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Keeping your hands clean will reduce your chance of infection, particularly if
you wear contact lenses
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If you have dark circles under your eyes, it could just be a case of having
thinner skin under your eyes, but it could also mean you are overdoing it or
have a food allergy (nutritionists call these 'allergy circles').
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At the end of a long day, a soothing gel-filled eye mask is bliss and can
relieve tension, headaches and irritation. For a DIY eye mask, used tea bags or
cucumber slices can make effective eye pads.
Eye Workout
Exercises can help to strengthen eyes as well as helping them to
relax. Eye muscles are constantly in action and therefore tire easily which
explains why it can be hard to keep our eyes open when we are tired.
The Bates Method devised by the American ophthalmologist Dr William H Bates
uses specific exercises to re-educate eyesight. The technique known as palming
allows the eye muscles to relax completely as it prevents light from entering
the eyes, so the pupils dilate completely, allowing the papillary muscles to
relax fully.
How to exercise your eyes
With your eyes open, place your palms over your eye sockets.
Move palms around until no cracks of light are visible around the edges.
Stare straight ahead for at least three minutes, blinking as normal.
When the three minutes are up, close your eyes, remove your palms and open your
eyes. Avoid looking into bright light.
Foods that help maintain visual health
Carrots really do help you to see in the dark. They contain
beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body (also called
retinol because of its effect on the retina) and is vital for eye function.
Blueberries are known for their eye-protecting qualities as they support retinal
rhodopsin, a purple filter. Other dark berries will have a similar effect,
though blueberries are the most potent.
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