Varionet News
Myopia
The myopic eye
Myopia is a visual abnormality identified since antiquity by Aristotle. This is refractive disorder more common in the world . Some ophthalmologists even speak of a global epidemic: according to a study conducted by the University of Canberra (Australia) 90% of young students in developed countries in Asia are myopic against 30% in the 70s. This phenomenon is found all over the world, in the USA the population of myopes has increased from 25 to 45%.
Protect yourself from eye allergies!
Spring is coming and with it beautiful flowers! these make the eyes happy for some but for others they are synonymous with eye irritation, dryness or allergies.
- What is an eye allergy?
eye allergy is a abnormal reaction happening at eye level. When in contact with an often foreign substance.
How not to rub your eyes?
Do you tend to rub your eyes? And you wonder why and is it dangerous in this time of COVID-19?
Why are you rubbing your eyes?
This could be due to several things. You may have dry eyes, an eye infection, wear contact lenses, be prone to allergies or another health problem. Rubbing your eyes has become a habit for you
Coronavirus-Covid-19: the role of your eyes in the spread of the virus
5 tips for working from home
Tips for optimal remote working
It's no secret that we are living in complex times; almost the whole world is confined and for a lot more work! Others, who are more fortunate, practice teleworking, at Varionet this is the case and we do it regularly and we offer you some advice to best live this period.
Can returning to work cause eyestrain?
Work, re-entry and eyestrain
The month of September is here, synonymous with back to school and this is a sign that the holidays are beautiful and well over! Summer is coming to an end and autumn is on its way. We have to adapt to the days that are getting shorter and it is common for eyestrain to appear. No more idleness, little naps, the daily routine is back with the long hours spent in front of digital devices and paperwork.
The app "Be my eyes"
Be my eyes? What is that?
"Be My eyes" is a free application, a social network to help visually impaired people all over the world!
Eye care and protection
To preserve your visual health
Sight is important and none of us want to lose it!
Yet we don't take the necessary steps to take care of our eyes, prevent eye injuries, or treat eye diseases and genes that can affect our vision.
Good habits and personal commitment are the keys to preserving this precious sense. Raising awareness by educating everyone (children, employees, athletes, handymen, etc.) is the way to protect the eyes by becoming aware of the various daily threats. These are diverse and varied: the danger of exposure to the sun, sports injuries, splashes at work, digital eye strain linked to exposure to blue light, etc.
By taking care of his eyes and your vision, you are also taking care of yourself and your general health. During a complete eye exam, the ophthalmologist can detect signs of certain diseases, even undeclared ones, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, tumours, multiple sclerosis, etc.
Some suggestions for maintaining healthy eyesight:
- Physical exercise : an active lifestyle and a healthy diet to help avoid being overweight and reduce the inflammation process in the body which, like obesity, can be linked to certain eye diseases.
- A balanced diet : several research programs have shown that people who do not eat enough fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. have a greater chance of developing cataracts . Like green vegetables, foods rich in omega-3 (fatty fish, oilseeds, etc.) can prevent vision problems.
- Avoid tobacco : even passive, smoking has a link with age-related degeneration, twice the risk!
- Wear protective glasses adapted to your eyesight for work, DIY, sports, etc.
- Wear blue light blocking glasses to reduce the toxic effects of blue light
- Wear glasses or over-glasses during your outings
Computer glasses for presbyopia and the digital age
Digital devices are part of everyday life which induces a redistribution of the five senses; Indeed hearing, taste, touch and smell lose importance compared to sight .
It is common for users of digital screens (smartphones, tablets, computers , e-readers) to experience visual discomfort related to fatigue : tearing, headaches, feeling of heaviness, blurred or fluctuating vision, irritated eyes, neck pain and back, feeling of dust in the eyes, etc.
One of these symptoms bothers you, you can blame your devices!
Nearly 90% of users spend two or more hours looking at a digital device per day. One in 10 people spend nearly 75% of their waking hours staring at a screen, and our eyes aren't made for that!
After 40 years with the onset of presbyopia, focusing in near vision is increasingly complex, it generates problematic reading and eye fatigue which is accentuated by the use of screens and blue light emissions. Not handling these tools has become impossible, which is why we offer you some solutions to relieve this fatigue
- The 20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break while looking away
- Position your screen correctly to avoid reflections and induced glare.
- Place your screen a good distance from your eyes: the palm of your hand should touch the screen with your arm extended.
- Wear special computer and anti-blue light reading glasses :
Varionet offers computer glasses equipped with degressive lenses designed for digital life. With corrections from +1.00 to +3.50, these are the ideal computer glasses for presbyopia, you can read, see your screen or your colleague with a single pair of glasses ! For more comfort, opt for the Cool Blue anti-blue light anti-reflective coating. Anti-blue light presbyopic glasses improve contrast, reduce visual fatigue, protect you from UV and toxic blue-violet radiation.
Whatever your desires, your budget, you will find the pair of computer reading glasses that suits you...
Foods that are good for your eyesight!
Good food for good eyesight!
We think of paying attention to what we eat to improve nail growth or to have shiny and healthy hair, but our eyes are often neglected!
Yet they also require that we take care of (y)them , starting with what we put on our plates.
A good diet makes it possible to avoid all sorts of inconveniences due to certain deficiencies , such as AMD (age-related degeneration), glaucoma or quite simply to avoid worsening an already existing sight problem .
To begin with, a balanced and varied diet helps maintain a healthy overall lifestyle.
Here is our pick of the best foods for healthy eyes:
Omega-3s:
These are polyunsaturated fatty acids that are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body but that it cannot produce by itself. They must therefore be found in the foods we eat. They are present in large quantities in nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, in shrimp and in fatty fish such as herring, salmon, sardines, etc.
Vitamins A, B, C and E:
- Vitamin A is one of the molecules that make up the retina , it helps protect the cornea. It becomes very useful during conjunctivitis, glaucoma, cataracts or major vision problems , indeed a vitamin A deficiency would cause total blindness .
Vitamin A is found in calf's liver, carrots, broccoli, spinach...
- Vitamin B improves eyesight and prevents its decline , especially the "sub-vitamin" B2, riboflavin.
It is found in abundance in foods of animal origin such as cheese, eggs, meat or fish. It is also found in green vegetables such as spinach, asparagus or even in cereals or brewer's yeast.
- Vitamin C plays an important role in reducing the risk of cataracts and AMD . Indeed, the retina and the lens are bathed in a fluid with a very high vitamin C content . It is therefore necessary to ingest vitamin C to allow a good balance.
Vitamin C is easy to find in large quantities: in citrus fruits, red fruits such as blueberries or blackberries, broccoli, peppers...
- Vitamin E would have a protective effect against AMD and cataracts . It would reduce the progression of these disorders .
A daily dose of it by eating for example almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, avocados, etc. would provide protection against these diseases.
Zinc:
It is a very good element in the preservation of your sight and the good health of your eyes , it is found in cocoa, wheat germ, eggs, cashew nuts.
In order to have healthy eyes, integrating these foods into a balanced diet is the solution. When the good weather arrives, it is easy to find many fresh products rich in vitamins and minerals. It is also possible to take food supplements to complete a varied and balanced diet. But like everything, be careful with the doses taken, an overdose would cause negative side effects.
Foods to avoid:
A diet too rich in omega-6 including too many vegetable oils, seeds, eggs or certain meats would tend to cancel the effects of omega-3.
Processed foods of industrial origin which have little nutritional value and therefore no vitamins, minerals, necessary for the functioning of the body in general.
An unhealthy body will lead to vision problems as you age.
Blue light blocking glasses for young people
Nowadays everyone has a device emitting harmful artificial blue light : tablet, pc, TV screen, computer, smartphone, LED… The youngest are often confronted with it; with the Internet era, children and teenagers are hyper-connected at home and at school, where many of them use tablets, PCs, laser pens, blackboards with backlighting, etc. All these devices use technology LCD with LED backlighting, these LEDs are economically advantageous but they emit a large amount of harmful blue light for our organism.
Harmful blue light is the region of waves at the beginning of the visible light spectrum just after UV between 380 nm and 530 nm. This blue light, in large doses, can cause hormonal imbalances, eye damage such as sleep disorders, cataracts, macular degeneration, etc.
With the Cool Blue + lenses, Varionet offers blue light blocking glasses without correction to protect the eyes of those who spend hours in front of new technologies. These glasses are equipped with Cool Blue + lenses made of an innovative material that absorbs 100% of UV rays and + 90% of blue light up to 420 nm. These lenses are uncorrected and equipped with a high-performance anti-reflective treatment, it is perfect for protecting the eyes and ocular appendages of the youngest without visual problems.
The + of Cool Blue + anti-blue light glasses :
- Protects eyes from harmful blue light
- Protects against UV
- Reduce visual stress
- Improves contrast
- Limits glare
- Reduces headaches, neck pain...
- Minimizes dry eye syndrome...
Cool Blue+ anti-blue light glasses are comparable to various food supplements by protecting your eyes and ocular annexes such as the retina, the eyelids from the harmful effects of screens.
With Cool blue anti-blue light glasses, protect your eyes and those of your loved ones!
Take advantage of the big brands to offer Ray-ban blue light blocking glasses, Tom Ford blue light blocking glasses ... at low prices.
Yoga to reduce eyestrain
Sitting in front of the computer for 8-12 hours can have different impacts on your body. One of the first discomforts suffered is eye fatigue , followed by headaches and backaches . By performing simple yoga exercises regularly, you can effectively reduce those discomforts that come with prolonged computer use.
Medical study:
A study was conducted in a software development company in India, it was requested with the help of 300 participants. Half had to include yoga practice in their daily work routine, while the others were placed on a waiting list as a 'control' group. For two months, the “yoga” group practiced different yoga exercises for one hour a day for five days a week. On the other hand, the control group pursued other recreational activities during the same time allocated to the yoga group.
At the start of the study, each participant rated the genes and level of discomfort related to eyestrain .
At the end of the study, eye strain discomforts were found to be significantly reduced in the “yoga” group, while the control group reported no significant changes in their eye problem.
The yoga group noted improvements in the following symptoms:
- Irritation
- shooting eyes
- Blurred vision
- dry eyes
- Redness
The researchers reported that the significant improvement in eye strain in the yoga group was caused by increased relaxation. When the human body is in a relaxed state, the eyes instinctively blink more often , reducing eye strain.
Practicing yoga:
If you, too, are considering performing some simple yoga exercises to reduce eye strain, here's the program for the study:
- 10 minutes of regulated breathing
- 15 minutes of yoga posture
- 10 minute visual exercises
- 10 minute joint exercises
- 15 minute guided relaxation
You can choose to perform an abbreviated version of these yoga exercises during lunch breaks, before you start work, or whenever you feel the need.
Yoga exercises for the eyes:
Here are the specific eye exercises that have been shown to be very effective in reducing eye strain:
Eye movements:
Sit down and start moving your eyes by moving your gaze in 8 different directions. Use your thumb to direct your gaze, following these instructions:
- Up down
- Top-left
- Bottom-left
- Top-right
- bottom-right
- Counter-clockwise rotation
- Clockwise rotation
The flame :
For this exercise, you will need a candle. Place the lit candle at eye level. Start by staring at the flame, without blinking. After a minute, begin to de-focus and look at various points further away than the flame. Perform the exercise several times.
Eye warming:
Sitting in your chair, rub your hands together to warm your palms. When they are hot, close your eyes and place both hands on them. This will block external light sources and allow the eyes to absorb heat from your hand. Take 10 deep, relaxing breaths and repeat the exercise if necessary.
To further enhance the positive effects of these exercises, wear blue light blocking glasses when you are in front of your screens!
