MEMORY AID
The Christmas and New Year season usually generates many distractions, very typical of these festivities, and which, in one way or another, affects people’s daily habits. In that sense, it is not unusual for a considerable percentage of citizens, due to the whirlwind of this season, to neglect their health, causing problems for their body, including their eyes.
Dr. Alejandro Lalama, head of Optometry at Óptica Los Andes (OLA), points out that one of the most common discomforts that appears in this month of December is visual fatigue, which generates discomfort in those who suffer from it. “It can be described as eye fatigue, and its causes may include the omission of basic care by patients, such as using inadequate lighting to perform a task, or spending a lot of time using near vision,” Explain.
To prevent people from suffering from visual fatigue during the holidays, the OLA representative provides below X recommendations to consider.
1. Try to reduce the time of unprotected eye exposure to Christmas lights and screens
Most Christmas lights today use LED light, which “It is detrimental to people’s rest, because overexposure to it drastically reduces the production of melatonin, altering the hours of sleep”says Dr. Lalama. This, according to the OLA expert, has a negative impact on the health of the eyes, since they do not recover from the effort they make during the day to see. The same occurs with the excessive use of cell phone screens, tablets and other devices; Therefore, the suggestion is to limit exposure to these lights as much as possible, and if this cannot be avoided, glasses with appropriate filters should be used to protect vision.
2. Adjust the brightness of electronic devices
Many times, due to the time consumed by the celebrations of these dates, people must spend the night hours to fulfill tasks.as they did not manage to comply during the day, and usually, they do it with electronic devices. “They should know that devices with glass screens can cause glare, which is very harmful to the eyes; For this reason, at OLA we recommend adjusting the brightness and contrast of the screen, and lowering the lights that are close to it, as a mechanism to alleviate visual fatigue.”indicates the specialist.
3. Avoid environments where the air quality is not the most optimal
Because Christmas and New Year’s gatherings are social in nature, they tend to take place in environments where the air quality is not optimal. “For example, they can occur in closed, air-conditioned places, or in spaces where people smoke freely.”, says the head of Optometry at Óptica Los Andes. In these cases, the recommendation is to prevent the air flow from hitting the face directly and/or get as far away from those who smoke as possible, so that the tobacco smoke affects the eyes.
4. Rest your eyes after long days or parties
If your eyes have endured long days of work (classic at the end of the year), or if they were exposed without protection at parties, it is best to allow yourself to rest. “During the work day, you can take breaks from time to time, resting your eyes, and staying away from screens”, indicates Lalama. He adds that, at the end of these days or celebrations, it is important to sleep at least 8 hours to recover from fatigue.
5. Go for an optometric evaluation if you present symptoms associated with visual fatigue
If symptoms such as eye fatigue, blurred vision, watery or dry eyes, and/or headache appear, it is essential to go to a specialist who can perform an optometric assessment to determine if there is a problem, and if so, establish the appropriate treatment. “These types of consultations can be made free of charge at all Óptica Los Andes locations nationwide”concludes Dr. Lalama.