcting Bad Habits

Most of the ti me, the cause of eye strain i s not the
parti cul ar thi ng that we do, but the way we do i t. I t
i s vi tal that you break these bad habi ts and devel op
g ood ones to repl ace the m.
A great number of people

FACT: Bad habits usually

cause most of the damag e
to a persons vision.
Eli mi nati ng bad habi ts and
repl aci ng them wi th g ood
ones can have a
tremendous effect upon
vision.

possess the following bad

habits:
Rea d ing /W ritin g in Po o r Ligh ting Cond ition s
While it is great to read yourself to sleep, reading
i n i nadequate l ig hti ng condi tions i s among one of
the most common bad habits that people acquire at a
very young age.
S mokin g Medi cal sci ence has proved that sm oki ng
severel y damag es the tissues i n the eye; over 25 percent
of cases of age-related macular degeneration were found
to have links with smoking.
Reading While On The Move Readi ng whi le
on the road makes the journey easy. Nonetheless, this makes it
di ffi cul t for the eyes to focus . Motion sickness may al so ki ck i n
and lead to headaches, dizziness and vomiting.
Starin g At Th e Sun Staring at the stars at nig ht is another
thi ng , but this shoul dnt be taken li terall y when i t comes to
looking up at our solar systems giant fireball. A lot of people

13

have a habit of
di rectl y l ooki ng up
at the sun. Too
much exposure can
cause the m acular
i n the eye to
degenerate and
cataracts to buil d
up.

Rubb in g Itch y Ey es Rubbi ng the ey es can dam age

them . A col d compress i s more sui tabl e for
treati ng any i rri tati ons however, avoi d a warm
compress as i t wil l onl y make the i tchi ng g row
worse.

B r e ak i n g B a d H a b i t s
Breaki ng a bad habi t i s not as easy as i t mi ght seem. Thi s i s why the
following guidelines have been included in the book to help you overcome
your bad habits once and for all.

1. Find a Good Habit to Replace

Your Bad Habit

A bad habi t cannot be sim ply elim inated; i t

has to be repl aced by another habi t i n order
to properl y get ri d of i t. You will need to
prepare a plan for yourself that will help
you through the whole process.

14

Fi rstl y , deci de whi ch bad habi t you will try to repl ace, and wi th what. For
example, you may want to qui t the habi t of
reading i n l ow -lig ht condi ti ons and replace i t
wi th a g ood habi t such as ensuri ng that whenever
you read, you do so in a well -lit area.
Once you have defined goals and targets for
yoursel f, the actual process woul d become much

FACT: Breaking a bad

habit is not an easy task.
However, it is not
impossible either. With a
li ttle determi nati on, you
can easil y repl ace them
wi th good ones.

easier than you think.

Remove th e Triggers
Trigg ers do what their name impli es; they tri gger somethi ng. A nything .
For example, you may have a habit of smoking whenever you go to the
bar for a dri nk. I n this case, going to the bar is the tri gger that makes
y ou sm oke. The l og i cal course of acti on i n such a c ase would be to
av oi d g oi ng to the bar at least until you hav e some posi tiv e control
on your smoking habi t.

Surround Yourself With Motivation

A n important part of giving up a bad habi t i s to have role models
around. This does not mean that you l eave your current fri ends or
social circle to enter a new one; all it means is that you find some
people who can hel p y ou wi th whatev er y ou are tryi ng to achi ev e.

Be Prepared For Failure

A nyone can fail . What matters i s that how an i ndivi dual takes the
fai lure. A fai lure can be a source of m oti vati on for the next ti me, as
y oull know why y ou fail ed, and y oull av oi d i t the next time. To av oi d
bei ng di sappoi nted, pl an for fail ure so that you can continue
progressing in a different manner its all about moving forward.

15

2. Eliminate Glare

Glare is am ong t he prim ary causes of eye strain . Certain measures shoul d be
taken in order to reduce or compl etel y eli mi nate gl are.
Con trol th e Sou rce of Ligh t I t is the direct l ig ht that i s responsible for the
FACT: Glare is a great
contributor to eye strain.
Eli mi nati ng glare i n day to-day acti vi ties can
protect your eyes from
straining.

g reatest gl are. Indoor lig hti ng that is exposed

can cause gl are, try to have them encl osed i n
some form of a casi ng (such as shades or
gl obe s) so that you di ffu se the lig ht. Also,
consi der putti ng curtai ns or bli nds on the
windows to diffuse the incoming sunlight.

Use th e Prop er Su rface The shi nier an object, the g reater the resul ti ng
gl are. If your work desk has a tabletop made of gl ass, th en i t will create an
enorm ous am ount of gl are and you will have ey e strain much qui cker. C ov er

16

the table wi th, say, a fabri c to elimi nate thi s issue. Same g oes wi th computer
m oni tors; put a g lare fil ter over them to reduce the am ount of g lare.
It is also recommended that you put your work surface at an angle of
approxi mately 90 degrees from the lig ht source in order to reduce the gl are
and refl ecti ons.
Pro tectin g Yo u r Ey es Outd oo rs You cannot hav e the l uxury of curtai ns and
bli nds while you wander outdoor s. The best way to protect the eyes from
gl are i s to wear polari zed sunglasses that are desig ned for thi s very purpose.
Such types of glasses are ideal for driving as sunlight will get reflected a lot
from vehi cl es around y ou.

3. Reduce the Contrast

Reducing the contrast is another way to g reatl y reduce the gl are. Today s
hig h contrast di spl ays no doubt make the images l ook sharp and beautiful ,
but they arent necessaril y g ood for the eyes. Whenever you use a computer
or a tablet, do try turning down the contr ast to levels that you feel are easy
on your eyes. Among one of the most eye -strai ni ng combi nati ons i s readi ng
bl ack text on a brig ht whi te backg round.

4. Toughen Your Eyes

Whi le i t i s g reat to be able to control external factors whi ch affect the eye,
but you should al so pay great attention to streng thening your own eyes. One
of the g reatest way s to natural ly im prove ey esig ht is by exerci sing y our ey es.
A number of exercises can be found in Chapter 10
20-20 Rule
For every twenty mi nutes
spent focusing on any
parti cul ar work, a break
should be taken where
you should look at
somethi ng that is pl aced
twenty feet away for
twenty seconds. .

of this book.

5. Rest Your Eyes

Working for prol onged peri ods of time imposes a
great amount of strain on our eyes. It is
understandable that extended breaks are not
possi ble all the time. This is why the 20 -20 rul e
shoul d be appl ied whenever possi ble. A ccordi ng

17

to the 20-20 rule, for every twenty minutes spent

focusi ng on any parti cular work , a break shoul d be
taken where you sho uld look at something that is
pl aced twenty feet away for twenty seconds.

6. Focus from a Distance

FAC T: I t i s i nteresti ng to
know that only 20 percent
of an eyes focusing power
i s due to the l ens; the
rest comes from the
cornea!

Our eyes work more effectively when we focus at di stance objects.

Prolonging our focus on nearby objects can cause eye strain. Whenever
working wi th objects that are cl ose to your fi eld of view, i t i s vi tal that you
take reg ul ar breaks i n between to avoi d strai ni ng your eyes.

18

Chapter 3
Poor Eyesight: Facts and
Misunderstandings

Our eye sig ht tends to deteriorate wi th time due to several factors. Some of
deteriorati on is from natural causes, that i s, due to agi ng. Whi le some are
the di rect resul t of the way we l ive our li ves (l ifestyle). Li festyle, or the way
we live our lives, is an extremely broad topic when it comes to discussing its
effects on the eyes. U p till now, we have di scussed some of our bad habi ts
and a few of the factors pertaining to the environme nt (glare).
Our di et i s yet another important factor i n determi ning the heal th of our
eyes, and we will be discussing nutrition in detail in C hapter 9 of this book.
There are also speci fi c drugs whi ch tend to have si de effects strong enoug h
to harm our eyes. These drug s wi ll also be di scussed i n detail i n the next
chapter.

19

The purpose of thi s chapter is to empower you wi th some facts about poor
eyesig ht, as well as cl ear up som e of the mi sunderstandi ng s that are
widespread among people. There are a lot of things that we have been
bel iev ing i n for y ears, and perhaps i n som e cases, si nce chil dhood. I t i s of an
utm ost im portance to dismi ss these misunderstandi ng s so that a clear
understandi ng of what is good and what i s not good for our ey esig ht can be
gained.
Let us proceed throug h this chapter by talki ng about, and cleari ng the
common myths.

Myths
Myth Nu mb er 1: Not u sin g glasses will d amage the eyes
Thi s is not enti rely true. On the contrary, research has shown that usi ng
gl asses can actuall y further deteri orate visi on rather than heali ng i t. Our
eyes can heal themselves naturally provided that they are given the proper
attenti on and care. A com bi nation of eye exercises, proper nutri ti onal i ntake
as well as comm on sense can g o a l ong way in naturall y heali ng vi si on
problems.
Myth Nu mb er 2: Read in g in Dim Light Damages th e Eyes
Thi s is yet another my th. Reading i n di m li ghting condi ti ons in no way
damages your eyes; however, it can strain your eyes. This is the reason why
i t i s recommended not to read i n poor lig hti ng condi ti ons.
Myth Nu mb er 3: Con su mp tion of Carrots Can Heal Vision
C arrots are a ri ch source of Vi tami n A , and vi tami n A i s i ndeed a requirem ent
of our eyes. H owev er, i t is comm only beli ev ed that eati ng l ots of carrots can
improve the eyesig ht thi s i snt true, because the quanti ty of vi tami n A that
i s required is very l i ttle, and i t can be absorbed by consumi ng a heal thy di et
in general.

20

My th Nu mb er 4: No th in g Can Be Don e To Prev en t Lo ss o f S ig ht

Thi s is am ong one of the m ost discouragi ng statem en ts that are ci rcul ated
around. Our eyes are a set of wonderful ly crafted org ans, and given the tim e
and care, they can heal themselv es. Regul ar ey e exam inati ons shoul d be
scheduled to keep a track on the ey es heal th.
N atural ways of heali ng i ncl ude consum ing a heal thy , bal anced di et and
performi ng num erous exercises.
Myth Nu mb er 5: Eye Examin ation s Are On ly Necessary Wh en Exp erien cing
Problems
The whol e purpose of eye examinati ons i s to ensure that the eyes are
functi oni ng properl y wi thout any problems. A n exami nati on bri ngs to lig ht
any li ng eri ng problems before they actually set in. A n examinati on may al so
reveal any seri ous condi ti ons that may not be showi ng any obvi ous
symptoms.
That been sai d, eye examinati ons shoul d never be mi ssed and must be a part
of your health care regime.
My th Nu mb er 6: Using a Co mpu ter fo r Exten ded Period s Can Da ma ge th e
Eyes
C om puter screens do emi t harmful rays at al l. X -Rays and U l travi ol et rays are
known to damage the eyes, and these types of rays are not emi tted by
computer screens.
A l ot of people tend to confuse eye strain wi th eye damage yes, moni tors
can cause eye strai n i f they are used for extended peri ods of time wi th no
breaks i n between but no, they cannot damage your eyes.
Myth Nu mb er 7: Sitting Too Clo se to a Television Can Damage Ch ild ren s
Eyes

21

There is no evidence at all that coul d prov e this statem ent to be true. On the
contrary , chil dren can focus at cl oser objects m uch better than adul ts can. I t
is also observed that children tend to read books by holding them close to
thei r eyes. Thi s habi t tends to g o away wi th ag e, but if a chil d frequentl y si ts
cl ose to a tel evi si on then they shoul d undergo an eye exami nati on to check
whether or not they are sufferi ng from myopi a, or shortsi ghtedness.
Myth Nu mb er 8: People with W eak Vision Shou ld Avoid Focu sin g on
Intricate Details
I t i s also commonl y beli eved that focusing on fi ne details can further
deteriorate the vi si on further, especially in peopl e who already hav e weak
eyesig ht. Thi s concept i s based on the i dea that an eye i s a m uscle, and usi ng
i t will wear i t out.
A better and m ore accurate com parison of the eye i s that to a camera. A
camera does not wear out i f i t i s used to take pi ctures of very fi ne details
same i s the true wi th our eyes.
Myth Nu mb er 9: Eyes can b e Tran sp lan ted
Thi s is not true. N o m atter how adv anced m edi cal sci ence becom es, thi s i s
somethi ng that will remain impossi ble. The eyes are connected to the brai n
throug h the opti c nerv e whi ch is a collecti on of mil li ons of nerv es. Once
the opti c nerv e i s severed, there i s no way of connecting these back together
again.
Thi s is why duri ng surg ery ; the ey es are never taken out of the socket. On
the other hand, the cornea i n the eye has underg one numerous
transplantati ons over the years. Peopl e tend to confuse thi s corneal
transplant wi th an eye transplant. C orneal transpl ant is possi bl e; eye
transplant i s no t.
My th Nu mb er 10: W ea rin g Con ta ct Len ses Prev ents Nea rsig htedn ess f ro m
Worsening

22

C ontact lenses, si mil ar to g lasses, are not a permanent sol uti on to eye si ght
probl ems. They onl y provi de a temporary method to correct visi on and they
are not able to heal or im prove vision condi ti ons i n any way. On the
contrary, weari ng contact lens exposes the user to many ri sks as foll ows:
o

They can cause dry ness of the ey es

They can resul t i n corneal scratches

They can cause corneal i nfecti ons

They can cause the shape of the cornea to chang e

They can cause ey e i nflammation

They can cause ey eli d i nflamm ati on

The l ens sol uti ons can resul t i n an all ergi c reacti on

Facts

Problems rel ated to the eye and vi si on are reg arded as bei ng the
second most common health care issue in the US. Some sort of vision
problems are known to affect more than 120 million people all across
the country.

I t i s esti mated that around 61 percent of the Am eri can popul ati on
needs some form of correcti on for proper vi si on. This percentag e
accounts for around 172 mil li on peopl e. H owever, majori ty of these
people are not aware of the fact that they can greatl y enhance thei r
eyesig ht wi thout the need of going throug h a surgery or wi thout
weari ng glasses or contact lenses.

Those people who repeatedl y g o to an opti ci an wi th the same

com pl ai nts of not bei ng abl e to see cl early enoug h are not aware that
wearing glasses will have hardl y, if any, effect on improving their
v isi on. Gl asses actuall y cause their vision to get worse day by day.

C ommon compl ai nts are about chil dren not bei ng able to see the
boards at school , many teenagers i nabili ty to clearly see street sig ns

23

causi ng them to fail driv er l i censes tests. The solution that is

provi ded, wi th the correcti ve devi ces i ncreasing in power, rarel y sol ve
the problem!

One out of four of Am eri can chil dren aged between 3 and 16 wear
glasses to correct their vision.

A round 75 percent of peopl e who frequently use a com puter (at work,
on daily basis), suffer from some sort of a vision problem; the
sym ptom s could range from headaches, dry eyes, or bl urred vi si on and
i rri tati on i n the eyes as a resul t of excessi ve eye strain.

Among one of the most common types of sel f -reported vision probl ems
are ca taracts. I t is al so the third l eadi ng cause of bli ndness that coul d
have been prevented.

I f you remember the ti me you g ot your fi rst pai r of g lasses, you woul d have
been told to wear them until you got used to them. Sounds familiar? Well,
once you g ot used to them and you took them off, everythi ng woul d seem
bl urry and cause y ou to becom e dizzy. I f y ou rem em ber m ore preci sely ,
things would be far blurrier than they were before you started wearing the
glasses. Why?
Theres only one l ogi cal explanati on for all of thi s. By usi ng stronger
prescri pti ons each time, we hav e onl y been causi ng our v isi on to deteri orate.
The human body has been designed in a way that it has the ability to heal
i tsel f and regenerate, g iven the time. There is no doubt that modern medi cal
science has made excepti onal adv ancements and has i ntroduced thi ng s that
improve healing abil i ty of the body. Nevertheless, there are some things that
need time and nothi ng can accelerate the m. Simi larly , our eyes can heal and
reg enerate i f given the time wi thou t any addi tional aid such as gl asses or
contact lenses.

24

The eyesight is unarguably the most vital sensory channel that humans are
blessed wi th; over 90 percent of all the i nformati on th at the brain recei ves
from varying senses i s actuall y from the eyes. Throug h thi s sensory i nput,
the brain figures out when to react to what we see. Our movements, our
speech and conversati ons wi th other people as well as g estures all are resul t
of the i nterpretati on of the electri cal sig nals executed by the eye. All the
body s sy stems are i n fact interli nked in one way or another.

25

Chapter 4
Types of Vision Problems and Their
Solutions
I n a manner simi lar to other parts of our body, the eyes tend to deteri orate
wi th ag e. A probl em wi th the eyesig ht i s no small problem at all by readi ng
throug h the previous chapters of thi s book, you would have devel oped a
clear picture of how important vision is for humans. Nevertheless, as
im portant as i t i s, i t is al so fragil e and can experi ence m any di sorders that
may not be parti cul arly related to agi ng .
I n thi s chapter, we wi ll discuss several ty pes of vi si on problems i n detail and
talk about the factors that cause these probl ems to occur i n the first pl ace.
We will then move on to di scuss the possi ble sol uti ons for these vi si on
problems in order to help improve vision acuity.
Before we get into the depths of learning about vision problems, it is
necessary that y ou first have a standard set that can act a s a reference to
whi ch you can compare. Thi s standa rd i s a heal thy eye, and as we know, the
body s sensory and processi ng sy stem s work in conjuncti on, i. e. ey es and
brai n transfer informati on throug h the opti c nerves. For a hea l thy eye to
operate at peak e ffi ciency , i t i s vi tal that all the other rel ated sy stems of the
body are also working in harmony.
That been said, vision involves not only the eyes, but the brain and all that
connects them:
For a heal thy v isi on, a pai r of hea lth y ey es wi th each of the ey es
components worki ng perfectl y is requi red.
For a heal thy visi on, a h ealthy b rain that i s capable of correctly i nterpreti ng
the sig nals sent to i t by the eyes i s requi red.

26

A pparentl y, by l eadi ng a heal thy li festyle that consi sts of an adequate diet,
reg ul ar exercise and g ood habi ts does an excel lent job of keepi ng the whol e
body in perfect shape.
The compl ex i nteracti on between the brai n and eyes is a sensi tive one; and
proper control of the m ind i s of an utm ost im portance when i t comes to a
body s self -heali ng abili ti es. The mi nd can hav e powerful effects on the rest
of the body the mind can ei ther assi st i n heali ng , or i t can become a
hi ndrance on the road to self -heali ng .
Let us recall the m ai n purpose of thi s book: whi ch is to help y ou to restore
y our vi si on na tu rally this means that you wil l be usi ng y our body s own
heali ng properti es to encourage heali ng of your visi on. To achieve thi s, you
will need to have the rig ht mi ndset a mi ndset that is willi ng to assi st the
body in achieving the set goa ls and targets; only then you will have the
capaci ty to benefi t from thi s g ui de.

L o s s a n d Im p a i r m e n t o f V i s i on
Most of the peopl e experience vari ous vi si on problem s at som e point in their
lives. Some people have difficulty focusing on far -off objects, whil e some
have probl ems i n vi ewi ng thi ng s that are cl oser to them. Some also suffer
from blurry vision. All in all, one vision problem or the other can severely
affect the quali ty of l ife a person leads. These probl em s can create a
hindrance in performing eve n the simplest of daily tasks, such as reading
newspapers, browsing the i nternet or even recog ni zi ng peopl e can be
difficult.
By defi ni ti on, Visual impai rment i s defi ned as bei ng any ki nd of a l oss of
visi on that causes someone to some of thei r eyesig ht , or i n some cases, make
them completely go blind. Visually impaired people have vision problems
even wi th assi sti ve ai ds.
On the other hand, Loss of Vi si on is a much broader term that g eneral ly
im pl ies a l oss of v isi on that may hav e occurred abruptly , or sl owl y over tim e.

27

What Causes Vision Loss?

There can be a num ber of reasons that can cause l oss of vi si on . Loss of
vision can occur at any age for a number of reasons, but in most of the
cases, ag e i s a major factor the eyes begi n to deteri orate wi th age whi ch in
turn causes some form of vi si on l oss to ki ck i n.
U suall y , vi si on l oss does not occur i n chil dren, unless or unt i l they have had
an acci dent i n whi ch the eye was dam aged i n some way , or i t coul d al so
occur if they have a really unheal thy li festyl e.
Some babies are born wi th a condi ti on called co ng en ita l b lind ness , whi ch
means that they are vi suall y impaired at bi rt h. This coul d be due to a number
of reasons:

C ongeni tal Bli ndness can be i nheri ted i f this condi ti on prevail s i n
ei ther of the parents, then there are chances that the baby wil l be
born wi th i t.

C ongeni tal Bli ndness can be caused by som e i nfecti on Thi s condi ti on
can al so be transmi tted onto the baby as a resul t of an i nfecti on. I f the
mother was i nfected (wi th somethi ng li ke the German measl es) then
the developing fetus could contract it.

Level of Visual Impairment

I n the U ni ted States, the foll owing fo ur terms are used to descri be a
students visual impairment in order to help them accordingly :

Partially Sigh ted students who are categ ori zed as bei ng pa rtial ly
sighted usually require a person who is able to provide them with
speci al education

Low Vision Low visi on refers to a more severe visual impairment.

Thi s term appli es to all those i ndivi duals who are unabl e to read a
newspaper from a normal reading distance.

Legally Blind This impli es that a person has a vi si on that is less than
20/200 a fter use of corrective aids.

28

Totally Blind students who are total ly bli nd are provi ded wi th Braille
or other non-visual study material s to l earn.

However, a visual impairment does not necessarily has to be this severe,

numerous condi ti ons that we will tal k abo ut al so resul t i n temporary vi sual
impairment of some kind that can be healed if proper measures are taken.
There are, of course, other vi si on problems that may devel op after birth at
any point during a persons life. Some of those problems which we will
di scuss in detai l are as fol lows .

V i s u a l D i s t u r b a n c es
A num ber of visi on probl em s can occur that can cause one or m ore of the
foll owi ng visual di sturbances:
1. Diplopia
2. Halo
3. Blurred Vision
4. Color Blindness
5. Total Blindness
6. Ey e Pa in
Reg ardl ess of the type, any symptoms of visi on l oss are undoubtedly a g reat
cause of apprehensi on. Some of the underl yi ng factors that may have l ead to
the vision l oss can be extrem ely severe m edi cal condi ti ons. I n som e cases,
any chang es i n the vi si on of a person can be cl assi fi ed a s a m edi cal
emerg ency as i t coul d lead to a compl ete l oss of sig ht, or even death.
Even if the l oss of vi si on is temporary, it still shoul d not be taken l ig htly at
all. The cul pri t behi nd temporary loss of visi on can be from one of the
following serious medical conditions:

Stroke

Hypertension

Epilepsy

Migraine

29

Transient I schemi c A ttack (TIA )

1. Diplopia

Diplopia, or double vision, is a symptom that must be taken very seriously.

Whi le some of the causes of double
vision may be negligible, some of the
causes necessi tate that immediate
m edi cal attention be provi ded.

Causes of Double Vision

(Diplopia)
A lot of people take their vision for
g ranted; until one day they open thei r
eyes and fail to see a single, luci d

Figur e 1: A per son with diplopia has

double vision

im ag e they used to see wi th thei r perfect v isi on.

Let us qui ckl y recap on the di fferent areas of the v isi on sy stem before we
proceed wi th di scussi ng the causes of double visi on.

Co rn ea - The cornea i s a cl ear wi ndow that le ts lig ht i nto the eye. I t i s

responsi ble for focusi ng the i ncomi ng lig ht onto the appropriate parts
of the eye.

Len s The lens i s si tuated behi nd the pupil and i t al so hel ps i n

focusi ng the i ncoming lig ht onto the retina.

Extrao cu la r Mu scles (mu scles o f t h e ey e) The extraocular m uscles

are responsibl e for rotati ng the eye thi s i s precisely what l ets us
move our eyeballs.

Nerves I t is the nerves that transport all of the vi sual information to

the brai n for processi ng .

B ra in The brain has dedi cated areas that are responsi bl e for
processi ng the incoming vi sual i nformation from the eye.

30

A s l ong as these systems work i n harmony and conti nue to functi on as they
are supposed to no vision problems are encountered. However, as soon as
even a si ng le part begi ns to mal functi on i n any way the probl em of double
v isi on can be experienced by a person.
Corn ea Prob lems C ertai n probl ems wi th the cornea can lead to double
vision. Any such problems in the cornea usually cause double vision in a
si ngle ey e only. I f a person cov ers that speci fi c ey e, the doubl e vi si on
probl em tends to go away. I t i s due to the abnormal surface (cornea) that
twists the incoming light in a way that results in double vision.
Thi s abnorm ali ty can happen due to the foll owi ng reasons:

A ny infections i n the cornea of the ey e, i ncl udi ng herpes zoster or

shingles

C orneal Scars can create unequal visual im ag es

Dryness of cornea also causes double vision

Len s Prob lems Among l ens probl ems, cataracts are one of the most
common probl ems that can lead to doubl e vi si on. I f the cataract devel ops i n
both the eyes, then both eyes will create inaccurate images. More
i nform ati on about cataracts will foll ow in this chapter.
Mu scle Prob lems Weakening of the muscles can hi nder the smooth
movement of the eye. I f a person gazes in the di recti on of the weak muscle,
they may experience double vi si on. Muscl e problems can resul t from the
following:
-

Myasth en ia Gravis: Thi s is an ill ness of the autoimmune system that

tends to bl ock the stim ul ati on of m uscles by t he nerv es that are
present i nsi de the head of a person. Signs of mya sthenia g ravi s are
drooping eyelids and double vision.

Graves d isease : This is a thyroid condi ti on that has certai n effects on

the ey e m uscl es. This di sease i s comm onl y known to cause di pl opia in

31

the verti cal plane thereby causi ng one im ag e to be superi mposed on

top of another.
Nerve Problems The nerves that are responsible for carryi ng the visual
i nformati on to the brai n for processi ng can al so become damaged for number
of reasons. These nerves not onl y carry the message, but some of these
control the m uscl e m ov em ents. The followi ng problem s can affect the
nerves:
-

Multiple Sclerosis: is a probl em that affects the brain and the spi nal
cord. This can affect the nerves anywhere around these two areas. If
any of the nerves that control the eyes are damag ed, double vision can
occur.

Gu llain -Barre Syn d rome: This is a condi ti on that progressivel y weakens

the nerves and one of the fi rst symptoms that may show i n the eye is
double vision.

Diab etes: Di abetes i s among one of the major cul pri ts responsi ble for
damag ing nerves near the eyes . I t can dam age the m uscl es that are
responsi ble for controlli ng the ey e m uscl es, thereby causi ng doubl e
vision.

Brain Prob lems Some of the factors that cause doubl e vi si on are orig inated
from the brai n i tsel f. A ny of the foll owing i n the brai n can resul t i n doubl e
v isi on, because the brai n i s the ul tim ate v isual processi ng uni t:
-

Aneurysms

Increased blood pressure

Brain Tumor

Migraine

Strokes

Types of Diplopia
There are mai nl y two types of dipl opi a:

32

Monocular Diplopia i s sa id to o ccur when o nly o n e eye experien ces doubl e

vi sion . Thi s is usua lly a resul t o f ab normal su rfa ce in th e a ffected ey e.
Binocular Diplopia is said to occur when double vision is experienced in both
th e eyes. Thi s u sually resul ts i f th e ey es a re p oorly alig ned or an y ki nd o f
n erv e da ma ge h as o ccurred.

2. Halo Vision

A person is said to experience halo vision

when halos appear as circles of light around
the objects a person views. To be more
preci se, a m edi cal di ctionary describes H al o
visi on as a con di tion in which colored or
lu minou s rin gs a re seen a roun d lig h ts.

Causes of Halo Vision

H al o vi si on can be caused by the foll owing
eye disorders:
Figur e 2: Ha los appear ar ound lights

C orneal Endothel ial Dystrophy

C ataract

Glaucoma

The above condi ti ons will be di scussed in more detail l ater on i n this
chapter.

3 . B l u r r e d V i s i on
Bl urred v isi on i s caused by l oss o f sharpness in the ey esig ht of a person. I t
m akes objects appear hazy and out of focus . Bl urry vi si on can be a prime
i ndi cator of any underlyi ng eye diseases. Regardless of whether i t occurs
occasionally or on a regular basis, it should not be left untreat ed. People
wi th bl urred vi si on will hav e problems in vi ewi ng the fi ner detai ls of a scene
whi le the l ack of focus can real ly frustrate them.

33

Types of Blurred Vision

Similar to diplopia, blurred vision can occur in either one or both of the
eyes. When i t occurs i n a si ngl e eye, i t is termed as unil a ter al bl urr ed vi sion ,
and when i t occurs i n both, bi la teral blur red
vision.

Symptoms of Blurred Vision

I n certai n cases, bl urred vision may be
accompanied by several of the following
symptoms, apart from the problems of lack
of focus and haziness:

Figur e 3: A per son who has blurr ed

vision will see something l ike this
when looking a t a per son sta nding
in fr ont of them. The level of
blurr iness will depend on the
severity of the case.

Photophobi a Sensi tivi ty to li ght

Spots or Fl oaters

Pain in the Eye

Any Di scharge from the Eyes

Loss of Peripheral Vision

Loss of Central Vi si on

Eyes becoming Dry

Itchy Eyes

Night Vision Problems

Bloodshot Eyes (red)

Causes of Blurred Vision

A s stated above, bl urred vi si on can be an i ndi cati on of a seri ous underlyi ng
probl em. I t is obvi ous that people who wear g lasses experi ence bl urred
visi on when they take the gl asses off. However, the actual problem ari ses
when bl urred vi si on occurs wi th co rrectiv e m easures i n pl ace.
Bl urred visi on can occur due to the fol l owing :

Myopia

Hyperopia

Presbyopia

A stigmati sm

34

Glaucoma

Macul ar Deg enerati on

C ataracts

Migraines

Dry Eyes

The above eye disorders will be discussed in more detail further ahead in
thi s ch apter.
Other factors that m ay cause bl urry vi sion i nclude preg nancy . Duri ng
preg nancy , i t i s comm on to experience bl urred vi si on. Double vi si on
(di pl opi a) may al so accompany bl urry vi si on as a resul t of the hormonal
chang es that are known to chang e the thi ckness and shape of the cornea. Dry
eyes whi ch can cause bl urred vi si on also occur frequentl y i n pregnant
women, and can thereby play its part to lead to a blurred vision.

4 . C o l o r B l i n dn e s s
I t i s esti mated that col or bl indness affects around 1 i n 12 men around the
worl d; women are l ess affected wi th 1 in every 200 bei ng col or bli nd. C ol or
Blindness is known as color vision
deficiency. Color blind people
usually see as clearly as other
people who have normal vision;
however, they have problems in
seeing red, green or blue light.

Types of Color Blindness

Reti na is the part of the eye that
senses lig ht and control s col or
Figur e 4: An exa mple of how a color blind person
ma y inter pret differ ent color s.

vision. The retina is compose d of

two uni que types of structures,

and they are:

Rod s The rods are desi gned to hel p us see in l ow li ght condi ti ons

35

Con es The cones are desi gned to hel p us see col or

Both the rods and cones have photosensi ti ve chemi cals in them. Rhodo psi n is
found i n the rods; and photopigments are in the cones.
The cones themselves are divi ded into three types
wi th each cone incorporati ng a di fferent
photopig ment that i s sensi tiv e to a speci fi c li ght
(based on the wavelength). Most of the people
who have normal vi si on (call ed tri chromati c) are
blessed wi th all of the three types of cones.
The term colorblind ness i s actuall y qui te
ambiguous as it implies that a colorblind person
sees every thi ng in bl ack and whi te. This i s why we
will use the term color vision def iciency as i t
hel ps i n descri bi ng thi s vi si on condi tion m ore
accuratel y. Simpl y put, i t is the defect in any of
those three cones that causes a person to

FAC T: I n the l ate 1700s,

John Dalton was an
English chemist,
meteorol ogi st and a
physi cist. He was col or
blind and he had
requested that hi s eyes be
examined after his death.
He thought his eyes were
ti nted bl ue and that
caused him to see
di fferently from other
people around him.
Deuteranopia is also
known as Daltonism.

experience CVD.
The three types of cones wi th their uni que photopi gments (red, g reen, bl ue)
are present in normal human vision; however, an y defect in any of the three
cones will upset the balance of color.

Defects in the Three Cones

Those people who have sli ght defects in thei r col or vi si on are said to have
an o malou s tri ch o macy , meani ng that they have al l three types of the cones,
but one of their cones i s faul ty.
Anomalous trichomacy can be further divid ed into three types of anomalies:
o

Deu tran o maly defect i n the red cones

Pro tan omaly defect i n the g reen cones

36

Tri tano ma ly usuall y qui te rare people wi th these types of

anom al ous tri chom acy have problem s i n di stinguishi ng between yell ow
and blue colo rs.

Missing Cone
C ol or Vi si on Defi ci ency does not occur only because of a defectiv e cone, but
also because of an absence of one. An absence of a cone is m ore severe than
anomalous trichromacy.
Those people who have a mi ssi ng cone are said to have di chro ma tic visi o n ,
and it can be divided into the following:
o

Deuteran op ia is the absence of g reen cones. The g reen cones are

also commonl y referred to as the L con es , due to thei r sensi ti vi ty to
l onger wavel eng ths of lig ht.

Pro tan op ia is the absence of red cones. The red cones are al so
commonl y referred to as the M cones, due to their sensi tivi ty to
medium wavelengths of light.

T ritan op ia is the absence of bl ue cones. The bl ue cones are al so

commonl y referred to as the S con es, due to their sensi ti vi ty to shorter
wavel eng ths of lig ht.

Black and White

Monochromacy i s a type of color bli ndness i n whi ch peopl e see ev ery thing as
bl ack and whi te wi th shades of g ray i n between. Monochromacy can al so be
divi ded into two types:
o

Achromatop sia This is al so known as rod mono chromacy and people

sufferi ng from thi s also have an extremel y poor vi si on as well as hi gh
l evels of photosensi tivi ty (sensi tivi ty to li ght). N ysta gmus al so
accompanies this making their eyeballs look unsteady.

Con e mo no ch ro macy Thi s ty pe of m onochrom acy is qui te rare,

however i t does not deteri orate the vi sion.

37

Monochromacy renders a person unable to distinguish between any colors

whatsoev er. Thi s has them faci ng a l ot of problems i n every day activ i ties.

Causes of Color Blindness

Unlike other vision problems that we have been discussing above, color
bli ndness or color v isi on defi ci ency i s heredi tary and is passed down i n the
family. I t i s the X chromosome that is responsible for carryi ng this condi ti on
and thi s explai n s why men are more li kel y to be col or bli nd than women.
Nonetheless, some people may al so contract thi s condi tion from the effects
of l ong-standi ng di seases that m ay i ncl ude mul tiple sclerosis, l iver di seases,
di abetes or some major types of eye diseases.
I f this condi ti on i s i nheri tated, then i t is unli kely that any change (better or
worse) will occur; the color blindness will simply remain as it was at birth .

5. Blindness
Bli ndness i s defined as the i nabili ty to see anythi ng. Bei ng partial ly bli nd
means tha t there is a li mi ted abili ty to see thi ngs. A person who i s
compl etel y blind cannot see anything at all just like bei ng i n a pi tch dark
room.

38

Legal bl indness is a term that i s used to refer to a hi ghly compromised vi si on

abili ty:
A p erson who h as h eal thy ey es can see an o bject fro m a di stan ce o f 200 feet;
ho wev er, a l egall y blin d perso n wil l only b e abl e to see tha t object i f the
p erson i s standin g a t a d ista nce o f 20 feet fro m i t.

Types of Blindness
C onsensus is that there are two ty pes of bli ndness: parti al , or complete.
Partially bli nd people have limi ted vi si on and may suffer from bl urred vi si on
(see page 30 of thi s book for more detail s on Bl urred Vi si on).
Total bli ndness, as described abov e, resul ts in a com pl ete bl ackout for a
person.

Causes of Blindness
N um erous ey e diseases and condi ti ons can lead to bli ndness. We will be
di scussing these diseases i n detail later i n the chapter. They are as foll ows:

Macul ar Deg enerati on

C ataracts

Glaucoma

Optic Neuritis

Reti ni ti s Pi gmentosa

Tumors

Risk of Blindness
The foll owing peopl e are at an i ncreased risk of bl indness:

Those who are sufferi ng from a seri ous eye condi ti on, i ncl uding
macular degenerati on and glaucoma

Those who have diabetes

Those people who have had a stroke

Those people who have undergone an eye surgery

39

Those who work in hazardous environments (such as around toxic

chemi cals)

Babies that are born prematurely

Blindness in Infants
Ey e diseases are not the only factors that are to be bl am ed for causi ng
blindness. Some babi es are
born bli nd, whil e the eyesig ht
of some i nfants begi ns to
deteriorate soon after thei r
bi rth.
The visual system begi ns
developing in the womb ;
however, the system usually
does not devel op until at least
2 years after bi rth. When the chil d i s of aroun d 6 to 8 weeks of age, the
chil d may become able to fixate thei r gaze onto a movi ng object. By the ti me
the chil d has reached the age of 4 months, the eyes shoul d have become
properly aligned.
I t i s recommended that the fi rst eye exami nati on be carried out when the
chil d has reached the age of 6 m onths.
A ny of the foll owi ng condi ti ons can cause an i nfant to becom e blind:

A ny ey e i nfecti ons, i ncl udi ng , but not limi ted to the pi nk eye

A ny bl ocked tear ducts

C ataracts

Amblyopia (lazy eye)

Ptosis (drooped eyelid)

Strabi sm us (crossed eyes)

C ongenital Glaucoma

Delayed dev el opment of the i nfants vi sual system

40

Symptoms of Visual Impairment in Young Children

Foll owi ng are some of the symptoms that may indi cate some ki nd of visual
impai rment i n young chil dren. I f you feel your chil d i s showi ng any of the
foll owi ng symptoms, have them checked by a pedi atri cian.

C onstantly rubbi ng eyes

Showi ngs si gns of extreme sensi tivi ty to li ght (photosensi tivi ty)

P roblem s i n fo cusi ng on objects

Chronic red eyes

A whi te pupi l i nstead of a bl ack one

P roblem s i n keepi ng track of a m ovi ng object

Incorrect alignment or abnormal movement of the eyes

6. Eye Pain
The techni cal name for eye pai n i s op thal ma lgia. Eye pai n is a common
occurre nce and usually i s not an i ndi cation of a serious underl yi ng condi ti on.
I n m ost cases, the pai n tends to g o away wi thout any need of treatment.

Types of Eye Pain

Eye pain can be divided into two types
depending on where a person is
experienci ng i t. I f a person experiences pain
on the surface of the eye, then this is called
ocular pain. Pai n that occurs wi thi n the eye
i s termed as orb ital pain .

Ocular Pain
Ocul ar pai n generall y feel s as i f something i s bei ng scratched on the surface
of the eye. Burni ng or i tchi ng sensati ons are also common. Ocul ar pai n i s
usually caused by external factors such as foreig n objects, or as a resul t of
an infecti on or even trauma.

41

I f any forei gn object fi nds i ts way onto the surface of the eye, eye pai n will
be fel t. I rri tati on , redness and runni ng eyes al ong wi th the pai n are common
sym ptom s that i ndi cate presence of a forei gn object.
Theres a tissue that li nes the eye and the undersi de of your eyeli d. If i t is to
become i nfected and infl amed as a result of an allerg y ocul ar pai n wil l
resul t. I nflammati on of this tissue i s known as con jun cti vi tis, more commonly
known as the pinkeye.

Orbital Pain
Orbi tal pai n, on the other hand, is mostly caused by i nternal factors.

Glau co ma - Gl aucoma sets i n when the intraocular pressure (whi ch i s

the blood pressure inside the eyes) begins to rise beyond normal
l evels. Gl aucoma will be covered i n more detail l ater on.

Optic Neu ritis any i nfl ammati on of the nerve that connects the eye
to the brain will result in orbital pain.

S inu sitis Si nusi ti s can also cause abnorm al level s of pressure to buil d
up behind the eye, leading to eye pain.

Mig ra in es Mig rai nes are y et another factor that contri butes to ey e
pain.

In ju ry A ny i njuri es that cause a foreign object to penetrate i nto the

eye will cause great amounts of pain .

Iritis This i s rare, but i nflammati on of the i ri s can resul t i n pai n

inside the eyes.

Eye Conditions
We have been discussi ng several ty pes of vi si ons some of whi ch offer a cl ear
warning of any underl yi ng eye condi ti ons. We wi ll now proceed to discuss
the symptoms, causes and other useful informati on about these eye
condi ti ons.
Please note that if youre experiencing any symptoms of any of the following
eye condi ti ons, i t is imperative that you immedi atel y see your doctor.

42

A s many of the condi ti ons are due to some sort of refractive errors in the
eye, i t is important to understand what refracti on i s and how i t affects our
vision.

R e f r a c t i on : W h a t i s i t ?
Simpl y put, refracti on i s nothi ng but the bendi ng of lig ht as i t passes f rom
one medium to another.
Vision i s dependent on refracti on, because as the lig ht enters the eye, i t i s
refra cted by the cornea and the l ens onto the reti na. The l ig ht that i s
focused onto the reti na causes the reti na to generate visual m essage whi ch
i n turn are transmi tted to the brain for processi ng.

P r e s b y o pi a
Presbyopi a is often
referred to as an aging
eye condi ti on. I t i s qui te
common among aging
people and in results in a
l oss of thei r abi li ty to
focus; thus making it
di ffi cul t to see cl ose -up
objects.
I t i s a problem that i s
associated wi th
refracti on , or the
improper refracti on - to
be more precise, i n the
eyes.

43

How Does Presbyopia Occur?

A s previ ously m entioned, presby opi a occurs as peopl e age. The lens of the
eye hardens and thi s causes the li ght to be i mproperly refracted and thereby
the i ncoming lig ht i s not correctl y focused onto the reti na.
The muscl es around the lens are al so affected as a person ages, and this
makes it difficult for a person to focus on close -by objects : the ineffective
l ens focuses the l ig ht behind the retin a.
A young person has a lens that is extremely soft and flexible and this allows
the muscl es to adjust the shape of the lens based on what the person i s
tryi ng to focus upon whether cl ose or di stant objects.

Who May Be Affected By Presbyopia?

Whenever a person crosses the age of 35 years, they are exposed to the risk
of developing presbyopia. However, every other person experiences some
sort of l oss i n thei r abi li ty to focus onto near objects, the extent to whi ch
they experience i t, differs.

Symptoms of Presbyopia
A person who may be suffering from presbyopia will experience the following
sig ns and symptoms:

Problems i n reading smal l pri nts

I nabi li ty to view cl ose -up objects, maki ng them hold the object at a
di stance greater than an arm s leng th i n order to view i t

Frequent Headaches

Eye Strai n

Blurred vision at normal reading distances

How Can Presbyopia Be Diagnosed and Corrected?

A comprehensive eye exami nati on can reveal presbyopi a. I f any of t he above
sym ptom s are experienced, the person should pay a vi si t to an ey e specialist.
Eye exams should be increased in frequency as a person reaches 40 years of
age.

44

Eyegl asses can provi de a temporary soluti on by di recti ng the incomi ng lig ht
onto the correct part of the retina.
H owev er, certain ey e exerci ses can hel p i n streng theni ng the eye s and can
sig ni fi cantl y contri bute to a lesser dependency on gl asses or contact l enses.

M y o p i a ( N e a r s i g h t e d n es s )
Myopi a is al so commonly known as n earsigh tedn ess. I t i s a condi ti on i n whi ch
objects that are cl ose to a person appears cl earl y , but those that are at a
di stance, appear bl urred.

How Does Myopia

Develop?
Unlike presbyopia, myopia is
not an age -rel ated condi ti on. I t
can occur at any age and
causes the eye to focus light in
front of the reti na . This i s the
result of the eye ball becoming
too long. It is also known to be
caused b y an abnormal i ty i n
the shape of ei ther the cornea
or the lens.

Who May Be Affected By

Myopia?
Age is not a factor for
development of myopia; it can
affect both adults and
children. Quite often,
nearsightedness is diagnosed
in children bearing ages of
between 8 and 12. The

45

condi ti on may get worse as they approach they become teenagers. Li ttl e
chang es are expected i n the age band of 20 to 40; howev er, in parti cular
cases, the condi ti on may conti nue to g et worse wi th ag e.
Those people whose parents are shortsig hted may al so be at a greater
chance of developing myopia.

Symptoms of Myopia
C ommon symptoms associated with myopia include:

Eye Strain

H eadaches

Squi nti ng in an attempt to see properly

Di ffi cul ty i n seeing far -off objects; chil dren that have my opi a often
have troubl e i s seei ng the blackboard clearly , especi ally if they are
seated at the back of a cl assroom

The presence of these sy mpt om s m ay i ndi cate m y opia see your eye care
professi onal i mmedi ately.

How Can Myopia Be Diagnosed and Corrected?

An eye care professional can diagnose myopia during a detailed eye
examination.
My opi a can be tem porarily corrected by weari ng glasses or contact lenses.
There are also natural ways of correcti ng myopia by consumi ng a heal thy
diet, by m ai ntai ni ng a heal thy li festyle and performi ng a seri es of exerci ses
whi ch will be covered l ater on in thi s book.
These natural way s can hav e great effects on reduci ng , or som etim es
elimi nati ng the need and dependence on gl asses and contact lenses.

46

H y p e r o p i a ( F ar s i g h t e d n es s )
H yperopi a i s al so commonl y known as farsig h ted ness, because this condti on
does not affect a persons abili ty to see di stance objects, as com pared to the
reduced abi li ty of vi ewi ng closer objects.
Nevertheless, farsig htedness vari es in i ts nature from peopl e to people. A
number of peopl e may not even noti ce any probl ems wi th thei r visi on at all ,
especi all y when they are y oung. For others, farsightedness m ay be
considerable enough to make
their vision blurred for both near
and far objects.

How Does Hyperopia

Develop?
When the eyes begin to focus
imag es onto the back of the
reti na, rather than onto i t
farsig htedness i s sai d to have
develope d. As opposed to an
elong ated eyeball as i n myopi a ,
the eyeball tends to become
compressed or shortened.
It may also result due to an
irregular shape of the cornea or
the l ens whi ch would cause the
light to be focused onto an
i ncorrect porti on of the eye.

Who May Be Affected By

Hyperopia?
Hyperopia can affect adults and

47

chil dren alike. I t i s esti mated that around 5 to 10 percent of Am eri cans are
affected by hyperopia a percentag e much less than that of peopl e havi ng
myopi a (30 percent).
I f the parents ha ve hyperopi a, then their chil dren are more likely to devel op
i t.

Symptoms of Hyperopia
The symptoms of hyperopi a are known to vary from person to person. Most
people experi ence some or all of the foll owing :

Eye Strai n

H eadaches

Squi nti ng in order to try to see cl earl y

Bl urred v isi on, especial ly when try ing to bring cl oser o bjects i nto focus

How Can Hyperopia Be Diagnosed and Corrected?

A n eye exami nati on can rev eal whether a person has hy peropi a. Those people
that vi si t an ey e care professi onal wi th com pl ai nts of vi si on problems often
com pl ai n about blurry v isi on and di scomfort.
Eye gl asses are, ag ain, a sol uti on to correct farsig htedness. C ontact lenses
can also do the same job while a more invasive method of surgery is also an
option.
I f y oure willi ng to reduce y our dependency on gl asses and contact lenses,
then you can try to improve your vi si on i n more natural ways by l eadi ng a
heal thier li festyle and by exercising y our eyes.

48

Astigmatism

A stigmati sm i s yet another type of refracti ve error in the eye. I t is a

condi ti on where the eye i s not able to focus l ig ht evenly onto the reti na,
thereby affecti ng visi on.

How Does Astigmatism Develop?

A normal eye consi sts of a cornea that has a
curvature similar to that of a basketball. This
curvature focuses the incoming light evenly onto

FAC T: A stigmati sm al ters

the natural curvature of
the ey e, causi ng an
uneven di stri bution of the
i ncomi ng l ig ht.

the retina.
H owever, an eye wi th astig mati sm has a cornea that i s shaped more li ke a
football ; thi s causes the curvature to be unev en as some areas are steeper or
more rounded. Thi s cornea focuses l ig ht unevenly onto the cornea.

Who May Be Affected By Astigmatism?

A stigmati sm i s not dependent on ag e, and can affect the vi si on of both
adul ts and chil dren. A stig mati sm will affect each person di fferentl y ; som e

49

people who have sl ig ht astig mati sm may not even noti ce any ki nd of change
in their vision.

Symptoms of Astigmatism
The sig ns and symptoms of A stigmati sm are
simil ar to that of other eye disorders, wi th
some addi ti onal i ndi cators:

Eye Strai n

H eadaches

Squi nti ng in an attem pt to clear up

the vision

Bl urry vision or distorti ons i n the

v isi on for all di stances

Figur e 5: This is how a person with

astigmatism might see.

Problems in driving at night

How Can Astigmatism Be Diagnosed and Corrected?

A detailed eye examination can reveal whether or not a person is suffering
from astigm ati sm. I f any of the abov e sym ptom s are experienced then t he
eyes shoul d be exami ned by a professional ey e care speci ali st imm ediately .
Ey e gl asses and contact lenses can correct the refractive error. A m ore
permanent, yet i nvasi ve, method is refracti ve surg ery to chang e the shape of
the cornea. This tends to restore the natural focusi ng power of the ey e.
N ev ertheless, astigm ati sm can be reduced by leading a heal thy lifestyl e
al ong wi th performi ng appropriate eye exercises.

50

Glaucoma

Glaucoma i s a vast term that covers a number of eye condi ti ons; theres one
thi ng that is same to all of these condi tions a nd that i s the fact that al l of
them damage the opti c nerve. I t i s the opti c nerve whi ch carries the visual
i nformati on to the brai n for processi ng. I f this nerve i s damag ed, vi si on wil l
be seriously affected.
Glaucoma i s serious; i t i s the second most common condi ti on that leads to
bli ndness i n the U S the first bei ng cataract.
As a result of glaucoma, large gaps begin to appear in a persons field of
visi on. The fi el d of visi on i s the rang e a person i s abl e to vi ew (see C hapter 1
H ow the Eye Works).

What is Glaucoma?
Glaucom a i s a set of condi ti ons that are associated wi th i ncreasing pressure
i nside the ey e. This pressure i s call ed the intraocul ar pressure .

51

A fl ui d called aq ueo us h u mor i s l ocated at the front part of the eye, and i t is
m ade just behi n d the i ri s. I t ci rcul ates around the channels at the fron t of
the ey e i n an area whi ch we call the anteri or cham ber angl e. I f for any
reason, thi s fl ow is sl owed down or bl ocked, this fl ui d will tend to cause the
pressure to bui ld up (intraocul ar). The pre ssure buil d-up tends to dam age
the opti c nerve.
Four m ajor ty pes of gl aucoma are present, each having different
characteri sti cs:
1. Op en -An gle Glau coma (ch ron ic)
2. Angle-Closu re Glau coma (acute)
3. Con gen ital Glau coma
4. Secon dary Glau coma
Op en -An gle Glau coma (Ch ron ic)
This is the most common type of glaucoma and the cause of its development
i s not clearly known as of yet. The increase i n pressure is sl ow and steady;
the pressure buil ds up until i t pushes agai nst the opti c nerve. I t is heredi tary
and runs in families.
Thi s type of gl aucoma does not show any symptoms until after consi derabl e
damage has occurred to the eye.
Angle-Closu re Glau coma
(acute)
The angle -cl osure gl aucoma i s
known to occur when the exit
poi nts of the fluid are bl ocked
abruptly. Thi s resul ts i n a
rapid, severe and painful
i ncrease i n the i ntraocul ar

Figur e 6: An eye suffer ing fr om acute glaucoma .

52

pressure.
Thi s is a severe condi ti on, and an emergency si tuati on ari ses when i t oc curs.
C om pared to open -ang le gl aucom a whi ch i s slow y et pai nl ess; ang le -cl osure
gl aucoma is qui te sudden and pai nful to endure. Those people who al ready
have thi s type of gl aucoma in one eye are at a g reater risk of an attack on
the other one.
Con gen ital Glau coma
Infants are prone to have congenital glaucoma if it runs in the family. It is
usually present at the ti me of bi rth and i s caused by an abnorm al
devel opment in the vi sual system more precisely, the eye.
Secon dary Glau coma
Secondary g laucom a can r esul t by other eye condi ti ons , by use of certai n
m edi cations and other medi cal condi ti ons. This ty pe of gl aucom a can al so
have been i nheri ted, whi ch then can be further divi ded into two types:
-

Pseud oexfoliation (PEX) synd rome is di scerni ble as flakes that are
simil ar to dandruff. These can accum ulate on the lens of the eye and
clog the drainage of the fluid (aqueous humor); thereby leading to an
i ncrease i n i ntraocular pressure. P EX has a sturdy geneti c com ponent
but other trig gers such as sunlig ht, a slow vi rus or the response of the
autoi mmune system may be needed.

Pig men ta ry Glau co ma begi ns wi th a condi ti on whi ch we call the

pi g men t dispersio n syn dro me. This is an i nheri ted condi ti on whi ch
causes the granul es of pig ments to fl ake -off into the fl ui d (a queous
hum or). These fl akes tend to cl og the drai nag e and i n turn i ncrease the
ocular pressure.

Risk of Glaucoma
Glaucoma i s the second hi ghest cause of bli ndness i n the U ni ted States after
cataracts. Over 4 mi lli on Ameri cans have open -angle g laucoma and more than

53

half of them are not aware because no cl ear sym ptom s of thi s ty pe of
gl aucoma are noti ceabl e unti l i t i s too late and the damage has been done.
Some of the factors that bring on the risk of developing glaucoma are as
follows:

In crea se in In trao cu la r Pressu re Elevated l ev el s of i ntraocul ar

pressure can damage the opti c nerves and cause devel opment of
glaucoma.

Age Age is a major factor when it comes to glaucoma. The risk of

developing glaucoma increases considerably as the age of a person
i ncreases. Each and every person over the ag e of 60 years is at a
g reater ri sk of devel oping gl aucoma. Some ethni c g roups, such as those
of an A fri can descent, are m ore prone to dev el op gl aucoma ev en at a
younger age.

Ra ce and Ethn icity Race and e thni ci ty i s a major ri sk factor when i t

comes to developing glaucoma. People of African origin are
approxi mately fiv e tim es m ore li kel y to devel op i t than C aucasi ans.
They are al so four times more likely to become bli nd as a resul t of i t.
P eople of Japanese ancestry are at a g reater risk of devel opi ng cl osed angle glaucoma as compared to other races.

Family History of Glaucoma Gl aucoma i s i nheri tabl e and runs down

the family line. Open -angle glaucoma is more likely to be passed down
to newer generati ons as compared to the other types of gl aucoma.

Med ical Cond ition s Several medi cal condi ti ons such as di abetes and
hy perthy roi dism are associ ated wi th an increased ri sk of gl aucoma .
Other conditions such as high blood pressure as well as migraine may
also contribute to the i ncreased ri sk. Even certai n eye condi ti ons such
as my opia may heig hten the chances of the devel opm ent of gl aucom a.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

Symptoms of Op en -An gle Glau coma: This is a chroni c condi ti on that

develops slowly over the years and no pain or any kind of visual
chang es are experi enced i n i ts earl y developi ng stages. H owever, as i t

54

prog resses, the opti c nerve i s damaged over time and then the
foll owi ng symptoms start to appear i n the affect eye or eyes:

1. Peri pheral Vi si on starts to dimi ni sh and peopl e start to devel op

tunnel vision in which they are only able to see straight ahead.
2. The next symptom that follows is the decrease in the tunnel vision,
steadily decreasi ng the fi eld of view of the person.
I f at thi s poi nt the condi tion i s l eft untreated, bl indness will foll ow.

Symptoms of Angle-Closu re Glau coma : Thi s is a more severe type of

glaucoma as the symptoms are quite obvious as soon as the pressure
starts to ri se rapi dl y. I ntense pai n is felt i n the area surround the
eyebrows along with development of blurry vision, usually in a single
eye. A person may also feel as of their eye is about to burst. Redness
foll ows together wi th rai nbow -like hal os around sources of lig ht.
Nausea and vomi ti ng are also known to occur . All of these symptoms
appear randomly and not at all as a full -fledg ed attack.

Symptoms of Congen ital Glau coma: A baby i s usually born wi th

congenital glaucoma if it runs in the family. However, no symptoms
may appear until the baby i s of a few months of a g e. I f an i nfants eyes
are observed as becomi ng cloudy, watery , enl arg ing or i f the i nfant

55

shuts thei r eyes when they see lig ht an ophthalmol ogi st must
examine the infants eyes.

Treating Glaucoma
Glaucoma i s usually treated wi th medi cati on, l aser ther apy or even surgery.
The aim of the treatment is to bring down the intraocul ar pressure i n order
to reduce the ri sk of the person g oi ng bli nd. I t i s esti mated that between 4
to 20 people out of a total of 100 who have hi gh intraocul ar pressure may
l ose the ir visi on i n just under 5 years time.
H owever, thi s ti me i s dependent on the foll owi ng factors:

The amount of intraocular pressure in the eye

The thi ckness of the cornea

The persons age

Thi s is why i t i s important to l ower the intraocular pressure i n orde r to

reduce the ri sk of a person l osi ng their v isi on. Gl aucom a i s a condi ti on that
cannot be cured because the damag e to the opti c nerve i s irreversi ble.
H owever, the i ntraocular pressure can be l owered to prevent further damag e
by means of eye drops. If t he eye drops fail to bring down the pressure, then
surg ery becomes the last resort i n l oweri ng the pressure permanentl y down
to appropri ate l evels.
Due to the seri ousness of thi s eye conditi on, al ong wi th the di screte
approach (in the case of open -angl e gl aucom a), ophthalm ol og ists recomm end
regular eye checkups so that any developing condition can be spotted before
i t g ets too l ate.

56

Cataract
A cataract i s the cl ouding of your eyes lens whi ch l eads to a decrease i n
visual acuity. The lens in the eye is responsible for focusing the incoming
li ght onto the reti na , where the
visual images are captures by
li ght-sensi tive reti na and
transmi tted through the opti c
nerve to the brai n for processi ng.
The cl oudi ng dimi ni shes the
am ount of lig ht that is able to enter the eye. As the cataract progresses and
becomes mature, glare, contrast and color sensi ti vi ty are experi enced
besides the decrease in vision.

Causes of Cataract Development

Protei n and water are the main components of whi ch the eye is made of. The
protei n is set in a way that i t all ows the passag e of lig ht whil e keepi ng the
l ens cl ear. The cataract begins to devel op when some of this protei n starts
to cl uster together, thus cl oudi ng the l ens.
C ataract is not contagi ous and i t does not spread from on e eye to the other;
however, for most people, i t devel ops i n both eyes at the same ti me.
There are a num ber of causes of cataracts, and they are as foll ows:

Ag ing The most common cause of cataracts

Di abetes

Smoking

Eye I nfecti on

Injuries to the eye

Exposure to hi gh level s of radi ati on

Excess exposure to sunl ig ht (U V radi ati on)

A Bi rth defect

57

Risk of Cataract
Risk factors are those parti cular aspects that increase the chance of
devel opi ng or acquiring a di sease. C hances of dev el oping cataracts are
increased by:

Increasing Age

Excessi ve Exposure to Ul tra Vi ol et -B radi ati on

Family members who have cataracts

Di abetes

Trauma

Smoking

Symptoms of Cataracts

I n the earl y stag es of cataract devel opment, peopl e m ay not noti ce any
chang es in their vi si on at all. C ataracts are known to mature at sl ow rates
and thi s causes a sl ow -yet-steady decrease i n the vi si on.
Some peopl e som etim es experience a sudden im provem ent i n thei r cl ose -up
visi on; however, this i s short li ved. A s the cataract continues to mature and
cl oud the lens, the vision decreases. A lot of peopl e do not reali ze that they
have cataract until it is discovered during an eye examination.
People wi th cataracts usually experi ence the foll owing sy mptoms as the
cataract matures:

Blurred vision or cloudiness

58

I ncreased sensi ti vi ty to l ig ht; the headlig hts of oncomi ng cars may

seem too brig ht at nig ht.

Glare from bright sources of light

A halo is seen around lights

The colors appear to be faded and not as bright as they were

Rapi d chang es in glasses or contact lenses prescri pti on

Nevertheless, a l ot of eye condi ti ons have simil ar symptoms. If any of the

above sym ptom s are experienced, i t is better to underg o a detailed eye
exami nation as the eye speci al i st woul d be better abl e to determi ne the
reason behind your vision problems.

Diagnosing Cataracts
Looki ng at the symptoms above, you may feel as if you have a cataract.
However, the only way to reach that conclusion is to undergo a detailed eye
exami nation. An ey e specialist will perform a num ber of tests to fig ure out
the overal l heal th of your eye .
You can expect the following to be a part of a detailed eye examination:
Visual A cui ty Test Thi s i s an eye chart test that hel ps i n determi ni ng ho w
well a person can see from varying distances.
Pupil Dil ati on - The pupil in the eye i s widened using eye drops i n order to be
able to see more of the lens and the retina during the exam
Tonometry This i s a standard test that i s used to measure the intra ocul ar
pressure of the eye. Increased eye pressure may lead to development of
Glaucoma (see page 44 of this book).

Treating Cataracts
When the cataract i s i n i ts early stages , there are chances that the v isi on can
be improved by using eye glasses. If they fail to work, or if the loss of vision
has become severe enoug h to interfere in your day to day activi ti es such as
reading , watchi ng tel evi si on and drivi ng, then the other opti on that remai ns
is surgery.

59

C ataract surgery does not require to be performed on an urg ent basi s; thi s
means that you can wai t until you are ready for the procedure. H owever, the
cataract wil l conti nue to mature and the cl oudiness will become more and
more promi nent.
The surg ery requires rem ov al of the cl ouded l ens and repl acement by an
i ntraocul ar l ens i n i ts posi tion. The i ntraocul ar lens then becomes a
permanent part of your eye and requires no care at all. After the surgery is
successful , som e people may need reading gl asses to read clearly , while
some m ay need gl asses to see dist ant objects clearly .
H owev er, if the cl oudy lens was repl aced by a m ul ti focal intraocul ar lens,
gl asses will not be requi red for ei ther purpose.

Prevention
C ataracts cannot be completely av oi ded; nonethel ess, the chances of
devel opi ng one can be reduced si gnifi cantly by leading a heal thy li festyl e
that includes pl enty of exercise as a part of your daily routi ne.
The foll owing can also help in reduci ng the ri sk of dev el oping a cataract:

Quit Smoking

C onsume anti oxi dant vi tamin suppl ements

Protect yoursel f from excessi ve exposure to the sun by weari ng

sungl asses wi th UV protecti on as wel l as a hat

Reg ul ar eye exami nati ons should al so be carri ed out, especial ly when a
person crosses the age of 60 years.

60

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Ag e -Related Macul ar Degenerati on is a

comm on ty pe of ey e condi ti on that causes
the deteri orati on of the central part of the
reti na whi ch we call ma cula . The reti na i s
a thin layer of ti ssue at the back of the eye
and consists of l ig ht-sensi tiv e cells that
capture l ig ht an d transmi t the visual
sig nals to the brai n throug h the opti c
nerve.
We use m acula to v iew the fine detail s of an i mag e; every day activi ties such
as reading, watching television, recognizing peoples faces and any other
visual activi ti es that require detai led analysi s are the work of macul a.
The major factor that is responsi ble for deg eneration of m acula i s age.

Types of Age -Related Macular Degeneration

There are two types of age -rel ated macul ar degenerati on (A MD) and any
person can devel op both types of AMD. The rate wi th whi ch the disease
devel ops al so v ari es from person to person; i t can ei ther dev el op at a slow
or fast pace.
The types are:

Dry age -rel ated macul ar degenerati on

Wet age -rel ated macul ar degenerati on

Dry age-related macular degeneration

Thi s is the m ost com m on ty pe of macul ar deg enerati on. Macula i s the central
part of the reti na and is thus composed of lig ht -sensi ti ve cell s. I n this
parti cul ar ty pe of A MD, the cells break down at a sl ow rate.

61

When the cel ls begi n to break down, yell ow d eposi ts whi ch are cal led dr usen
are deposi ted under the reti na. Drusen deposi ts are commonl y found i n the
eyes of ol der peopl e. H owev er, any sig nifi cant i ncrease, whether i n quanti ty
or si ze, can i ndi cate that the m acular i s deg enerating.
Dry A MD can conti nue to devel op and cause sig nifi cant v isi on l oss wi thout
transforming into wet macular degeneration. On the other hand, it is also
possi ble that dry macul ar generati on may change i nto the wet type i n i ts
early stages.
W et age-related macu lar d egen eration
It is not unusual to have wet macular
degeneration follow the dry type. In
the wet type of thi s disease, Bruchs
membrane (that i s a barrier that
supports the reti na) begi ns to break
down. This bre akdown normally
happens i n cl ose proximi ty to drusen
deposi ts. A g rowth of bl ood vessel s
takes pl ace (n eova scular iza tion ) as a
result. These new blood vessels are

Figur e 7: Neovasculariza tion

apparently extremel y fragil e and are

known to leak blood leading to a greater risk of macul ar scarring and
severel y damagi ng i t. N eova sculariza tion di sturbs the natural systems of the
eye and can cause the vi si on to become vag ue or even compl etel y l ost wi thi n
a few days or weeks time.
Only about 10 percent of A MD are of the wet -type; however, i t is so serious
that over 90 percent of the time, pati ents wi th thi s condi ti on g o l eg ally
blind.

62

Symptoms of Age -Related Macular Degeneration

The foll owing symptoms may i ndi cate macular deg enerati on:

Di ffi cul ty i n reading or i n performi ng everyday a cti vi ties such as

driving and watching television

H avi ng a di storted vision whi ch causes strai ght li nes to appear bent

Problems in recognizing faces of people

Dark patches appear at the center of y our fi el d of visi on

Ag e -related m acular deg enerati on can de vel op i n one eye onl y. H owev er, as
the di sease devel ops, both the eyes may beg in to be affected by i t. I f you
have A MD i n one eye onl y, i t i s very li kel y that your other eye wi ll also be
affected.

Treating Macular Degeneration

P resentl y , no cure is av ail ab le for ag e-related macul ar deg enerati on. I t is a
prog ressive disease and the treatments that are avail able can onl y hel p to
provide the best vision possible for as long as feasible.
There are a num ber of m edi cati ons avai lable for peopl e wi th wet m acular
deg eneration to hel p control neo vascul ariza tion (abn ormal blood v essel
g rowth and th e l eaking o f bl ood o r fl uid) in o rder to mini mize th e da ma ge to
th e retina .

63

Risk Factors
Foll owi ng are the ri sk factors that i ncrease chances of dev el opi ng macul ar
degeneration:

People aged 50 and above are at a g reater ri sk

Smoking is known to increase the ri sk

I f macular deg eneration runs i n the famil y, newer generati ons are
more likely to develop it

Charles Bonnet Syndrome

I n some cases, macul ar deg enerati on i s known to cause phantom images to
appear. Whatever these i mag es show, the object i s actuall y not present.
These i mages can rang e from being as sim pl e as random li nes to as com pl ex
as people and buildings.
The frequency of these imag es can be several ti mes i n a month, i n a week or
perhaps ev en dail y. Thi s phenom enon tends to g o away once the brain
adjusts to the vision problems.

64

A m b l y o pi a
Am bl y opia i s comm onl y referred to as a la zy ey e. I t i s a childhood disorder
as a resul t of i ncompl ete devel opment of the vi si on system i n the earl y years
of an i ndivi dual s chil dhood.
I nfants are not born wi th a 20/20
visi on. They devel op thei r vi si on
system from birth ti ll an age of
around 6 years. This development
takes pl ace when i denti cal im ag es
are formed on reti nas of both the
eyes. If they do not, vision does
not properly develop and the
affected eye thereby becomes a mb lyopi c. I t is estimated that around 4
percent of chil dren experi ence thi s con di ti on.
I f the visi on i s to be prevented from deteri orating , this condi ti on must be
di ag nosed and treated during the early chil dhood y ears. I f the treatm ent is
pursued after the ag e of 6 i t i s very likely that restori ng vi si on becomes an
impossi bl e task.

Causes of Amblyopia
There are three factors that can
cause a childs eye to become
a mb lyopi c.
1. Strab ismu s Misalign ed Eyes
Mi sal ig nment of the eyes i s among
the most comm on reasons for causi ng
amblyopi a. I n a si tuati on where the
eyes are not aligned and aimed in the
simil ar directi on, the brai n ig nores
the image from the eye that is

Figur e 8: A child with strabismus

65

assumed to be misaligned in order to prevent double vision. This results in

the chil d using the cor rect eye onl y. I f thi s conti nues for even a few weeks,
the eye wil l fail to establi sh a correct link to the vi sual cortex of the brain.
2. Anisometropia Uneven Ref ractive Error
The refracti ve error ha s to be the same in both eyes i n order for the eyes to
be able to focus sim ul taneousl y. This causes the eye wi th the g reater
refracti ve error to become am bly opi c. Thi s si tuati on ag ai n causes one eye to
become more dominant than the other; robbing the other eyes chance to
devel op normal visi on. C ompared to misal ign ed eyes, ani smetropi a is far
m ore di ffi cul t to detect as both the ey es l ook sim ilar.
Only thoroug h exami nati ons that focus on vi sual acui ty and ocul ar
preference tests can detect thi s cause.
3. Deprivation Obstruction in the Visual System
I f any sort of obstructi on is present on eye tissues, then this can resul t in
amblyopia. Any type of eye condition that a cts as a hindrance in forming of a
cl ear imag e onto the reti na will consequentl y become the cau se of
devel opment of amblyopia (cataract, for example).

Recognizing Amblyopia
It is not at all easy to identify amblyopia as it is difficult (and impossible, in
some cases) for a chil d to i denti fy a reducti on is vi si on. A chil d may not even
be aware the probl em as adul ts would be, because they have no experience
that they can compare it to.
The only possi bil i ty there is of an adul t i denti fying this probl em i n a c hil d by
visual exami nati on i s an external abnormali ty such as misalig nment of the
eyes.
The other causes may onl y be detected throug h a thorough eye exami nati on
by an ey e speci ali st.

66

Risk Factors
H ere are som e of the factors that will am pli fy the chances o f a chil d
developing this disease:

Family History of cataracts, g laucom a or am by opia i tsel f

Numerous other geneti c condi ti ons of the eye

Pediatric Cataracts

Ptosis (droopy eyelids)

Tum or in the eyeli d whi ch bl ocks the pupil

Tests for Diagnosing Amblyopia

The foll owing tests may be performed on a chi ld to detect any devel opment
of amblyopia:

C y cl opl egi c Refraction

Sli t Lam p Exam

Visual Acuity Measurement

Fundus Exam

Detail ed Eye Exam

Treating Amblyopia
A s we previ ousl y discussed that a chil d beg ins to use onl y one eye because
the brai n shuts off the images from the other faul ty ey e.
To ensure proper dev el opment of both the ey es, a chil d m ust be forced to
use both ey es (especi all y the weak one). Thi s can be achieved by correcti ng
any factors that may be le ading towards amblyopia. In some cases,
speci ali sts recom mend pa tchi ng the stronger eye so that the weak eye i s
used by the child.
In some cases, glasses are used to treat amblyopia . Children usually do not
understand the reasons behi nd all the treatment m ethods, and as a parent, i t
i s your responsi bil i ty to make sure their treatment i s not affected as a resul t
of thei r discom fort towards patching , glasses or ey e drops.

67

P t o s i s ( D r o o p i n g E y el i ds )

Figur e 9: Ptosis ca n a ffect one, or both eyes. It is the upper eye lid that dr oops, a s ca n
be seen in this pictur e.

Droopi ng of an eyelid is call ed p tosis. Thi s is a condi ti on in whi ch the upper

part of the eyel ids fal ls to a posi ti on that is lower than the normal.
Dependi ng on the sev er i ty of this condi ti on, the eyeli d can drop down to an
extent that i t covers part or whole of the pupil thereby affecti ng vi si on.
P tosi s can affect one or both of the ey es and i s a condi ti on that may be
present at bi rth or m ay ev en dev el op in the l ater ye ars of ones l ife.
In several of the cases, ptosis is an isolated issue that does not affect the
overall heal th of a person wi thout even deteriorati ng the visi on at al l.
On the other hand, for some, i t can be an i ndi cati on of other severe
condi ti ons that may be affecting the muscles, brai n, nerves or socket of the
eye.

68

When a ptosis develops within a period of several days or hours it becomes

an al armi ng i ndi cation of a prevai ling medi cal condi ti on.

Causes of Ptosis
Here are some possible causes that m ay lead to development of ptosis:
Con gentical Ptosis (At Birth ) This i s a cond i ti on that an i nfant i s born wi th.
I t coul d be due to a problem in the dev el opment of the i nv ol ved eye muscl es
(levator muscle). Only one eye is affected i n 70 percent of the c ases. I f the
eye lid is droopi ng down enoug h to block the pupil , then a corrective surg ery
must be performed in order to prevent any vision problems.
Apon eu rotic Pto sis (Ag e -Rela ted ) A gi ng i s a comm on cause of the
weakeni ng of the m uscles around the eye li ds. Thi s condi ti on i s caused by the
accumulated effects of g ravi ty and increasi ng ag e that weaken the tissues
i nvol ved i n assisting levator muscle i n performing i ts job. I f this is the cause
of the devel opment of ptosi s, then both the eyes are li kel y to be affected.
Myasth en ia Gravis Myasthenia gravis is a rare condi ti on that al ters the
way muscl es react to nerv e i nputs. Thi s condi ti on is known to progressi vel y
weaken muscl es. These m uscles are not lim i ted to the eye lid area, but al so
those that of arm s, legs, face and other body parts.
However, the weakening of muscles surrounding the eye lid lead to ptosis
and i t is extremel y likel y that both eyes will be affected.

Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OMD) OMD is di sease that is

usually passed down the famil y tree i nto new generati ons. Thi s di sease
affects the muscl es and can sig nifi cantl y affect ey e m oti on as well as
i nduce di ffi cul ty i n swall owi ng. Thi s condi ti on can al so lead to ptosis
i n both eye li ds.

Nerv e Prob lem The brai n controls the m uscles by sendi ng sig nal s
throug h the nerves. I f any sort of condi ti on devel ops that damag es the
brain or the involved nerves, then it is extremely likely that ptosis will
foll ow. Nerves can al so be damaged as a resu l t of di abetes.

69

H orners Sy ndrome i s y et another factor that can l ead to ptosi s. Thi s

sy ndrom e causes the pupi l to become unusually sm all er while hal f the
face l oses i ts abili ty to excrete sweat.

Oth er Eye Cond ition s Other problem s rel ated to the ey e ca n also
cause ptosis. A n i nfecti on, tumor or trauma is among l eadi ng factors
that are responsi ble for the onset of ptosis.

Symptoms of Ptosis
One of the most obvi ous symptoms of ptosis i s the fact that the eye li d
seems to be drooped at a posi ti on that is l ower than the normal point. This
i s easier to spot i f ptosi s is onl y affecti ng a single eye.
I f ptosi s advances to sev ere stag es, then v isi on will be obscured as a resul t
of the eye lid covering the pupil.

Treating Ptosis
Mild symptoms of ptosis where vis ion is not being affected do not usually
require any treatment. Even when the treatment is requi red, i t is carri ed out
in order to resolve the underlying cause.
I n some cases, ey e exerci ses are suffi cient as they hel p i n streng thening the
weak m uscles by helpi ng them to return to thei r origi nal worki ng state. I n
other cases, use of ey e gl asses m ay be r ecommended by an eye speci ali st;
these eye gl asses are nothi ng l ike the ordi nary they have a crutch attached
to them whose functi on is to hol d the eye li d up and prevent i t from
drooping down.
When ptosis is found to be of a severe ki nd, the only opti on for correcting i t
may be surgery. The surgi cal process that corrects ptosis is call ed

70

blepharoplasty.

Thi s surgi cal procedure i nv ol ves the ti ghteni ng of l ev ator m uscles , whi ch i n
turn l ift the droopi ng eyeli ds that may be interferi ng wi th normal vision. In
most of the cases, after the surgical process is complete, no loss of eyelid
movement is reported.
The surg ery does not guarantee that the eyelids will be perfectly
symmetri cal ; however, they will defi ni tel y be at a hig her posi ti on than
before.

Complications
U ntreated ptosi s i n chil dren can l ead to a condi ti on called the ambl yopi a
(see page 54 of thi s book). I f the amblyopi a is al so left untreated, then the
chil ds vi si on wil l surel y deteri orate.
C om pli cati ons after blepharoplasty incl ude:

Excessive bleeding

Forming of bl ood cl ots

I nfecti on

Scarring

A sym metri cal m uscles (facial)

N erve damage (faci al )

71

Conjunctivitis

C onjunctivi tis is an eye condi ti on that is commonl y referred to as the pin k

eye. I t i s the i nflammation of the outer layer of the eye, and causes the eye
to appear red or pink.
C onjunctivi tis is known to occur i n both adul ts and chil dren; however,
chil dre n are m ore suscepti bl e to the i nfecti on that causes this condi ti on to
occur. I t i s a contagi ous condi ti on that can spread extremel y qui ckly from
person to person. C hil dren g eneral ly have a weaker i mmune system as
com pared to adul ts, and i t is not uncomm on to see pi nk ey e spreadi ng am ong
the students at a school or chil dren at day care centers.
The ey e has a cl ear m em brane that li nes the whi te part of an eye as well as
li ni ng the inner part of the eyeli d know as con jun ctiv a. When ei ther of these
becomes infl amed, conjuncti vi ti s i s sai d to have occurred.
Thi s infl ammati on causes the bl ood vessels i n the conjuncti va to enlarg e, and
thi s is preci sely what m akes the eyes appear red.

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Types of Conjunctivitis
There are m ai nl y three ty pes of conjuncti vi ti s. The pi nk ey e condi ti on can be
caused by allergies, bacteria, viruses or in the case of new born babies a
bl ock tear duct can be responsi bl e.
H ere are the three types of pi nk eye:
1. Viral C onjuncti vi ti s
2. Bacterial C onjuncti vi ti s
3. Al lergi c C onjuncti vi ti s
Viral Conjunc tivitis
Viruses are among the most common causes of conjuncti vi tis. A denovi rus i s a
virus that i s known to cause the common col d, is al so responsibl e for causi ng
thi s infl ammati on. Some of the other vi ruses that are to be blamed for this
i ncl ude:

Vari cell a-Z oster Virus

P i corna Vi rus

Pox Virus

Herpes Simplex Virus

H um an Imm unodefi ciency Virus (HI V)

Viral conjuncti vi ti s typi cally resul ts i n a watery discharg e from the eyes.
Both the eyes contract i t, even i f the i nfecti on only started wi th one, due to
the contagious nature of this virus.
Bacterial Conjunctivitis
The bacteri al conjunctivi ti s i s far m ore comm on i n chil dren as com pared to
adul ts. The bacteri a that are known to cause thi s ty pe of pi nk ey e i nfecti on
are:

Staphyl ococci

Streptococci

Gobococci

73

Chlamydia

C ontrary to the watery discharge that is caused by vi ral conjuncti vi ti s,

bacterial conjunctivi ti s causes a thi ck discharge to emerg e from the ey es can
be of a yel low, whi te or green col or. This discharg e can make a person feel
as if their eyelids are being glued together, this feeling is more prominent
when they wake up i n the morni ng .
Only one eye i s more li kel y to be affected by the bacteri a, however, this
doesnt mean that i t cannot spread to the other eye.
Allergenic Conjunctivitis
Al lergeni c conjuncti vi ti s is known to causes redness, i tchi ng and teari ng i n
both the ey es. Discharge m ay al so emanate from the nose and cause i tchi ng
wi thin. Thi s i s not a contagi ous ty pe of conjunctiv i tis as i t occurs when
certai n i rri tants are present i n the env ironment (such as dusk and smoke).

Symptoms of Conjunctivitis
The sy mptom s of each ty pe of conjunctiv i tis di ffer sl ig htly .
Symptoms of Viral Conjun ctivitis

Redness i n the ey e, especi all y on the whi te area

A n I tchi ng or burning sensati on on the eye li ds

Swollen areas at the front of ears

Lots of teari ng

Clear, watery discharge from the eyes

These symptoms typi call y l ast for 5 days to a week. H owever, their durati on
may extend up to three weeks .
Symptoms of Bacterial Conjun ctivitis

Redness in the eye, especially on the white area

Yell ow di scharge from the eyes that causes the eye l ids to sti ck
tog ether; especially i n the m orni ng s

74

Pain in the eyes

Swollen upper eye lids

Treating Conjunctivitis
Due to the fact that there are three di fferent types of conjunctivi tis, the
treatment al so vari es.
Viral conjuncti vi ti s is ty pi cally caused the same vi rus that causes the
common col d. Therefore, simi lar to the col d, vi rus conjuncti vi ti s must al so
run i ts course whi ch lasts from anywhere between 4 to 7 day s. Thi s is a
hig hly contagi ous ty pe of conjunctivi ti s and thus phy si cal contact shoul d be
avoi ded wi th the i nfected person.
C onjunctivi tis caused by bacteria i s treated wi th anti bi oti cs. These come i n
numerous form s , i ncl udi ng eye drops, pill s or oi ntments.
Oi ntments or eye drops should be appli ed to the i nner part of the eye li d at
l east 3 to 4 times a day for durati on of 4 to 7 days.
Pills, on the other hand, shoul d be consumed for a few days. The condi ti on
usually begins to improve within a weeks time.
Al lergeni c conjuncti vi ti s tends to i mprove once the allerg ens have been
removed. I f any i rri tants have g otten i nto the eye, then the eye must be
thoroug hly washed wi th lots of clean water.

75

Keratoconus

The l i teral meani ng

of Kera to con us i s a
cone-shaped
cornea. The cornea
i s the cl ear part
whi ch i s l ocated at
the front of the eye.
The cornea i n i ts
natural state can be
described as bei ng
dome -shaped.
H owev er, keratoconus occurs when the layers near the center of the cornea
becom e thi n, thereby causi ng the cornea to becom e pointy.
There are some ways through whi ch keratoconus can be corrected; howev er,
those people who have recei ved successful treatment continue to have
reduced vi si on for the rest of thei r liv es.

Causes of Keratoconus
The ey e consi sts of ti ny fi bers that are called coll ag en. The coll ag en are
responsi ble for keeping the cornea in i ts rig ht posi ti on and for preventi ng i t
from bulg ing out. The problem starts wi th the coll ag en becomi ng weak. Thi s
weakeni ng leads to thei r i nabi li ty to ho ld the cornea in i ts pl ace; thi s causes
the cornea to prog ressi vel y devel op a cone -shape.
Keratoconus i s heredi tary; i t runs i n famil ies and people whose parents have
i t are at a greater ri sk of dev el opi ng this condi ti on. The chances of the
devel opm ent of this condi ti on i ncreases i n people who hav e other ty pes of
m edi cal issues.
I t has been observed that keratoconus begi ns to set i n duri ng teen years of
an indi vi dual s li fe. H owever, i t can also start even i n a persons chil dhood

76

y ears. The chances of i ts occurrence start to di mi nish once the ag e of 30

y ears i s crossed.
The rate at whi ch the cornea begi ns to chang e i s v ari able; i t can ei ther take
years, or it may happen suddenly.
Simi larly, the chang es can ei ther stop all of a sudden, or conti nue to get
worse. The hi ghly variabl e nature of this condi ti on makes i t not so
predi ctabl e. I f one eye is affected, then i t i s li kely that the other eye wi ll
also develop keratoconus, eventually.

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Keratoconus

The sy mptom s of keratoconus usual ly start wi th blurri ng of a persons vi si on.
The changes i n the eye glasses prescri pti on also i ncrease i n frequency up ti ll
a poi nt where the i ndiv idual s vi si on si mply cannot be corrected wi th eye
gl asses or contact l enses. Som e of the other sym ptom s i ncl ude the foll owi ng :

I ncreased sensi ti vi ty to l ig ht (photosensi ti vi ty)

Di ffi cul ty i n dri vi ng at nig ht

A ppearance of hal os around l ight sources

Eye strai n

I rri tation of the eye (leadi ng to excessive rubbing)

H eadaches and pai n i n the ey es (to l earn mor e a bou t th e typ es o f eye
pa in , go to pag e 35 o f thi s boo k)

As it can be seen, the above symptoms are not unique to keratoconus. All of
the above sy mptom s are usually associ ated wi th sev eral other eye
condi ti ons. Therefore, i t is not possi ble to diagnose ker atoconus by si mply
observing the symptoms.
A thoroug h exami nation by an eye speciali st is essenti al who has the abili ty
to utili ze both direct measurement techni ques al ong wi th analyzi ng at a
mi croscopi c lev el using a sli t l am p to detect keratoconus.

77

A sli t l am p exami nation can rev eal keratoconus. A speci ali st ty pi call y
observes for the foll owi ng sig ns of keratoconus when performing this
examination:

Corneal thinning

Ap ica l sca rring api cal scarri ng i s the scarri ng of the apex of the
cone)

Vog ts stra ie Vog ts straie refers to the stress li nes that are caused
by thinning of cornea

Fleisch ers ring The Flei schers ri ng is a iron -col ored ri ng whi ch
surrounds the cone

The curvature of the cornea needs to be checked to confi rm any devel opment
of keratoconus. This can be done by :

Performin g Corn eal Topograph y Thi s is an computeri zed i nstrument

that can make a three dimensional image of the cornea

Keratometry This i nstrument is desi gned to shine several patterns of

li ght onto the cornea. The pattern at whi ch the l ig ht is refl ected helps
speci ali sts determi ne the curv ature and shape of the cornea.

Treating Keratoconus
There are g eneral ly two ways of throug h whi ch the effects of keratoconus on
the vision can be corrected:

By Wearing Eye Glasses

By Weari ng C ontact Lenses

Eye Glasses
Duri ng the early stag es of Keratoconus, eye speci ali sts may prescri be gl asses
i n order to help the pati ent im prov e thei r vi si on. Eye gl asses can reduce the
visi on probl ems that are typi cally experienced by a person sufferi ng from
keratoconus. A n i ndividual may experi ence problems wi th adjusti ng to thei r
new pair of glasses if:

78

they have never worn eye glasses previously;

a new, strong er prescri pti on of gl asses has been given to them than
the one they were previously wearing

keratoconus has prog ressed i n i ts i ntensi ty and has distorted the vision
to a greater extent

A s the keratoconus conti nues to di stort the natural shape of the cornea, the
visi on will deteri orate and the person wil l need to keep chang ing thei r eye
gl asses. Gl asses can hel p only up till a certai n poi nt, after whi ch they are
rendered useless by the severel y distorted cornea.
One of the sym ptom s of keratoconus i s an i ncreased sensi tiv i ty to li ght. Thi s
probl em can be reduced by getting tinted prescri pti on eye gl asses, by use of
sungl asses and hats to mi nimi ze exposure to lig ht as much as possi ble.
Contact Lenses
A s of now, contact lenses are a standard way of deali ng wi th Keratoconus:

C ontact lenses can restore vi si on beyond the li mi t of eye gl asses. A l ot

of indi vi dual s who have Keratoconus spend several years usi ng contact
lenses.

Ty pi call y , speci al ty pes of contact lenses are requi red for peopl e wi th
Keratoconus. These lenses are can only be fi tted at an ey e cli ni c.

These speci al l enses requi re preci se and car eful fi tti ng due to the
highly abnormal shape of the cornea.

I ndivi duals who hav e Keratoconus hav e to face si mil ar issues as those peopl e
who use contact l enses to correct thei r visi on. Nonetheless, some addi ti onal
i ssues are faced by them because of their eye di sorder:

The eyes of people with keratoconus are generally much more

sensi tive.

These peopl e are m ore prone to all erg ies; thi s can lead to i tching i n
the eyes.

79

These peopl e are al so m ore suscepti bl e to eye i nfections as well as

other eye disorders.

U se of norm al contact l enses can cause sev ere damage to thei r eyes.

Ordinary l ens cl eani ng sol uti ons can cause perm anent eye damage to
people wi th Keratoconus. Thi s is because these sol uti ons hav e not
been speci all y desig ned for them and thus can cause all e rgi c reacti ons.

Types of Contact Lenses for People with Keratoconus

Individuals with keratoconus require specially designed contact lenses. These
contact lenses are desig ned in a way that makes the curve at the front
spheri cal i n shape. This desig n not only hel ps i n reducing the amount of
restorati on, but al so acts as a sol uti on to other eye disorder s such as
myopia, hyperopia
and astigmatism.
Some types of
contact lenses are as
follows:

Soft Lenses

Hard Lenses

C ombination
Lenses

Scleral Lenses

Ti nted Lenses (to cater for lig ht sensi tivi ty)

80

R e t i n a l D e t a c h m en t

Figur e 10 This is how a per son would see when the r etina begins to detach a s a result
of r etinal tear s.

The retina i s l ocated at the back of the eye and is covered wi th l ig ht sensi tiv e cel ls that are responsi ble for generati ng electri cal im pul ses as a
resul t of the lig ht that i s focused onto them by the pupi l and the l ens. These
impul ses are sent to the brain through the opti c nerve.
When the reti na separates i tself from the back of the ey e, reti nal
detachment i s sai d to occur. Thi s i s an extremely seri ous condi ti on and can
l ead to bli ndness i f the reti na completely detaches i tself from the back of
the eye.

Causes of Retinal Detachment

Reti nal detachment beg ins when sm all cuts in the reti na giv e way to fluid
from the eye. This liquid seeps through the cuts and begins to separate the
reti na from the tissue to whi ch i t was connected.

81

To better understand how the reti na gets detached, image a poster that has
been gl ued to the wall . Now l et us consider that the poster has been cut
slig htl y, and this cut has exposed the w all behind the poster. I f water i s
poured throug h thi s cut, the water will eventually separate the poster from
the wal l by dissolving the gl ue; thi s i s
preci sel y how a retina g ets separated from the
underlyi ng ti ssues.
Reti nal tears can al so be caused by the
shri nking of the v i treous. The vi treous i s a
thi ck substance that resem bles a jelly and i t
keeps the eyeball steady. Once the vi treous
beg ins to shri nk, the reti na is pulled away
from the back.

Symptoms of Retinal Detachment

A round 1 i n 10000 peopl e are affected by retinal detachment to varying
deg rees. This ri sk of reti nal detachment i ncreases as the age of an i ndivi dual
increases.
H ere are the symptoms of reti nal detachment:

Blurred vision

A ppearance of bri ght lig ht at the corners of a persons fi el d of view

A ppearance of dark areas i n the fi el d of v iew of a person

Loss of vision

Risk Factors
Some indi vidual s hav e a greater chance of experienci ng reti nal detachment
than others. Some of the factors that increase the chances of suffering from
reti nal teari ng i ncl ude:

Family History If retinal detachment probl em runs i n the family, then

the newer g enerati ons hav e a greater chance of sufferi ng the sam e

82

Myopia (Shortsightedness) Peopl e who have myopia are more l ikely

to experience a retinal tear.

Prior Cataract Surgery If an eye surgery has been performed, then

the risk is higher as well.

Eye In ju ries Eye i njuri es i ncrease the li kel ihood of sufferi ng from
thi s condi ti on

In crea sing Age Ol der people have an increased chance of reti nal
detachment

Prior Retinal Detach ment I f an i ndivi dual has had reti nal detachment
in one eye, then it is very likely that the other eye will experience the
same.

Complications of Retinal Detachme nt

Reti nal detachment i s a seri ous ey e ill ness, and i t should nev er be left
untreated. Doing so will have di re consequence on a persons vision and will
eventually become the cause of their blindness.
Some other compli cati ons may be as follows:

Bleed in g in the eye ball thi s bleeding can cloud the vi treous

Pressure build -up inside the eye ball Increasi ng i ntraocul ar pressure
can lead to other com pli cati ons such as gl aucom a.

Fo rma tion of Ca ta ra ct There is a hig her chance of a cataract forming

Treatment for Retinal Tears and Detachment

Reti nal tears can lead to a reti nal detachment. There are two way s throug h
whi ch reti nal tears can be heal ed, and they are as foll ows:

Laser Su rgery A l aser can be used to burn the retina and cause i t to
produce scar ti ssue. Thi s tissue can hel p i n anchori ng the reti na to the
back of the eye

Cry op exy A cry oprobe i s an extrem ely col d probe that causes the
reti na to generate scar ti ssue. The ti ssue ca n seal the tear and hel p
keep the reti na from detachi ng .

83

I f reti nal detachment has already occurred, then surgery i s the only opti on
to get it back in place before permanent damage is done.
H ere are the ty pes of surgi cal procedures that can be carried out for
reattachi ng the reti na:

Pn eu matic Retinop lexy This i s the simplest type of surg ery to repai r
the detached reti na. H owever, i t i s not sui ted to every indi vi dual. In
thi s procedure, the surg eon injects a g as bubble i nto the vi treous,
while the tears a re sealed with a laser or cryopexy. The injected
bubbl e presses upon the reti na to put i t flat ag ai nst the wall. I t is
imperative that the head be kept i n a posi ti on as i nstructed by the
surg eon after the surg ery.

S clera l B ucklin g Thi s process al so m akes use of cryopexy to heal the

reti nal tears. Once that has been done, the fl ui d bel ow the reti na is
drai ned out and a pi ece of sili cone rubber i s sewn the ey es outer wal l.
Thi s buckle remains i n posi ti on perm anentl y even after the tears have
been sealed.

Vitrecto my S u rg ery - Vi trectomy surg ery i s carried out under a

mi croscope. The vi treous i s rem ov ed by the surg eon and any tears that
may be present are treated using laser or cryopexy (see treatment of
reti nal tears above). Once thi s has been done, the ey e is fil led wi th
sili cone oil or g as. The sili cone oil is eventuall y removed after several
m onths. H owever, i n some cases, the surg eon may deci de to l eave the
oil inside forever.

Some com pl i cati ons can foll ow dependi ng on the type of surg ery perform ed.
The se com pl i cati ons can resul t i n:

Formati on of cataract

Development of glaucoma

Severe i nfecti on

Bleeding i n the vi treous cavi ty (H em orrhage)

Loss of vision

84

E y e F l o a t er s

Eye floaters appear in a persons field of vision as a result of condensation

or deposi ts i n the vi treous jell y. These are fl oating spots, as commonl y
described by people who see them whenever they l ook about.
These fl oaters may be present in onl y one or both eyes.

Why Do Eye Floaters Appear?

I t i s the functi on of the cornea and the lens to
focus the i ncomi ng lig ht onto the reti na. I t i s
this light that causes the light -sensitive cells
to g enerate el ectri cal im pulses whi ch are sent
to the brai n throug h the opti c nerve for
processing.
The l ig ht whi ch passes through the reti na has
to g o throug h a jelly -l ike material cal led the
vi treo us h u mor. From the ti me of bi rth up till
the earl y childhood y ears, thi s substance is
absol utel y cl ear; however, as the person g rows up, deposi ts, strands or even
li qui d pockets beg in developi ng wi thi n thi s substance. The fl oati ng parti cl es
whi ch peopl e see are the shadows of these deposi ts.
When a person moves thei r eyes i n any di recti on whether side to side or up
and down these parti cl es tend to shift thei r posi tion wi thi n the eye and
thi s is preci sely what m akes the shadows m ov e or appear as i f they are
fl oating .

Characteristics of Eye Floaters

H ere are some of the characteristi cs of eye fl oaters:

Ey e fl oaters can be of numerous shapes, rangi ng from ti ny fl ecks,

bubbles or webs to O -shaped strands .

85

They are more obvious when a person focuses on a li ght colored area
(sky, for example).

These eye fl oaters tend to move al ong wi th the movement of the eyes,
wi th a slig ht l ag , however.

What do they indicate?

I n m ost cases, the ey e floaters are benign and pose no threat to the well
being of an individual. People eventually get used to seeing them and simply
ig nore them. H owev er, the floaters can be an i ndi cati on of a m ore seri ous
underlyi ng condi ti on.
Thi s is especially true i f the num ber of fl oaters suddenly i ncreases , then
they can be an i ndi cati on of:

Reti nal tear

Reti nal detachment

Bleeding i n the eye

Eye tumor

Eye diseases

Eye injury

Di abeti c reti nopathy

I f a person noti ces the fol lowi ng chang es, a visi t to an eye speci ali st
becomes vital.
1. The ey e fl oaters i ncrease in num ber ov er tim e, m ore im portantl y if
there are sudden changes
2. Fl ashes of lig ht or any ki nd of l oss i n v isi on i s experienced besi des eye
floaters
3. There is pain present alongside eye floaters
4. Eye floaters develop following an eye surgery

86

Diabetic Retinopathy
Reti nopathy is an ey e disease t hat affects the reti na of the ey e. I t i s qui te
common i n people wi th diabetes, and they often devel op reti nopathy. Thi s
condi ti on can lead to a sig ni fi cant decrease i n a persons v isi on, someti mes
to an extent that they become blind.
It begin when the blood vessels inside an eye becomes weaker. This causes
bl ood and other types of fl uid to leak onto the reti na. I f this fl ui d seeps out
i nto the middl e of the eye, then bl urred visi on will resul t.
Due to the fact that thi s reti nal di sease i s caused by di a betes, i t has a cl ose
link with the blood sugar levels of a person. If these levels remain at a high
l evel , this condi ti on wil l continue to deteri orate . Thi s condi ti on may al so
cause the development of new blood vessels that are extremely fragile and
prone to leaki ng , thus further worseni ng the si tuation.
I f these new bl ood vessels rupture, they coul d leak bl ood i n to the center of
the ey e and cause changes i n the vi si on al ong wi th form ati on of scar ti ssue.
The scar ti ssue wi ll , i n turn, pull upon the retin a and detach i t from the
wall s of the eye, l eadi ng to a reti nal detachment (see page 67 of thi s book
for more information).
A nother adverse effect of retinopathy on the eye is the swelli ng of macula.
The macul a i s l ocated at the mi ddl e of the retina. We us e the m acul a to
appreci ate the fine detail s, recog ni ze faces and so on.
Swelli ng of m acula ul ti mately l eads to bli ndness.

Causes of Diabetic Retinopathy

The mai n reason behi nd devel opment of reti nopathy is an i nabili ty to keep
bl ood sug ar l ev els under cont rol. Hig h bl ood sug ar lev el s can severel y
damag e bl ood vessel s i n the reti na, thereby setti ng up the destructive chain
of ev ents di scussed abov e.

87

Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy

I t the majori ty of cases, no obvi ous symptoms of di abeti c reti nopathy are
present. The deteri orati on in vi si on is the mai n reason whi ch l eads to the
di scovery of reti nopathy. H owever, by thi s time, the disease has adv anced to
a severe level.
Thi s is why i t i s essenti al that regular eye exam inati ons be conducted to
detect any possibi li ty of a developi ng eye di sorder.

Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy

Til l date, no cure for di abeti c retinopathy is av ail able. There are procedures
whi ch can be carried out to prevent l oss of vi si on. H owever, they have to be
performed before the retina is severely damaged.
Tim el y detecti on of the disease is only possi bl e throug h reg ular screeni ng
exami nations, especi all y due to the fact that thi s condi ti on di splays no
obvi ous symptoms until i t g ets too l ate.
That bei ng sai d, you shoul d devel op a hab i t of getti ng your eyes exami ned on
a reg ul ar basi s m ore frequentl y after crossi ng the age of 40.

88

D r y E y e Sy n dr o m e ( K er a t o c on j u n c t i v i ti s Si c c a )
To ensure maximum comfort for the eyes and to keep the visi on at i ts best,
nature has blessed us with a thin film of tears that coats our eyes. This coat
hel ps i n keepi ng the eye heal thy.
Thi s thi n fil m consi sts of three m ai n l ayers, whi ch are as foll ows:
Inn ermo st La yer: This i s the thi nnest of all three layers and is a l ay er of
m uci n (m ucus). This extre mel y thin layer of m uci n is created by cell s that are
found i n the conjunctiv a. The purpose of thi s m uci n is to help the overl ayi ng
l ayer to spread consi stentl y over the eye.
Midd le La yer: The mi ddle layer i s al so known as the aqueous l ay er. This i s
the thi ckest of all the layers and is ty pi cally an extrem ely dil uted sal twater
solution. Thi s watery layer i s produced by the lacrimal g lands that are
l ocated under the upper eye l ids. The purpose of thi s l ayer is to keep the
eye well-moistened and to keep out any dust or foreign objects that may get
into the eye. Generally, any flaws in the aqueous layer are responsible for
leading to the dry eye syndrome.
Outer Layer: The outermost layer consi sts of an extremely thi n l ayer of
li pi ds. Li pi ds can be of fats or oil s. The mei bomi an glands and Zei s gl ands are
responsi ble for produci ng these li pi ds whose functi on is to reduce
evaporati on of the aqueous layer that is found bel ow.
A ny defects in thi s tear fi lm l ead to what we comm onl y cal l the dry eye
sy ndrom e (DES). This sy ndrome affects qui te a percentag e of popul ati on,
most of the peopl e that are affected by thi s di sorder are above the ag e of 40
years.
I n the U ni ted States, i t i s esti mated t hat somewhere between 25 to 30
million people are affected by dry eye syndrome . This condition can affect
any person of any race and i s found to be more wi despread in women than i n
men.

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Causes of Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome i s a qui te common type of eye di sorder that leads to the
following:

A decrea se in th e tea r p rodu ction this i s caused by a reduced abil i ty

of the tear gl ands to produce tears. Thi s can be due to ag ing , any
horm onal chang es or due to a num ber of di seases associ ated wi th the
autoi mmune system, includi ng , but not limi ted to Rheumatoi d arthri ti s,
l upus or Sjog ren sy ndrom e. There are qui te a few m edi cati ons that
have adverse effects on the eye, and we will cover them i n detail i n
the next chapter. For now, you need to be aware of the f act that
antidepressants, anti hi stami nes and num erous oral contracepti ves are
known to decrease the producti on of tears.

An increase in tear evaporation Loss of the aqueous layer due to

evaporati on i s normall y due to a reduction of the overlyi ng li pid layer
(recall that the li pid layers functi on is to reduce evaporati on of the
aqueous layer)

Onset of an abnormal i ty i n producti on of li pi ds as well as the mucin

(m ucus) that i s found in the layers of the tear

Ev aporati on of the aqueous l ay er can also resu l t from a decrease i n the

natural rate of bli nki ng . This can lead to the dry eye syndrome. Reducti on i n
bli nking can be due to the foll owing :
Whi le performi ng acti vi ti es such as readi ng , watchi ng TV as wel l as those
that requi re great amounts of attenti on, the rate at whi ch we bli nk i s
consi derably decreased. Thi s reduction in bli nki ng can lead to the
evaporati on of tears and to the dryness of eyes.
There are a few condi ti ons such as Bell s pal sy , or the after effects of a
stroke, that can m ake i t hard for a person to cl ose thei r eyes. Ag ai n, thi s
contri butes to the evaporation rate of the tears.
A n abnormali ty i n the producti on of m ucus by the conjunctiv a i s al so known
to be a contributor to the development of dry eyes syndrome.

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Thi s abnorm al producti on can resul t due to numerous autoi mm une diseases,
for example ci ca tri cial p emph igoid and Steven s -Joh nson Synd ro me. The
abnormali ty can also occur due to alkali burns to the eye.
The anomal y i s known to cause problems i n the even spreadi ng of tears over
the ey e, causi ng the eye to become dry er and i n sev ere cases, damaged; this
can occur even when ampl e quanti ties aqueous l ayer is present.
The meubomian g land dysfuncti on leads to a reducti on i n the l ipi d l ayers.
These glands are found bel ow the upper eyelids and their function i s to
produce the li pi d layer. I f due to any reason, these g lands become bl ocked,
the i nsuffi ci ent li pi d layer can all ow the aqueous l ayer to evaporate.

Symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome

A person, who has the dry eye syndrome, will experience the following
symptoms :

Dry , scratchy or g ri tty ey es

A burni ng or i tchi ng sensati on i n the eyes

Redness in the eyes

Blurry vision

A feeli ng of having a foreig n object i n the eye

I ncreased sensi ti vi ty to l ig ht

The above sy mptom s g eneral ly i ncrease i n i ntensi ty in dry cl imates, wi ndy

and l ow hum idi ty condi tions - especi ally when the eyes hav e been used for
prol ong ed durati on.
Another symptom that sometimes occurs as a result of the dry eyes syndrome
i s that i nter mi tted, excessive tearing may occur. Thi s happens when the eyes
become somewhat dry, and the natural mechani sm that is responsi ble for
keepi ng the ey es comfortabl e and m oi st, responds by producing l ots of tears
i n an attempt to eliminate the i rri tati on.
U nfortunately, the eye i s onl y capable of retaining a certai n amount of tears,
the rest are expell ed and they pour down the cheeks. These tears are

91

wasted, and as soon as the eyes become dry agai n, thi s process i s repeated
again.
I t becomes necessary that y ou see an eye special ist i f the foll owing is
experienced:

Pain in the eyes (see page 35 for more details)

Excessive tearing

A n i tchi ng or burning sensati on in the eyes

Blurry vision

A feeling of having a foreign

object i n the eye

H eig htened sensi tivi ty to

light

Redness of your eyes

Diagnosis and Treatment of

Dry Eye Syndrome
I f y ou are experienci ng the above
symptoms, your ophthalmologist
will most probably be able to
diagnose the syndrome. However,
the foll owing tests can hel p i n rev ealing whether or not y oure sufferi ng
from thi s parti cul ar syndrome.
A detail ed eye exami nation will i ncl ude the foll owing tests:
S lit La mp Test

The front of the eyes wi ll be exami ned usi ng a speci al mi croscope that
i s called a sl i t l am p. Using this m i croscope, the thi ckness o f y our tear
film as well as the amount is inspected.

A ssessment of the tear break up time hel ps in determi ni ng the stabili ty

of your tear film.

The conjuncti va i tself is exami ned to check i ts level of dryness

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The cornea is exami ned to see whether the dryne ss caused any damage

N um erous colored dy es may be used duri ng the test. They are as foll ows:
Rose Be ngal i s a red dye that stai ns the conjunctiva as well as the cornea in
order to highlight cells that may be dead, or dying. This will help in finding
those cel ls whi ch are i mproperly protected by the tear fil m.
Fluore sce in is a yell ow dye that is used to stai n the cornea i n order to see
where epi thelial cell s m ig ht hav e been worn away as a resul t of the
reducti on in the protective tear fil m.
Lissamon Green is a green dye that can, similarly to the above two dyes, help
i n l ocati ng and di fferentiating between heal thy and abnormal cells in the
eye.
Schirmer Tests
The Schi rmer tests are used to measure the quanti ty of tears that are
produced by the ey es. The end o f a thi n stri p of paper i s placed insi de in
l ower eye li d. The paper i s removed after duration of approximately a
mi nute, and the amount of wetti ng i s measured to fi nd the amount of tears
produced. A decreased wetti ng will indi cate presence of the dry eye
syndrome.
Other Tests
A number of other tests may be performed, depending on the results gained
by the above tests:
The sal t content of the tears can be measured i n order to assi st i n
di ag nosi ng dry eye syndrome. Thi s osmol ari ty test i s a new test that has
been developed precisely to assist in diagnoses of DES.
I f the doctor suspects that autoimmune system di seases are behind the dry
eye syndrome, then a number of bl ood tests may be carri ed out to confirm

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the possi bili ty. These bl ood tests will also veri fy exi stence of di ffering
autoanti bodi es that m ay well be associ ated wi th dry ey es sy ndrome.
A bi opsy of the salivary g lands may be performed; however, this only
happens i n rare cases. The sali vary glands are responsi ble for produci ng
sal iv a. The l acrim al gl a nds, on the other hand, produce tears. There are
certain diseases that affect both of these glands.
No cure exi sts for dry eyes syndrome. Dependi ng on the severi ty of DES,
some eye drops or a humi di fier may be requi red to moi sten the ai r. I n
extreme cases, surgery may be needed to treat the syndrome.
There are a rti ficial tears availabl e as over -the-counter eye drops that hel p i n
l ubri cati ng the eyes and reli eve the symptoms of dry eyes syndrome. I t i s
best to use them i f advised by an eye special ist.

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Chapter 5 Drugs Harmful to the Eye

Medi cal science has ev ol ved i n unprecedented way s over the l ast few
decades. A n um pteen num ber of drugs and medi ci ne hav e been created to
fig ht the col ossal number of di seases. These developments have paved way
for a heal thier society and there were certai n diseases whi ch were, up unti l
now, l abel ed as bei ng untreatable.
These medi ci nes have com e wi th a pri ce, however. N othi ng i n thi s uni verse i s
perfect, and the same applies to these drugs. Many of the drug s tha t are
comm onl y consumed by us come wi th a set of si de effects. These can rang e
from being mere headaches or drowsiness, to some so severe that they can
cause a person to become vulnerable to other diseases.
I n thi s chapter, we wi ll l ook i nto those drugs t hat hav e an adverse effect on
the ey es. We aim to incl ude all the necessary i nform ati on that will em power

95

you wi th the knowl edge that wil l hel p you to become aware of any possi bl e
im pl i cati ons of using the drug s.

Acne Medication
1. Isotretinoin
Generic Name: Isotre tinoin
Brand Names: Accutane, Amne stee m, Clarav is, Sotre t
I sotreti noin is a photosensi ti zi ng drug that is used to treat severe acne that
has not responded well to other ki nds of treatment. Among the known very
common si de effects of Isotreti noi n on e yes include the foll owi ng :

Blephari ti s

C onjunctivi tis

Dry Eyes Syndrome

Eye I rri tati on

However, in rare cases, the following may also result due to the usage of
i sotreti noin:

Blurry vision

Sudden decrease in night vision

C olor blindness

C ataracts

Kerati tis

Papilloedma

Photophobia

2. Minocycline
Generic Name: Minocycline
Brand Names: Minocin

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Mi nocy cli ne is a drug that i s used to treat acne, as well as som e other heal th
di sorders. I t can lead to pig mentati on of the scl era; however, i t tends to g o
away when the u se of drug is discontinued.

A l z h ei m er ' s M e d i c a t i o n
1. Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Generic Name: Done pe zil, Galantamine , Rivastigmine
Brand Na me: Arice pt, Reminy l, Exelon
C holi nesterase i nhibi tors are often prescri bed to pati ents who are sufferi ng
from mil d Al zhei mers di sease.
These i nhi bi tors help in stoppi ng the breakdown of acety l chol ine (a
neurotransmi tter that hel ps i n memory and thi nki ng skill s) due to
Alzheimers disease.
H owev er, they can cause sub con jun ctiv al h emor rha ge (eye hemor rhag e).

A n t i b i o t i cs
A nti bi oti cs are used to treat numerous infecti ons caused by bacteri a. The
antibi oti cs are powerful drug s that are used to fi ght off bacteri al i nfecti ons.
H owev er, they tend to have a number of si de effects associated wi th them.
I t i s recom mended that probi oti cs be used whenev er consumi ng antibi oti cs i n
order to minimi ze some of the si de effects that resul t due to the
consum pti on of the latter. P robi oti cs such as aci dophil us or bi fi dus al ong
wi th vi tami n C can help do just that.
Some anti bi oti cs are known to increase a persons sensi ti vi ty to li ght,
thereby increasing the risk of developing glaucoma or dry eye syndrome.
Qui te a few topi cal anti bi oti cs can lead to an all ergeni c c onjunctivi tis, while
oral and intravenous anti bi oti cs are known to bring about some form of
di storti on i n vi si on.

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1. Fluoroquinolones
Generic Name: Ciprof loxacin, lev of loxacine
Brand Name: Cipro, Zoxan, Proquin; Levaquin, Crav it
Fl uoroquinol ones (ci profl oxaci n and l evofloxaci ne) are am ong the most
comm onl y prescri bed oral anti bi oti cs due to their comparati vel y benig n
safety profile. However, according to researchers, there is an increased risk
of reti nal detachment foll owi ng the use of these anti bi oti cs.
I t i s esti mated that for every 2500 people that use fluoroqui nol ones, 1
person will suffer from a reti nal detachm ent.

2. Synthetic Penicillin
Generic Name: Amoxicillin, Ampicillin
B rand Na me: Amoxil, T rimox, Moxilin, Moxatag ; O mnipe n, Principe n,
Totacillin-N, Omnipe n-N
Sy ntheti c peni cilli ns such as am oxi cilli n and am pi cil lin are known to hav e
si de effects that cause mil d redness of the eye, dry eyes and i tchi ng. I n some
of the cases that were observ ed, they were seen to cause ham orrhages of
bl ood vessel s i n bot h the conjuncti va and the reti na. They can contri bute to
the devel opment of all erg eni c conjunctivi tis (g o to pag e 68 of thi s book for
more i nformati on on Co nju nctivi ti s).

3. Terbinafine
Generic Name: Amoxicillin, Ampicillin
Brand Name: Lamisil, Lamisil AT
Lami sil i s an antifung al m edi cati on that i s used to treat fi ngernai l fung us. I t
comes under the categ ory of photosensiti zi ng drugs and i ncreases a persons
sensi tiv eness to lig ht. I ts known si de effects i ncl ude a risk of developi ng
cataracts and macul ar dege nerati on.

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4. Tetracycline
Generic Name: Te tracy cline
Brand Name: Sumycin, Achromycin V, Panmycin, Sumycin 250
Tetracy cl ine i s an antibioti c that i s used to fig ht a num ber of bacteri al
i nfecti ons rangi ng from uri nary tract i nfecti ons to C hlamydi a and numerous
others.
Tetracy cl ine has simil ar effects on eyes to that caused by syntheti c
peni ci lli ns. Use of thi s anti bi oti c may cause i ncreased sensi tiv i ty to li ght and
cause the vi si on to become bl urry. The chances of dev el oping allergi c
conjunctivi tis are also inc reased.

A n t i d i u r e t i cs
Di ureti cs are drugs used to i ncrease the amount of uri ne produced by the
kidney s and i ncrease the excreti on of sodi um and other el ectroly tes (Karch,
2003). AntiDiureti cs, on the other hand, are drug s that help in controlli ng
the body s bal ance of water by reduci ng urinati on.
A ny misuse of these drug s can lead to upsetti ng the chemi cal bal ance al ong
wi th the bal ance of fl ui ds i n the whol e of the body , i ncl uding the eyes. Thi s
upset can l ead to dev el opment of gl aucom a.

A n t i h i s t a m i n es
Generic Name: acriv astine, alimemazine, ce tirizine , chlorphenamine,
clemastine , cyprohe ptadine, desloratadine, fe xof e nadine , hydroxyzine,
ketotife n lev ocetirizine, loratadine, mizolastine,prome thazine.
Brand Name: Numerous
A nti hi stamines are commonl y used to treat all erg ies resul ting from a number
of thi ng s, such as hay fever (rhi ni ti s), hiv es (urti cari a), i tching (pruri tus) and
as a resul t of i nsect bi tes and sti ng s.

99

They can also be uti li zed for reduci ng nausea a nd v omi ti ng , besides being
used as an emerg ency treatment of anaphyl axis whi ch i s a severe all ergeni c
reacti on.
A nti hi stamines are known to hav e sev eral effects on the ey es, i ncl udi ng :

I ncreased photosensi ti vi ty (sensi tiveness to lig ht)

Dryness of eyes, leading to the dry eye syndrome

I ncreased ri sk of cataracts

C an cause pupi ls to become asymmetri cal i n si ze

A nti hi stamines can be especially harm ful to those people who have angl e cl osure gl aucoma (see page 47 for more detail s on the types of glaucoma) .
The use of anti hi stamines by such people can set off an attack of angle
cl osure gl aucoma and cause blurry visi on, redness of the eye, hal os as well
as ey e pai n. Such an attack is an emergency condi ti on.
A nti hi stamines have photosensi tizing properties. Thi s means that they
i ncrease a persons sensi tivi ty to lig ht (especi all y sunli ght). These drugs
absorb the incoming lig ht and carry out a photo-chemi cal reacti on that can
modi fy ti ssues. Thi s can lead to not only cataracts, but also macul ar
degeneration.

A n t i - A n x i e t y M e d i c a ti o n
Gen eric Na me: Alprazolam, Clonaze pam, Diaze pam, Lorazpam
Brand Name: Xanax; Klonopin; Valium; Ativ an
Some medi ci nes can relieve a few sy mptom s of anxi ety such drug s are
referred to as anti -anxi ety drug s. Numerous types of such m edi ci nes are
av ail able, i ncl udi ng the tradi tional drugs such as benzodi azepi nes. More
conventi onal options i ncl ude anti depressants and beta blockers.
These medi ci nes can be no doubt very effecti ve; however, they shoul d not be
thought of as being a cure. They only provide a temporary relief, and a more

100

permanent sol uti on shoul d be soug ht to avoi d becomi ng dependent on these

drugs.
A nti -anxiety drug s are al so commonly known as tranquili zers. Tranquili zers
are photosensi tizing drug s. This means that they i ncrease a p ersons
sensi tivi ty to lig ht (especi ally sunlig ht). These drugs absorb the i ncomi ng
li ght and carry out a photo -chemi cal reacti on that can m odify ti ssues. Thi s
can lead to macul ar degenerati on and devel opment of cataracts.

Arthritis Medications
1. Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate
Generic Name: Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate
Brand Name: Plaquenil
H ydroxychl oroquine i s an anti -mal ari al drug that i s used in the treatment of
arthri ti s to reduce the i nflammation. I t is known to have some seri ous si de
effects that affect the eyes. The fi rst and foremost i s the toxi ci ty in the ey e.
Eye toxi ci ty i s g eneral ly cal culated based on a persons heig ht and wei ght.
Toxi ci ty from the use of thi s drug affects two distinct areas of the ey e: the
macula and the cornea.
The cornea can be affected by Vo rtex kera top ath y, whi ch is characteri zed by
corneal epi thel ial deposi ts. This condi tion, however, i s rev ersi ble once the
drug intake has been ceased.
The effects on m acula are seri ous, neverthel ess. I t can l ead to reti nopathy ;
which, in its advanced stages, can considerably reduce visual acuity.

Asthma Medication
1. Corticosteroids
Generic Name: Prednisone
Brand Names: De ltasone, Me ticorten, Orasone , Pre dnicot, Sterapre d

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Predni sone i s a corti costeroid that is used for treati ng asthma, be si des
numerous other condi tions. P redni sone is known to i ncrease a persons risk
of dev el opi ng ey e disorders such as gl aucom a and cataracts. The ri sk of
gl aucoma is increased because of the elevated i ntraocular pressure (eye
pressure) as a resul t of the us e of corti costeroids.

B i r t h C o n t r ol
The chances of suffering from dry eye syndrome are increased as a result of
consumi ng bi rth control pill s. C ontracepti ves that are consumed orally are
known to l ead to a num ber of eye di sorders, i ncl uding el ev ati ng i ntraocul ar
pressure, causi ng headaches, changes i n visi on, and causi ng the opti c nerve
to swell.
Reti nal vascul ar problems can al so be caused by u se of bi rth control pill s.
Some pil ls can al so resul t in induci ng an i ncreased sensi ti vi ty to l ig ht,
l eadi ng to a chemi cal modi fi cati on of ti ssues that can l ead to cataracts or
macular degenerati on.
Birth control pi lls are al so known to cause di sturbances i n a persons color
vision.

P a r k i n s o n s D i s e a s e M e d i c a t i o n
U se of certain medi cati on for P arki nsons disease can cause bl epharospasm
or if a person already has this condi ti on, i t can further aggravate i t.
Blepharospasm is abnormal twitching of the eye lids that leads to excessive
bli nking , dry ness of the ey es and i ncreased sensi tivi ty to the sun or any
source of bri ght lig ht.

B l o o d P r es s u r e M e d i c a t i on
There are a num ber of m edi cati ons avai lable that are used to control hig h
bl ood pressure. These are known a s a n tihy perten siv es. The type of
m edi cation your doctor will prescri be for y ou wil l depend on how hig h your
blood pressure is.

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Nonetheless, regardless of the type of medi cati on, antihypertensives are

known to excrete excess fl ui d from bl ood v essel s i n an a ttem pt to bri ng
down the blood pressure. The reduction in the amount of fluid generally
l eads to dry eyes (dry eyes syndrome), increased sensi tivi ty to li ght, bl urred
vision or even double vision in some cases.
Beta blockers are also commonly used to reduc e blood pressure by altering
the ki dney s rate of produci ng renni n a protein that is responsi bl e for
rel easi ng angi otensi n II. A ng iotensi n I I is a powerful bl ood vessel constri ctor
that makes i t di ffi cul t for the bl ood to flow throug h arteries, thereby r ai sing
the pressure. This constrictor also releases hormones that cause an increase
i n the amount of fl uid that i s present in the bl ood (water retenti on).
A common drug that i s used to l ower the bl ood pressure i s call ed Clo nidin e ;
extended use of thi s drug can cause permanent damag e to the reti na.

Blood Thinning Medication

Generic Name: He parin, Coumadin, Anisindione and many othe rs.
Bl ood thi nners are prescri bed to peopl e who have some sort of heart or
bl ood vessel ailment. I t can al so be prescri bed i f th ey have a poor fl ow of
bl ood to the brain. Bl ood thi nners g reatly reduce the chances of a stroke or
a heart attack by preventi ng the formation of bl ood cl ots i n the bl ood
vessels (arteries and veins) . They are also used in the following conditions:

Heart valve surgery

A tri al fibril lati on (abnormal heart rhythm

Congenital heart defects

There are two mai n types of bl ood thi nners: A nti coagul ants and
antipl atelets. A nti coag ulants i ncrease the time i t takes for a blood cl ot to
form . On the other hand, anti platel et drug s prevent pl atel ets from cl ustering
tog ether.

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However, these blood thinners can lead hemorrhaging in the eye.

Cancer Medication
Generic Name: Fluorouracil (5-FU), Tamoxife n
Fl uorouracil (5-FU ) i s a drug that belongs to a cl ass of chem otherapy drug s
whi ch we call a n ti-metab oli tes. I ts purpose i s to i nterfere wi th those cells
that make DN A and RNA i n order to stop the growth of cancer cell s.
There are a g reat number of side effects of thi s drug ; and the person usi ng
thi s needs to be moni tored more i f radiati on and chemotherapy i s bei ng used
to treat the cancer pati ent.
Thi s drug can close the tear drainag e system of the eye, leadi ng to eye
tearing.
Tam oxi fen i s a treatment prescri bed to those underg oi ng breast cancer
treatments. C rystalli ne deposi ts in both the retina and cornea can be
deposi ted as a si de effect of thi s m edi cati on.

D e p r es s i o n M e d i c a t i o n
Generic Name: Ve nlaf axine, Fluv oxamine , Paraxe tine , Mirtazapine,
Fluoxe tine, Amitripty line, De sipramine, Imipramine , Nortriptyline
Brand Na me: Ef fe xor; Luvox; Paxil; Prozac
A nti depressants are used to hel p people wi th several major depressi ve
disorders, including:

anxi ety disorders,

attenti on-defi ci t hyperactivi ty di sorder (A DH D),

dysmenorrhoea,

dysthymi a,

eati ng di sorders, chroni c pain,

migraines,

neuropathic pain and, in some cases,

104

obsessive compulsive disorder,

snoring,

substance abuse and sleep di sorders

H owev er, like all m edi ci ne, antidepressants al so hav e some dang erou s si de
effects, and some of them are as follows:

Ve nlaf axine i s an anti depressant that i s prescri bed to peopl e wi th

depressi on probl ems. One of i ts si de effects i ncl udes the possi bili ty of
opti cal nerve dam age as well as g laucoma.

Ve nlaf axine can al so l ead to hemorrhage in the eye

Mirtazapine is yet another antidepressant frequentl y prescri bed to

people wi th depressi on. I t al so can l ead to damag ed opti c nerve and
glaucoma.

Prozac (f luoxetine ) can cause vari ous problems i n the eyes, includi ng
doubl e vi si on, blurry visi on, dry eyes syndrome, eye pain, blephari ti s
(eye li d i nfecti on), cataracts, gl aucoma, ptosi s as well as i ri ti s.

Tri cy cli c anti depressants, such as a mi trip ty lin e , desip ra min e ,

i mi pra min e , and n ortrip tyli ne are known to cause several problems
wi th the vi si on of a person , i ncl uding causing l oss of the abili ty to
focus cl oser objects.

To sum up, anti -depressants can cause the foll owing ey e and v isi on
problems:

Double Vision

Dil ated Pupil s

Blurred Vision

Glaucom a (angl e cl osure glaucom a)

C ataracts

Blephari ti s (eye li d i nfecti on)

Ptosis (Drooping eye lids)

I ri ti s (Infl ammati on of i ri s)

Optic Nerve Damage

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Diabetes Medication
Generic Name: thiazolidine diones, pioglitazone , rosiglitazone
Di abetes refers to a g roup of metaboli c di seases i n whi ch a person has hig h
bl ood gl ucose due to a number of reasons:
1. I nadequate producti on of insuli n,
2. Lack of response from body s cell s to i nsuli n ;
3. Both of the above.
Medi cati on for diabeti c people com es in numerous form s, i ncl udi ng oral and
as injectables.
Di abetes i s a di sease that makes a person very vul nerabl e to all ki nds of
di seases, includi ng the eye ailment known as Di abeti c Reti nopathy whi ch
basically results when the blood sugar levels cannot be kept down to normal
levels.
Numerous oral drug s whi ch are used for di abetes are photosensi tizi ng . A
photosensi ti zi ng agent (found i n such a drug ) i s one whi ch i s exci ted by
speci fi c wav eleng t hs of l ig ht. C onsumi ng thi s drug i ncreases a persons
sensi tivi ty to lig ht (especi ally sunlig ht); these then absorb the i ncomi ng li ght
and carry out a photo -chemi cal reacti on whi ch al ters the body s tissues. This
l eads to macul ar deg enerati on as well as ca taracts.
Those people who are prescribed certain drugs known as thiazolidinediones,
pi ogli tazone and rosig li tazone have an increased ri sk of dev el opi ng m acular
edema by three to six times.

Dilating Eye (Pupils) Medicine

Myd ria ti cs is the term that refers t o dilati ng eye drops. These drops are used
to ei ther di late or enlarg e the pupil s of a persons ey e so that an eye
speci ali st can see the i nside of an eye during an exami nation.
These dil ati ng drops work i n three di fferent ways as foll ows:

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1. They can tem porari ly paraly ze those muscles that are responsi ble for
reduci ng the si ze of the pupil .
2. They can stim ul ate the muscl es whose functi on is to m ake the i ri s
become wider .
3. They can prev ent the pupil i tsel f from adjusti ng to focus thi s i s
called accommodati on.
Once the pupil s have been di lated, an eye special ist can them use his or her
i nstrum ents i n order to anal y ze the ey es lens. The reti na can al so be seen,
and so can the opti c nerv e. Sim pl y put, dil ati ng the pupil gi ves an eye
speci ali st a cl ear view of the complete inner worki ng s of y our eye.
The downside, however, is that these drops significantly increase the risk of
devel opi ng an angl e cl osure g laucom a and can contri bute to opti c nerv e
damage.

Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Generic Name: tadalafil, v arde naf il hydrocholoride , silde naf il citrate
Erecti le dysfuncti on i s a type of mal e sexual dysfuncti on that i s common
am ong a lot of m en. I t i s sai d to occur when a m an experi ences problems i n
g etti ng an erecti on, as well as keepi ng one. I t is sai d t o get worse wi th age ;
however, i t i s not consi dered to be a part of the agi ng process.
The use of the drug s for treati ng erectile dysfunction can have some severe
si de effects on the eyes. Sudden l oss of v isi on can occur, especi all y i n
people who have previously had a heart attack.

Heart Medications
Generi c Names: Ami odarone, Digoxin, Pentoxi fylli ne
N um erous ty pes of heart m edi cati on are av ail able for a wi de range of
cardiac-related issues.
A mio daro ne i s one that is known to cause certai n changes to the cornea. I t
can create a whorl -li ke pattern on the surface of the cornea. H owever, thi s

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di sappears when a person qui ts usi ng thi s medi cati on. Thi s pa ttern causes no
apparent changes i n a persons vi si on.
Digo xin is a drug that is used by a person experienci n g heart fail ure or
i rreg ul ari ties i n the heart. This drug is known to i ncrease photosensi ti vi ty
(sensi ti veness to lig ht), thus leadi ng to halos, g lare and a yell owish ti nt i n a
persons vi si on. Lig ht flashes, bli nd spots and chang es i n col or vi si on can
also be expected.
P en to xi fylli ne i s used to hel p i n im proving the ci rcul ati on throughout the
human ci rcul atory system. On the downsi de, i t has caused, and can cause,
hemorrhaging in the eye in some people.
A l ink has been found between use of amad aron e and opti c neuri tis
(infl ammati on of the opti c nerve). Thi s is why i t is essenti al for peopl e usi ng
this drug to have regular eye examinations throughout the course of the
drug.

H i g h C h o l e s t er o l M e d i c a t i on
Generic Name: Simv astatin, Astrov astatin calcium
Brand Name: Zocor; Lipitor
P ersi stent hig h cholesterol l ev els can lead to a stroke or a heart attack.
Sta tin s are a g roup of medi cines that are frequentl y used to treat hig h
cholesterol l evels.
Simvasta tin can lead to opti c nerve damage as well as g laucoma. The use of
these drugs i ncreases the chance of developi ng a cataract by 27 percent.

H o r m o n e R e p l a c e m en t
A ndrog en and Estrog en are natural hormones; thei r replacem ent by syntheti c
ones can l ead to cl otti n g of bl ood and reduced ci rcul ati on of bl ood in the
eyes. Repl aci ng the Estrogen horm one can al so cause b lespha rospasm
(uncontrolled eye twitching)

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Inflammation
NSAI D or Non-Steroi dal A nti -Infl ammatory Drugs consists of a family of drug s
that are used to reduce i nflammati on. There si de effects on eyes are
numerous, and use of these drug s can cause:

Dry Eye Syndrom e

C ataracts

Reti nal Hemorrhag es

The NSA IDs are also photosensi ti zi ng and can make a person more
suscepti bl e to cataracts and m acular deg enerati on. These drugs can also
cause damage to the opti c nerve.

I n s om n i a
Generic Name: Ben zodia zepin es (Al pra zola m, Clo na zep a m, Cl ora zepa m,
Dia zepa m,Flo ra zep am, Lora zepa m,Mid azol a m, Oxa zepa m, Temazepa m,
Trazolam, ZaleplonZolpidem, Zopiclone )
Benzodi azepi nes are comm only pres cribed to peopl e who complai n of
i nsomnia. Thi s g roup of drug s is known to cause blepharosp asm (ey e
twi tching ) and weakeni ng of the abili ty to concentrate and memori ze.

Malaria Medication
Generic Name: Chloroquine, Quinacrine, Hy droxy chloroqui ne
A nti -mal ari al drugs such as those named above are known to cause several
chang es in the cornea of the eye. A person may experience symptoms such as
gl are, hal os and have an i ncreased sensiti vi ty to li ght. I n most cases, these
do not cause a reducti on i n the v isual acui ty of a person.
Chlo roqui ne can, however, cause some seri ous problem s. I n some peopl e, i t
can lead to retinal detachment (l eadi ng to bli ndness), opti c nerve
deg eneration, reducti on i n the col or vi sion and blurred vi si on. These effects
depe nd on the durati on the medi cati on was consumed for.

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Qu inin e , i f used by pregnant women, may cause an under -developed opti c

nerve i n the fetus leading to the birth of a chil d wi th under -devel oped vi si on
system.

P a i n R e l i e f M e d i c a t i on
Even the simplest of p ai n reli ef medi cation can have adverse effects on the
eyes. A spi rin, whi ch i s an anti pl atelet drug , can increase the bl eedi ng of the
eye and thi s i s preci sel y why ey e surgeons may recomm end qui tti ng use of
aspirin a few days prior to the surgical procedure .
The NSA ID famil y (Non -Steroi dal Anti -I nfl ammatory Drug s) has numerous si de
effects i ncl uding an i ncreased ri sk of dev el opi ng cataracts, m acul ar
deg eneration, dry eyes syndrome, and even reti nal hemorrhages i f the drug
is used for extended periods of time .
Mi susi ng (or ov eruse) of the drug s whi ch are consi dered by some to be
harm less can actuall y dam ag e the body, i ncl udi ng the ey es. When used
excessiv ely , these drug s can i ncrease photo sensi ti veness, lead to dry ey es,
corneal deposi ts and cataracts.

P s y c h i a t r i c M e d i c a t i on
P sy chi atri c m edi cati on s are l i censed psychoacti ve drugs that directly affect
the chemi cal bal ance of the brai n and the nerv ous system. These m edi cati ons
are prescri bed to those people who have certai n mental di sorders. Due to
the fact that they hav e direct i nfl uence on the brai n and the nerv ous system ,
they can cause som e sev ere side effects i n a num ber of people.
C ertai n psy chiatri c m edi cation can lead to pigm entati on of the conjunctiv a,
cornea and the eye lids.
A nti psy choti c medi cati on consi derably increases the chance of dev el oping
angle cl osure gl aucoma . Som e drug s which are used to treat schi zo phr enia
are known to cause pig men tary retinop athy .

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Steroids
Steroi ds are g eneral ly divi ded into two types: anaboli c and corti costeroids.
A s i t was previ ousl y discussed, corti costeroi ds are used to reduce
i nflammati on in the body. They may al so be used to treat breathi ng disorders
such as the asthma (see Asthma Medi cati on).
Anabolic steroids, on the other hand, are synthetic steroids that are believed
to boost a body s abili ty to produce muscl es. Steroi ds are comm only used by
athletes and body builders.
Some of the adverse effects caused by steroids are as follows:

Some steroi ds, such as Glu co corti coi ds , are photosensi tizing. They
i ncrease a persons sensi tivi ty to the sun and undertake a
photochemical reaction that would modify the tissue making a person
m ore vulnerable to cataracts and m acular deg enerati on.

Steroi ds can contri bute to the devel opment of cataracts, g laucom a,

and l ead to macul ar degenerati on.

Prol onged use of steroi ds can cause the i ntraocul ar pressure to

i ncrease by as m uch as 50 percent. Cataracts form ed by steroi ds are
extrem ely dense and cause l oss of vi si on extrem ely qui ckly .

The i ncreased i ntraocular pressure paves way for g laucoma . The

damage done by the increased pressure will remain even if a person
qui ts usi ng steroids; however, the pressure i tsel f will drop down to
normal levels.

A nother major problem wi th use of steroi ds is the fact that they

i ncrease the bl ood sug ar l ev els and can thereby lead to di abetes. We
have al ready discussed how diabetes can contri bute to numerous eye
problems.

Pred nisone is a type of steroid that i s very damaging to the eye. They
cause damage the opti c nerve and i n severe cases, damag e i t to an
extent that woul d si mply sever the li nk between the brai n and the
eyes.

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Vitamins
Very hig h dosag e of Vi tami n A can lead to i ncreased pressure of the fl ui d
around the brai n, leadi ng to swel ling of the opti c nerve, severe headaches
and di storted vi si on.

W e i g h t L os s
A ppeti te suppressants are usually consumed by people tryi ng to l ose wei ght.
These suppressants can lead to dilated pupils, induce di ffi cul ty in focusi ng
on objects as well as leading to visual problems when reading.
Dry eye sy ndrome can al so be caused by them and i n severe cases, opti c
nerve damage and/or glaucoma may follow.

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Section 2
Treating Defective Vision

C h a p t e r 6 : W e a r i n g G la s s e s : I s i t s a f e ?
Chapter 7: Laser Eye Surgery

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Chapter 6: Wearing Glasses: Is it safe?

The purpose of thi s book i s to hel p y ou understand the thi ng s that affect
your eye and, in turn, your vision. Eye glasses are unarguably the most
common method used by people to correct their vision. Glasses help people
in viewing objects as they normally would, regardless of whether they are
m y opi c or hy peropi c. Vi si on probl em s associated wi th other eye di sorders
can al so be corrected by use of eye gl asses.
What a lot of people do not realize is that glasses offer only a temporary
solution to thei r visi on probl ems. I n actuali ty, glasses are found to have
deteriorati ng effects on a persons eyes. Do you find thi s hard to believe?
H ow many people have you encou ntered whose eye sig ht just conti nues to
deteriorate, requi ri ng them to g et a new prescri pti on for thei r g lasses ?
Al most all of them, rig ht? Glasses a ctua lly worsen the visi on o f a p erson.
There are numerous reasons and supporti ng evi dence for this stateme nt. I n
thi s chapter, we wi ll discuss how and why glasses deteri orate vi si on
problems.

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T h e O p t i c s o f Ey e G l a s s e s
One of the m ost fundamental concepts of vi si on is that i t i s not stati c i t
chang es, constantl y. Thi s can be fel t by a num ber of people, especi ally after
a l ong ti ring day of performi ng tasks that may have requi red g reat l evels of
concentrati on or perhaps after spendi ng several hours i n front of a computer
screen. Thi s i s when the ey es are ti red and i t becom es di ffi cul t to focus as
well as a person usuall y can.
N ow the whole purpose of gl asses i s to correct the refracti ve error. Most of
the vision probl ems that occur due to refracti ve error cause the eyes l ens to
i ncorrectly focus the incoming lig ht. I f the l ig ht is focused in front of the
reti na , then my opi a i s sai d to occur. On the other hand, i f the li ght is
focused behi nd the reti na, this implies hyperopi a and a person will have
probl ems in focusi ng onto cl oser objects as com pared to those that are
farther off.
The way glasses are designed to compensate for this refractive error is, to
say the l east, not so versatile. Whenever these gl asses are worn, the
refracti ve error must remai n the same in order for them to work at thei r
peak effi ciency. H owever, i t was l earned that a persons vi si on i s n ot stati c;
rather, i t changes even duri ng the day. A person will have better vi si on after
a g ood nig hts sleep, as compared to when he or she i s about to retire to
bed. These changes i n the visi on will occur conti nuously ; howev er, the
correctiv e gl asses wi ll not be abl e to adapt to the changi ng refracti ve error.
So in essence, even while wearing the glasses, you will experience some kind
of vision problems.
Thi s si tuati on is further deteri orated i f your prescri pti on was for 100
percent correcti on at the parti cular time of m easurem ent. The eyes wi ll
constantly try to adapt to the condi ti ons that were preval ent at the ti me of
measurement. So rather than the gl a sses adjusti ng to your eyes, your eyes
will beg in and try to adjust to the gl asses.

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So if you had your eyes tested after work, your eyes woul d have been qui te
ti red. Nonetheless, your glasses woul d have been created based on the
m easurem ents at that speci fi c tim e so y ou will sim ply be forci ng y our eyes
to become exactly the way they were at that time ti red.
I f this conti nues, what do you thi nk wil l happen to your eyes? They will try
to adapt to the gl asses, but the slig ht changes that occur on a dail y basi s i n
the vision will be in confli ct. Sim pl y put, the ey es will be forced to
deteriorate i n an attem pt to get the gl asses worki ng rig ht.

M i n u s L en s es f or R e a d i n g
P eople who are m yopi c are usuall y prescri bed concav e or mi nus l enses to
hel p them see far -off objects. I t has been proven that use of mi nus l enses
can actually deteri orate the vi si on. Myopi c eyes (nearsig hted) have to adjust
around 3 di opter l enses i n order to read correctly from a normal readi ng
di stance. Diop ter i s a measure of the power of a lens.
That bei ng sai d, i f a person wears a mi nus three ( -3) di opter l enses i n order
to correct thei r distant vi si on, and begin readi ng wi th the same gl asses, then
their eyes will have to adjust to the value of +3 (positive) diopters as well as
the 3 (negati ve ) di opters. Thi s means that the eyes wil l be required to
accommodate around 6 di opters for the durati on the gl asses are used to
read.
Thi s is preci sely what m akes di stant vision gl asses harm ful i f they are used
for readi ng. Great am ount of strai n i s put onto the ey es whi ch i n turn can
l ead to dimi ni shed eye sig ht.
Glasses for near sig ht are prescri bed i n order to provi de l uci d visi on fr om a
di stance of 6 m eters to i nfi ni ty . Due to the fact that these classes are stati c
and do not adapt to chang ing circum stances, they wi ll be out of alig nm ent by
ov er 20 ti mes i f they are used for readi ng from a di stance of 30 cm (100cm i n
1 meter). If a person tries to focus on an object that i s 3 meters away, the
gl asses will help onl y partly (around 50 percent of the tim e).

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A t thi s point in ti me, no gl asses have been constructed whi ch can adapt to
chang ing si tuati ons; for example, transi ti oni ng from rea di ng to l ooki ng at
di stance objects. A vi deo camera, on the other hand, is capabl e of doi ng thi s
my movi ng the lens back and forth to properly focus on the rel evant object.

I m p o r t a n c e o f t h e O p t i c C e n te r o f E y e G l a s s es
There is l ocated a poi nt i n all l ense s of eye glasses that provi des the best
possi ble visi on. They are constructed i n a way whi ch assumes that you are
always looking directly ahead of your eyes; whenever you look away from
thi s regi on, the l ens tends to become more of a prism. This poi nt i s called
the optic ce nte r.
You may have observed the prism effect on pi ctures that are captured
throug h wide-angl e lenses. I t is edges of these images that are become
di storted and this is preci sely what happens when a person tri es to focus
on objects throug h any area outsi de that of the opti c center.
The di storti on of images, and i n some case, the frame of the gl asses i tself
forces peopl e to use the opti c center for viewing purposes. A nother common
practi ce to discourag e the eyes from wanderi ng away from thi s poi nt i s by
i nstal ling stronger l enses. H owever, this techni que causes the vi si on to
deteriorate.
The opti c center pl ays an important rol e when the lenses are bei ng used for
reading. The g lasses in thi s case are desig ned to be used wi th the i ntent of
correcti ng the di stance vi si on problems, so whenever a person l ooks at
di stance objects, they do so throug h the opti c center. On the other hand,
when a person uses the sam e spectacl es for readi ng purposes, the ey es tend
to frequently exi t the regi on of the opti c center as you read al ong the
li nes. Except when readi ng glasses hav e been prescribed to y ou for readi ng ,
the opti c center would generally be more spaced out that i t i s supposed to
be. Thi s brings about addi tional strai n on the eyes and eventually
contri butes sig ni fi cantl y to dam agi ng the ey es.

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A nother exampl e of the dam agi ng effects of g lasses whi ch can be menti oned
i ncl udes the use of near sig ht gl asses whil e worki ng on a computer. The
gl asses will not be adjusted properly for the com puter screen that would be
at a di stance of no m ore than 60 cm from the ey es. This will al so al ter the
way a computer screen affects the vision of a person.

G l a s s es a n d T h e i r E f f e c t s on th e S i z e o f Ey e s
P lenty of scienti fi c evi dence has been gathered that i ndi cates th at young
primates devel opment of eyes was affected when lenses were fi tted to
them.
Bi ol ogi sts at the New York U ni versi ty have found throug h extensive research
that use of a mi nus l ens ( -) causes sig nifi cant el ong ati on of the ey e ball i n
other words, the near sig ht is deteri orated over time. Simil ar were the
resul ts of usi ng pl us lenses (+).

G l a s s es : A n n oy a n c es a n d I n co n v e n i e n c e
Glasses are nothing more than a compromise. They offer only a temporary
solution a sol uti on that actuall y worsens the eye sig ht as l ong as the
gl asses are worn. N ot only that, they al so offer qui te a few annoyances. Even
the simpl est probl em of them foggi ng up (caused by humi di ty changes) when
you g o from one poi nt to another; or the fact that they can be scra tched, get
di rty or ev en break can be frustrati ng !
A s we proceed further wi th the book, we will start di scussi ng ways that wil l
hel p you to heal your eyes na tu rall y , and p erman en tly .

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Chapter 7: Laser Eye Surgery

Trem endous adv ancem ents have taken pl ace in the methods used to perform
a laser eye surgery.
Tradi ti onal methods
involved use of a scalpel
to cut the ti ssues i n the
eyes, and this method
carried the risk of
i nfecti ons spreadi ng .
The onset of laser
surg ery techni ques
brought about safer and
m ore effi ci ent surgi cal
procedures to correct
visi on probl ems. Laser eye surgery i s also known as v isi on correction surgery
or ev en refractive sur gery due to the fact that they correct refractiv e errors.
The majority of the laser eye surgery work by altering the shape of the
cornea in order to ensure that the li ght whi ch enters the eye i s focused
correctly onto the reti na. Whil e other types of surgery g o a step ahead and
repl ace the natural l ens of the eye wi th a syntheti c one.
It is also important to understand that not everyone can undergo an eye
surgery. The following surgeries require that a persons eyes be healthy and
free from any ey e disorders such as retinal di seases, corneal scars and
others. Thi s l eaves people wi th these diseases very few options one of
whi ch i s the natural techni ques to heal eyes.
I n thi s chapter, we wi ll begi n by di scussing the types of l aser surgery
avail able and then we will proceed to tal k about the risks that come wi th
them.

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T y p e s o f L a s er E y e Su r g er y
Several types of surgery are available and they are as follows:

LASIK
LA SI K is short for laser i n-si tu kera to mileusi s. Thi s techni que i s used to
correct vision in people who are either myopic (nearsighted), hyperopic
(farsig hted) or have an eye condi ti on call ed astigmati sm.
LA SI K surgery i s carri ed out i n order to reshape the cornea to ensure that i t
can correctl y focus i ncomi ng lig ht onto the retina. C om pared to other
surgi cal techni ques, a flap i s created into the outer layer of the cornea so
that the underlying corneal t issue can be reached.
A computer imagi ng technology call ed wav efron t technol ogy can be used
al ong wi th LA SI K to generate a comprehensive imag e of the cornea.

PRK
PRK is short for photorefractive keratectomy. This method of l aser surgery i s
utili zed to tre at mi ld-to-moderate myopi a, hyperopia and astigmati sm. A
l aser is used to reshape cornea during the procedure. The l aser that i s used
to perform the surgery i s a cool pul sating beam of U V lig ht. U nli ke the LA SIK
eye surgery , thi s l aser i s only used on the surface of the cornea and no fl ap
i s needed to be created i n the outer layers.

LASEK
LA SEK is short for l aser epi thelial keratomi leusis. I t is actually a
modi fi cati on of the PRK surgery. A flap (epi theli al) is needed to be created
foll owed by l ooseni ng t he epi thel ial cells themsel ves by an al cohol sol vent.
Once thi s has been done, a l aser is used to beg in the process of reshapi ng
the cornea. The fl ap i s then all owed to heal by securi ng i t wi th a soft contact
lens.
LA SEK surgery can be used to treat asti gm ati sm , m yopia, and hyperopi a.

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RLE
RLE is short for refractive lens exchange, al so referred to as cl ear l ens
extracti on. As i ts name i mpl ies, i ts a procedure carri ed out to replace the
natural lens of the ey e. A sm all i nci si on i s m ade throug h whi ch the le ns is
extracted and replaced wi th syntheti c l ens (plasti c or sili cone). RLE offers a
way to treat severe farsig htedness or nearsig htedness i n a person.

EpiLasik
The Epi Lasik surg ery procedure i s qui te simil ar to PRK i n the sense that i t
requires removal of a very thi n layer of the cornea before reshapi ng i t. I t i s
up to the surgeon to replace the thin layer or leave it as it is. Again, the
area is secured usi ng a soft contact lens to all ow heali ng .

PRELEX
P RELEX is short for presby opi c lens exchange . Thi s procedure all ows
impl antation of a mul tifocal l ens to correct an eye di sorder call ed presby opia
(fo r mor e in for ma tion , see th e chap ter on Ey e Condi tion s).

Intacs
I ntacs i s also known as IC R, or i ntracorneal ri ng seg ments. A small i nci si on is
m ade i n the cornea and two crescent -shaped ri ng s m ade of plasti c are placed
on the outer edges of the cornea. The purpose of these rings i s to fl atten
the cornea, and thereby al ter the way the lig ht i s focused onto the reti na i n
the eye.
Mil d myopi a can be treated usi ng thi s procedure; however, other laser
procedures are now i ncreasi ngl y bei ng used . On the other hand, kera toconu s
i s the most common eye di sorder that is treated by thi s method.

Phakic Intraocular Lens Implants

The phaki c i ntraocul ar lens im plants are speci fi cally desi gned for those
people who have nearsig htedness to an extent that is untreatabl e by ei ther
PRK or LA SIK. Such an implant i s i nserted by created a small incisi on at the
corneas edge. The implant i s then attac hed to the i ri s. The only major

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di fference between thi s procedure and that of the RLE is that the natural
l ens of the eye i s l eft i ntact rather than removed as i n RLE.

AK
A K is short for astigmati c keratotomy. Thi s isnt exactly a l aser eye surg ery
procedure; rather, i t i s a surg i cal procedure specifi cal ly carri ed out to
correct astig mati sm . The shape of the cornea is al tered by astigm ati sm this
procedure attempts to correct i t by maki ng a single or double inc isi ons on
the parts of the cornea consi dered to be the steepest. These i nci si ons cause
the cornea to relax and begin to return to i ts ori gi nal , rounded shape.

RK
RK is short for radial keratotomy. Some time before the advent of more
advanced laser surg ery procedures, this was among the m ost comm only used
procedures to correct myopi a. RK has now been rendered i nto an obsol ete
procedure and is rarely util ized especially ev er si nce the LA SIK and PRK
were i ntroduced.

S i d e E f f e c t s o f L as er S u r g e r y
Laser eye s urgeries have offered a promising way of getting rid of the most
common eye di sorders and visi on probl ems. H owever, these advantages do
come at a risk. H ere are some thi ngs that need to be thoroughly consi dered
before opting for a laser surg ery procedure:

Infections and Delays in Healing

There are consi derably fewer chances of devel opi ng an infecti on after an eye
surg ery, as compared to the tradi ti onal methods of using a scal pel ; however,
i t i s not unheard of. I nfecti ons foll owi ng PRK occur i n a very small number of
people. This number i s even smal ler for those who have underg one LASIK
surgery.
Nevertheless, if an i nfecti on does resul t due to the eye surgery, addi ti onal
di scomfort along wi th i ncreased requi rem ent of heali ng ti me shoul d be
expected.

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Under or Over Correction

The chances of success of an eye surgery cannot be precisely predi cted, at
l east not until the eye has fully heal ed. I t may be required of patients to
conti nue weari ng their eye gl asses or contact lenses even after the
procedure has been c om pleted. A ny under correcti ons i n the surgi cal
procedure can be followed up by yet another procedure, termed a laser
enhancement.

Worsening of Vision
In most of the cases, the vision of a person improves and he or she may not
need to use any contact l ense s or eye g lasses anymore. Nevertheless, there
are also i nstances where the already bad vi si on is turned worse. Generally ,
this is a result of removal of irregular tissue or perhaps due to excessive
corneal haze.

Excessive Corneal Haze

C orneal haze i s a par t of the natural heali ng process of the eye, foll owi ng a
surgi cal procedure. I n m ost cases, i t has no adv erse effect i n the l ong term
on a persons visi on. There are i nstances, however, where thi s corneal haze
beg ins to distort the visi on. A second surgery may be needed to correct
corneal haze probl em s i n such cases.

Regression
In several cases, the improvements in a persons vision following an eye
surg ery begi n to dimi ni sh over tim e. When thi s happens, an eye speci ali st
may recommend to the person that he or she underg o a second eye surgery
to revive the vi si on and achi eve the best possi ble resul ts.
Thi s makes i t cl ear that ev en a surgery som etim es cannot heal the vi si on
permanently. There i s no al ternate to natural heali ng .

Halos
A n opti cal effect called the halo effect som etim es occurs foll owi ng an eye
surg ery , especi all y i n l ow l ig ht condi ti ons. This effect causes the untreated

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areas of the cornea to produce a second im ag e. Thi s tends to becom e

probl em ati c especi all y at ni ght, and can sev erel y affect a p ersons abili ty to
safely drive at nig ht.

Damage or Loss of Flap

A s we already know, the LA SI K surgery procedure requi res a flap to be
created on the side of the cornea. Thi s fl ap may require reposi ti oni ng after
the surg ery; this reposi ti oni ng may need to be carri ed out wi thin the i ni ti al
few days, or perhaps even a few weeks.

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Section 3 Natural Ways to Improve

Eyesight

C h a p t e r 8 : B a t e s M e t h o d o f I m p ro v i n g E y e s i g h t
C h a p t e r 9 : I m p o r t a n c e o f a He a l th y D i e t
C h a p t e r 1 0 : E x e rc i s e s f o r I m p r o v in g V i s i o n

125

Chapter 8: Bates Method of Improving

Eyesight
Dr Wil liam H orati o Bates was born i n Newark, New
Jersey i n the year 1860. H e earned hi s medi cal degree
i n 1885 and beg an hi s excepti onal career by worki ng
in numerous hospitals around New York City, as well
as by practi ci ng pri vatel y.
H e was a l ecturer of ophthalmol ogy at the New York
P ostg raduate H ospi tal and Medi cal School for 5 years.
I t was duri ng thi s time that he al so served as an
advisor to New York States school boards.
Before the onset of the 20 t h century , Dr Willi am Bates
had grown to become quite discontented with the
prev aili ng ophthal mologi cal practi ces; thi s is what
l ed hi m to beg an hi s extensive research i nto the numerous di sorders of the
eye and how such things affected the eye si ght of a person. I t i s precisely
thi s research whi ch l ed t o the formati on of The Ba tes Method .
The cause of his questioning the conventional methods of ophthalmology
beg an when he noti ced that some of his patients who had refractive errors in
their eyes had begun to have an improved eye sight, in some cases, the
chang es were to such an extent that al l the sy mptom s of shortsig htedness or
farsig htedness totall y reversed.
I t was due to this that he beg an questioni ng the most basi c assumpti ons of
the accepted ophthal mologi cal pr acti ces. I t was, and stil l is, comm only
bel ieved that a person wi th refracti ve errors could only be prescri bed eye
glasses to resolve the symptoms.

126

A new set of theori es regardi ng eye sig ht were created by Dr Wi lli am Bates
based on whi ch he devel oped a unique method that coul d hel p peopl e
improve thei r eye sig ht and overcome their vision -rel ated probl ems.
Ov er a century has passed si nce Dr Wil liam H. Bates dev el oped his theori es
about eye sig ht and formulated a method to heal the eyes; nonetheless, his
theories are taug ht worl dwide, wi th an increasi ng num ber of ey e specialists
and professi onal s turni ng to the Bates method i n order to heal their own
patients.
Hi s method has been attempted on peopl e wi th myopia, hyperopi a,
asti gmatism, l azy eye al ong wi th more severe di seases such as macul ar
deg eneration wi th excepti onal resul ts.
Thi s chapter wi ll discuss what Bates method is, and how i t can be used to
improve eye sig ht i n natural ways wi thout relying on glasses or contact
l enses, whi ch are nothing but a temporary ai d.

The Bates Method

The Bates Method i s a si mple way of naturall y
improvi ng eye si ght. Due to the fact that i t i s a
natural way and causes no harm to a person, it
has become quite popular among many eye care
professi onal s. I t i s conti nui ng to be recog ni zed
and respected even after years of never endi ng
debates and controversi es.
H owev er, there are sci entists that stil l are unabl e to grasp the uni que
theories of vision which were presented by Dr William H. Bates.
The fundamental theories drafted by Dr Bates can be summari zed as fol l ows:
1. The shape of the eye ball constantly changes as a resul t of
conti nuously shifti ng condi ti ons of the eye.

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2. The focus of the eye i s also regarded as bei ng in a conti nuous fl ux, and
thi s is due to the fact that the ey e i s l ooking at both cl ose and distan t
objects simul taneously i n almost all si tuati ons.
Despi te being i n a state of constant fl ux, the hum an ey e can provi de vision
because of i ts abili ty to conti nuously adapt the ey es abili ty to adapt i s
called ey e a cco mmo da tio n.
Nevertheless, problems ar ise when the eyes ability to adjust (eye
accommodati on) begi ns to deteri orate. Thi s deteri orati on can be due to a
num ber of factors, som e of whi ch are as foll ows:

Weakeni ng of the ey e m uscl es

Poor lig hti ng condi ti ons

Damaged macula

That been said, eye is just like other organs of the body, and are prone to
di sease and disorders of all ki nds. Neverthel ess, when the eyes abi li ty to
adapt reduces, this causes blurred vision.
I t i s a scienti fi c fact that is accepted by all that di storted vi si on (bl urri ness)
i s caused when the lig ht entering the eye is i mproperly focused and does not
reach the point in retina where i t i s supposed to reach. I f i t i s focused at the
front of retina, myopia i s sai d to occur. When i t is focused behind the retina,
hyperopia is said to occur. Therefore, for perfect vision, the light must be
focused preci sel y onto the reti na.

C o n v e n t i o n a l W a y o f Tr e a t i n g V i s i o n
The conventional way of treati ng visi on i nvol ves prescri bi ng eye glasses to
correct the eye sig ht. The correcti ve lenses are p rescribed by eye speci ali sts
and opti ci ans to serv e two m ai n purposes:
1. To hel p the ey e see cl earl y
2. To reduce eye strai n as a resul t of di storted vi si on (by correcti ng i t
using lenses)

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Thi s conventi on idea is based on the fact that i t is the lens of the ey e that i s
to be bl amed for i ncorrectl y focusing the incoming lig ht onto the reti na. This
i s why co rrective l en ses i n the form of eye gl asses or contact l enses are
prescri bed to basi call y ful fil l the shortcomi ng s of the eyes natural l ens.

B a t e s T r e a tm e n t M e t h o d
Dr Wil liam H Bates had the courage to stand up and g o against the
conventi onal beli efs of ophthal mol ogy. H e questi oned the vali di ty of such a
method (of conventional method) by s tati ng that due to the eyes bei ng i n a
constantly changi ng state, correcti ve lenses that are constant sim pl y cannot
hel p i n heali ng the eyes; rather, such correcti on techni ques would only
i ncrease the strai n on a persons eyes.
Thi s is because by using cor rective lenses whi ch were constant, the eyes
woul d be forced to see throug h them no m atter how v aryi ng the condi ti ons
are; thereby strai ni ng the ey es by forci ng them to focus in such si tuati ons.
Dr Wil liam Bates theory emphasi zed on the fact that the val ue of the
prescri bed glasses (or contact l enses) may be sui tabl e i n one si tuati on but
not i n another , consi deri ng the changi ng nature of the eye sig ht.
Al so, restri cting the eyes and forci ng them to use the corrective lenses
woul d deprive thei r abil i ty of adjusti ng naturally (eye accommodation),
whi ch i n turn woul d l ead to a continuous deteri orati on as l ong as the
corrective lenses are worn.
Dr Bates treatment method was based on the i dea that refractive errors
were not due to the faul t i n the ey es nat ural l ens, but due to the distorted
shape of a persons eye ball.
For myopia to devel op, he believed that the co mp ressi on of the eye ball
caused the lens to become fl attened. As for hy peropi a, i t was the elonga tion
of the eye ball whi ch causes the lens to becom e thi cker.

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Based on these theoreti cal i deas, his treatment method believes that e ye
re laxation is the onl y natural way of restoring vi si on wi thout any si de
effects.

C i r c l e o f Ey e S t r ai n
A normal , heal thy eye ball i s almost perfectly round. Dr Wil lia m Bates stated
that when a person strains thei r eyes to see something , thei r eye ball s
shape begi ns to deform . This deformati on of the natural shape causes a
reducti on in vi si on, whi ch in turn causes the person to strai n the ey es m ore
i n an attempt to cle arly see. The addi ti onal strain further degrades vi si on
and causes a person to enter a vi cious, on -going circle of poor vi si on.
I t i s the Bates Method whi ch ai ms at bringi ng an end to thi s ci rcl e.
The probl em starts when one reali zes that they cannot cons ci ousl y control
the muscl es of thei r eyes. H um ans do not have the abili ty to tel l thei r
m uscles not to change the shape of the eye ball. However, what they can do
i s control these muscl es un consci ousl y throug h devel opi ng awareness.
H ere i s a comparison between Dr Bates theories and method of improvi ng
eye sig ht and the conventi onal ophthalmol ogi cal theories:

D r William Bates Method

Conventional Methods

The re is no de nying that de te rioration of v ision results due to incorrect

ref raction. This could be due to the incoming light be ing f ocuse d e ithe r in
f ront of , or be hind the re tina.
T HEO RY: The problem of deteri orated

T HEO RY: The problem of deteri orated

v isi on i s caused by a distorti on of the

v isi on i s caused by the di stortion of

natural shape of the eye ball.

the ey es natural l ens .

SOLUTION: Normal vision can be

SO LUT IO N: Vi si on can be im prov ed by

restored by rel axi ng the muscl es

using correcti ve l enses (eye g lass es

around the eyes in order to prevent

or contact lenses) .

them from al teri ng the shape of the

eye balls.

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RECO MMENDATIO N: U se of corrective

RECO MMENDAT IO N: Wear g lasses to

l enses prev ents the ey es natural

g et clear vi si on, i f they cre ate

abili ty to adjust (eye accommodati on)

problems and distort vision, get a

to differi ng condi ti ons. The use of

new prescri pti on.

eye glasses or contact lenses forces

the eyes to adjust onl y to the
gl asses, no matter wh at the
condi ti ons. A ccordi ng to Bates
m ethod, all owing the eye muscl es to
rel ax can g reatly hel p i n improvi ng
the vision of a person to such an
extent that corrective lenses may not
be required.

P r i n c i pl e s o f C l e ar V i s i o n
The foll owing pri nci ples of clear vi si on are the focal poi nt of the Bates
Method:

1. Central Fixation
The cen tra l fi xa ti on techni que tells us to try to focus onl y on a si ngl e poi nt
at any given time. To demonstrate, get your hands onto any printed reading
materi al , and:
1. Focus only on a sin gle word on the page of your readi ng materi al ; let
the other words become bl urry around that word.
2. N ext, try to focus onto a sing le l etter of that parti cular word, and see
i f you can see i t more clearl y than other l etters of the word.
3. Once y ou have succeeded at that, proceed to l ook at the other l etters
of that word one after the other.
4. When you reach the last letter of that word, focus on the blank which
i s there between that word and the next.
5. C onti nue the same steps by begi nni ng to focus on the next word that
follows.

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The whol e objectiv e of the technique call ed the cen tral fixa tion i s to hel p a
person i n focusi ng onto a sm all porti on. Thi s i s because i t i s the ma cu la that
i s responsible for viewi ng the fi ne details of any im ag e. By practi ci ng thi s
principl e techni que, a person can enhance the m acula s abili ty to focus.

2. Shifting
Shifti ng is a techni que i n whi ch a person trai ns the eye to focus on one
object to another repeatedly . The di fference between the objects shoul d be
that one object be closer to the person, and the other farther away. The
cy cle shoul d be conti nued wi th ey es m ov ing back and forth between the
objects . This techni que helps i n reli evi ng the tension and reduci ng the ey e
strai n. C onstant bli nki ng shoul d be done i n order to keep the eye cl ean
duri ng thi s practi ce.

3. Sunning
Sunni ng i s a techni que whi ch i s used to hel p the eyes to adapt to varyi ng
i ntensi ty of lig hts, especi all y br i ghter ones. Thi s techni que i s performed by a
person cl osi ng thei r eyes and g azi ng at the sun for few seconds. Then the
person l ooks away towards cl ouds (or the sky , i f there are no cl ouds) and
opens the eyes for a few seconds.
The process i s repeated wi t h opening and cl osing the eyes at appropriate
m om ents. Sunning techni que i s known to i ncrease sharpness of vi si on along
wi th reduci ng or preventi ng squinting that can cause ey e strai n.

4. Relaxation
Rel axing the eyes is of a core im portance to Bates method of i mprov ing
v isi on. A person shoul d see com plete blackness when the ey es are cl osed. I f
g ray or yel l owi sh colors are seen when the ey es are cl osed, then this
i ndi cates that the eye is not rel axed c ompl etel y.
Several exercises will be taug ht i n the l ast chapter of the book that will
assist you in improving your vision using the Bates Method and will go a long
way in relieving eye strain.

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Chapter 9: Importance of a Healthy Diet

The role of nutri ti on and i ts effects on vi si on has been the center of

attenti on for qui te some ti me now. Detail ed research has been conducted to
fi nd out how parti cul ar foods affect the eye, especi ally how certai n m ineral s
and v i tami ns i nfl uence ey e diseases such as A MD (ag e-related m acular
deg eneration) and cataracts (cl oudi ng of the cornea ).
A g ood, balanced nutri ti on i s v i tal for not only the wel l -being of the hum an
body as a whole, but also speci fi cally for the eyes. A fter all , a heal thy human
body wi ll have the streng th to fi ght off any ailments that i t may be i nfli cted
wi th.
Am ong o ne of the m ost sig nifi cant example s that portray the im portance of
g ood nutri ti on for heal thy eyes i s an eye condi ti on call ed xerop h thal mi a.
Thi s is a condi ti on whi ch is com m on i n deve l opi ng countri es and is known to
cause bl indness in chi ldhood. This conditi on resul ts from a l ack of Vi tami n A
intake, which could be prevented by consuming fresh vegetables and protein
i ncl udi ng m eat, fi sh, cheese, egg s, m ilk, y og hurt, pul ses and g rai ns.

133

However, many people in developing countries are deprived of such foods

due to prevailing poverty.

N u t r i ti o n f or t h e E y es
Numerous studies have revealed that antioxidant vitamins found in numerous
foods have an i mportant link wi th the heal th of the eyes. Such vi tami ns have
im mense sig ni fi cance i n keepi ng the ey es cel ls and tissues heal thy .
The most important of al l anti oxidant vitami ns include Vi tamins A , C and E.
These vi tami ns are found i n numerous frui ts and vegetables and shoul d be
part of a persons daily food intake:

Brussel Sprouts

Dried A pri cots

Grapefruit

Green Beans

Green Leafy Veg etabl es (Spinach, l ettuce, kale etc. )

Green Peas

Kiwis

Oranges

Peppers

C arrots (Raw)

Tomatoes

They are al so found in abundant quanti ti es i n daily products (milk , yog hurt,
and butter), egg s, seeds and nuts.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin

There are two types of anti oxi dants, known as ca ro tenoid s ( ca lled Lu tei n ,
p ronou nced Loo -teen) and Z ea xan th in (pronoun ced zay -aa -za -thin ). Studies
have shown that those people who have g enerous i ntakes of these two
antioxi dants have a decreased ri sk of devel opi ng age -rel ated macular
degeneration.

134

The anti oxi dants, Lutei n and Zeaxanthi n, are found in both vegetables and
frui ts. You shoul d consume the foll owi ng veg etabl es and frui ts reg ularl y and
make them a part of your daily di et routi ne:

Bilberries

Green, Leafy Veg etables (l ettuce,

spinach, kale, broccoli)

Mangoes

Yellow Peppers

The foll owing foods are ri ch i n Zeaxanthi n:

Broccoli

Spinach

Tangerines

Oranges

Eggs

Lettuce (not iceberg lettuce)

Corn

Figur e 11: Carr ots ar e a r ich source

of Vitamin A

The above l isted food and v egetables are al so ri ch in Vi tami ns A , C , and E to

varying degrees.

I m p o r t a n t V i t a m i n a n d M i n er a l s
A balanced di et consi sts of a concocti on of vegetables, frui ts, m eat and dairy
products that are consumed on a day to day basi s. I f a wel l -balanced di et i s
made part of a persons nutri tional i ntake, then that person wil l defini tel y
have the requi red am ount of vi tam ins and mi nerals necessary for functioni ng
at opti mal level s.

Vitamin A
Vi tami n A i s perhaps the most i mportant vi tamin for the eyes. I t i s absol utel y
vi tal for g ood, clear vision as i t hel ps in protecti ng the cornea of the eye.
Vi tami n A drops are al so used to treat dry eye syndrome.

135

Vi tami n A has also showed up to be effecti ve i n treati ng certai n types of eye

i nflammati on condi ti ons.
It is also know to reduce the risk of
age-rel ated macul ar degenerati on, a
di sease that resul ts in severe
deteriorati on of the visi on.
If vitamin A is consumed along with
Lutein (see above), then vision may be
prolonged in those people who are
sufferi ng from an eye condi ti on call ed

Figur e 12: Lea fy vegeta bles ar e a great source of

numer ous vitamins and minera ls r equir ed for a
healthy life

the reti ni tis pig men to sa.

Fruits and Vegetables Rich in Vitamin

A:

Sweet Potatoes

C arrots

Dark, Leafy Green Veg etabl es

Squash

Romai ne Lettuce

Dried A pri cots

C antal oupe Melons

Sweet Red Peppers

Tuna Fish

Mangoes

Vitamin C
Vi tami n C i s a water sol uabl e vi tami n that is an extremely effective
antioxi dant. I t hel ps in keepi ng the eyes heal thy by protecti ng numerous
parts of the eye from g etti ng damaged by UV l ig ht.
A nti oxidants are those substances that protect cel ls from the damag ing
effects of oxidation.

136

Barbara Goll man, who i s an expert on functi onal foods and phy tochem i cal s i s
also the co -author of the book call ed The Phy topia Coo kboo k: A World of
Plant-Centered Cuisine , said:
"Vi ta min C mig h t help p rev en t ca ta ra cts o r delay th eir dev elop men t, b u t
studi es d o no t con firm this yet " , Ca ta ra cts, a cloud ing o f al l or p art o f th e
l ens of the eye, cause blu rred o r di mmed vi sion and u nusual sen si tivi ty to
li gh t.

Figur e 13: Citr us fr uits are a gr eat source of Vitamin C

Most of the A meri can popul ati on consum es the mi nim um requi rem ent of
vi tamin C (daily i ntake) of 75 mg for women, and 90 mg for men. H owever,
certai n studies have suggested that as much as 300 mg may be requi red to
protect the eyes from cataracts.
Fruits and Vegetables Rich in Vitamin C:

Broccoli

137

Brussels Sprouts

Guava

Kohlrabi

Mango

Papaya

Pineapple

Raspberries

Red Bell Peppers

Strawberries

Vitamin E
Vi tami n E i s a fat -sol ubl e vi tamin and a strong antioxi dant. I t i s beli eved
that i t m ay hel p i n prev enting dev el opment of cataracts as well as age rel ated macul ar degenerati on. Vi tamin E i s found in abundance our food
supply , and is found i n hig h concentra tions i n veg etabl e oil s.
Fru its and Vegetab les Rich in Vita min E:

Almonds

C ottonseed Oil

Forti fi ed Cereal s

H azel nuts

Papaya

Peanut Butter

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower Seed Kernels

Wheat Germ Oi l

Wheat Germ

Zinc
Zi nc pl ays a very i mportant role for the heal thy devel opment of eyes and i n
thei r mai ntenance. Z inc is found i n i ntense concentrati ons in the eye and i s
vi tal for reti na. The requi rement for zi nc i ncreases as we ag e; therefore, i t i s
important that suffi ci ent i ntake of zi nc is ensured.

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Fruits and Vegetables Rich in Zinc:

Almonds

Black -Eyed Peas

Brown Rice

Chicken

Garbanzo Beans

Ground Beef

Milk

Sunflower Seeds

Tofu

Wheat Germ

Beta-Carotene
Beta-C arotene helps i n nig ht vi si on and keeps the visi on at opti ma l level s.
Beta-C arotene, after i t i s consum ed, is converted i nto Vi tami n A ( excell ent
for eyes) and can be obtai ned easily throug h a normal , heal thy diet. Thi s i s
why i t i s not necessary to have beta -carotene supplements.
Fruits and Vegetables Rich in Beta -Carotene:

A pri cots

Beet Greens

C antal oupe Melon

C arrots

C ollard Greens

Kale

Papaya

Red Bell Pepper

Romai ne Lettuce

Spinach

Sweet Potatoes

Turnip Greens

Winter Squash

139

Chapter 10: Exercises for Improving

Vision
H eal thy eyes are undoubtedl y one of the most
valued assets any person can have. With so many
factors out there that contri bute to the
deteriorati on of vi si on, one cannot be too
cautious i n the attempt to protect the eyes and
the vision. What i s more di sapp oi nti ng is the fact
that wearing corrective lenses (eye glasses or
contact lenses) actuall y contri butes to the
deteriorati on of vi si on.
The Bates Method em phasi zes on the importance
of relaxing th e eyes i n order to hel p i n restoring
the vision as much as p ossi bl e. Dr Wil liam H. Bates bel ieved that peopl e
should do away with their glasses and that they adopt a healthy lifestyle
along with abandoning incorrect habits and ways of using the eyes.
We have al ready discussed the importance of essenti al vi tamins a nd
nutri ents i n the previ ous chapter. The focus of this chapter is to help you
l earn about the exerci ses that help in elim inati ng the sai d i ncorrect habi ts
and to assi st the eyes i n restori ng visi on, naturally.
One thi ng that y ou should keep i n mi nd i s tha t these exercises will take ti me
to show resul ts, and will require pati ence and consi stency from y our si de,
al ong wi th determi nati on i f you are to see the posi tive resul ts.

140

Exercise 1 Breathing
The way a person breathes is vital to the
overall heal th of the person as well as the
health of their eyes. C ontrolled breathing
empowers a person to be in command of the
body. When a person takes a smooth, deep
breath, the lungs begin to expand as the air
makes i ts way i nto them. The deep breath
ensures that m aximum oxygen content is
transported to the l ung s, whi ch then extract
i t to be used by the body s cel ls throug h the
blood stream.
However, there are some people who take
very shallow breaths, which is opposite to
the way it should be.
Thi s exercise will he l p you practi ce a correct way of breathi ng that wil l hel p
you rel ax and i n turn, wi ll benefi t the overall heal th i n the posi tive sense.
Instructions:
1. You can choose to si t down on the fl oor, on a chair, or even
stand wi th the knees bent slig htl y. C hoose a posi ti on that makes
you comfortable, and make sure you are in a quiet room.
2. Shut your eyes, gently.
3. C oncentrate on y our breathi ng . P ay speci al attenti on to the
rhythm of your breathing.
4. Take a deep breath, i nhaling throug h the nose while keeping your
shoul ders l oose and drooped. You should i nhal e at a steady pace
and fill up the lungs as much as you can.
5. H ol d the breath for about 5 seconds.
6. Begi n exhali ng at a sl ow, steady pace throug h the m outh by
pushing from the bottom of your lungs. You will feel your

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stomach fl atten, do not squeeze the ai r out rather, push i t out

from the bottom of the lungs.
7. Wai t for a minute or two to all ow your lungs to rest, and then
proceed to the next step.
8. When y ou are ready , repeat the process of inhali ng throug h the
nose and exhali ng through the mouth, maki ng sure that you push
the ai r out from the bottom of the lung s, and not by fl atteni ng
y our chest.
9. Duri ng thi s exerci se, y ou should concentrate on the rhy thm of
your breathi ng conti nuously.
10. Mov e y our body occasi onally i n or der to prev ent l ocki ng up of
the muscl es.
11. A t the end of the exercis e (after approximately 3 mi nutes of
controll ed breathi ng ), open y our ey es slowl y and do not focus on
any specifi c thing. J ust let your eyes adjust on thei r own.

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E x e r c i s e 2 A f fi r m a t i o n s o f V i s i o n
H avi ng a correct, optimi sti c atti tude i s vi tal for i mprovi ng you vi si on. The
mi nd and the ey es have a reall y cl ose bond, and y ou can use thi s to y our
advantage by trai ni ng your mi nd to
view perfectly.
Thi s is an exerci se that has m ore t o
do with the mind than the eyes
themselves. However, the secondary
effect of this exercise wi ll be on the
eyes.
The foll owing affirmati ons wil l hel p
the mind to get in the right form
which is necessary for naturally
improvi ng your eye sig ht. These
affi rm ati ons are divi ded i nto three
categories: Present, Future and
Natural.

Present Affirmations

I see clearly

My eyes are powerful

My eyes are calm

My eyes are strai n-free

I am making by eyes free of strain by releasi ng tensi on

My facial m uscl es are relaxed

I am curing my eyes

Future Affirmations

I will enhance m y eye sig ht

I will make vision to become sharper than ever

I will make my eyes to focus more naturally

I will compl etel y g et ri d of any eye strain

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I will heal my eyes

I will make my vision become shar p

Natural Affirmations

I have crystal cl ear eye sig ht

My eye sight is improving naturally

I have the abil i ty to improve my eye si ght

My vision is as sharp as it can be

Focusing my eyes is becoming easier

I take g ood care of m y ey es

I have been born with he althy and strong eyes

I love to relax the muscles of my eyes

My eye si ght can be i mproved in natural ways

Taki ng good care of my eyes i s extremely important

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Exercise 3 Palming
Palming is an extremely effective technique that hel ps the eyes to relax. You
can carry out thi s exerci se wherev er and whenev er y ou want to. If done
correctly, you will feel as if all the tension is bei ng drai ned from your body.

Instructions:
1. To begi n exercisi ng , si t down on a chai r wi th y our elbows pl aced on a
desk. You shoul d then cup your palms and place them over your eyes.
Make sure you do not press onto the eyes; all that is requi red i s that
y ou pl ace y our hand gentl y.
2. Let your shoul ders to relax and l et yourself si nk into the darkness .
3. C oncentrate on the gentl e, warm feeling of y our hands on your eyes.
You must make your mi nd beli eve that you wil l improve your eye sig ht
in a natural way, without relying on any glasses.
4. You should make y oursel f feel as i f y our i ntui ti on and psy chi c
awareness abili ti es are b eing energi zed. Thi s is im portant, because the
Bates Method requires that y ou trai n your mi nd to have a sem bl ance of
control.
5. Maintai n thi s posture and state of mi nd for as long as practi cally
possible.

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E x e r c i s e 4 F i g u r e E i g h ts
The aim of this exercise i s to increase the fl exi bi li ty of your eye muscles i n a
natural and relaxed manner.

Instructions:
1. Take two deep breaths sl owl y and steadil y.
2. You can choose to stand, or si t wi th your feet being approximately a
shoulder-width apart. Keep your hands at your sides. The knees should
be all owed to sl ig htly bend.
3. Now imagine as if you have a figure of number 8, lying horizontally
approximately 15 feet away from you.
4. Let your eyes wander along the hori zontal fig ure of 8 wi thout all owing
your head to move. Begi n this i n one di recti on fi rst, foll owed by the
same in the opposite.
5. Keep breathing at a sl ow, steady pace whil e conti nui ng to bli nk y our
eyes frequently to keep them fresh and clean.
6. Feel the tension in your jaw, and allow it to escape.

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Exercise 5 Scanning
Stari ng i s an unheal thy habi t as i t tends to freeze the eyes natural energy as
well as the muscle , thereby hindering the blood flow. On the other hand, the
techni que of scanning is opposi te to that of staring.
Repl ace the habi t of stari ng wi th t he scanning techni que by foll owi ng these
i nstructi ons:
1. Take two deep breaths sl owl y and steadil y.
2. You can choose to stand, si t or freely move around.
3. When you look at any object, do not let your eyes to freeze onto i t and
focus; rather, l et them gli de over the object as i f you were using your
eyes to pai nt a work of art.
4. Keep the breathing steady.
5. A s y ou let y our eyes g li de from one object to another, do not all ow
them to fi xate on any si ngl e object. C onti nue bli nking normall y to keep
the eyes fresh a nd clean.
6. Once scanning becomes a habit, you will feel that your eyes glide
effortl essl y and wi thout any tension at all .

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