How Seasonal Allergies Affect Your Eyes
As spring is coming into full swing, we tend to find ourselves spending more time outside. You may start to notice during this time of year your eyes start to get more red, itchy, and watery – especially on those days that you’re spending a lot of time outdoors. What is happening to our eyes and how can we help? Today we’re going to discuss seasonal allergies, and how they can affect your eyes.
What causes ocular allergies?
There are a large number of things that can cause ocular allergies. Pet dander, dust mites, perfumes, and other irritants can come from sources inside the home throughout the year. During the spring and fall seasons plants start to release pollen which is a major source of seasonal allergies. Grass pollen is generally worse in the spring, and ragweed in the fall. These small particles float in the air and come in contact with our eyes. When our immune system overreacts, inflammation occurs which causes the eyes to get watery, itchy, and congested.
Having Night Vision Problems? Here’s A Few Tips.
One of the biggest concerns we hear from patients is problems with night vision. This can be very serious, especially if the issue is worse when driving. Driving at night time can make night vision problems more pronounced and result in a dangerous situation.
Trouble Driving at Night
There are a few considerations when having problems driving at night. First is an uncorrected prescription. If you need glasses, this can cause your distance vision to be blurred, and is worse with low lighting. Second, everyone does poorly seeing in dark conditions and glare from headlights can make it very difficult to see road signs and lines on the road.
Aging and Night Vision Problems
Have you ever considered the wonder of color–how a soft, pristine blue can calm and relax, how a vibrant, intense red can energize and motivate, or how a lush, welcoming shade of green can bring renewal or ideas of rebirth? Hunter has pondered these things and more his entire life… Here is his story. “When I was three years old, I started a journey that would impact the rest of my life…I began preschool. I had always been a very social person, so I was naturally excited to meet a classroom full of new friends. The thought of having 30 new people to laugh at my jokes, to race across the playground, to build tall block towers, and to learn with was so exciting to me. Let’s just say, preschool didn’t exactly unfold as I had planned. Learning my alphabet and numbers came with great ease–I even learned them faster than most of the other kids in my class, but I severely struggled when we started to learn patterns and colors. I remember being so frustrated with myself and embarrassed that I could never quite stumble on the correct answer. My parents spoke with my teacher on many occasions, and all became worried that maybe I had a learning deficiency. After many hours of thought and collaboration, my parents decided to have me tested to see if I could be color blind. I was very nervous the day I walked into the optometrist’s office. My mom assured me that the test would be painl