Unlocking the Facts: An Extensive Guide to Understanding Eye Allergies

Eye allergies

Do you feel an itching sensation in your eyes associated with redness? Then, you may be a victim of eye allergy. Some people experience a burning or tearing sensation. Also known as allergic conjunctivitis, eye allergies are a common issue that affects numerous people in Canada.

Eye allergiesWhat Causes Allergies in Your Eyes?

Do you know that the outer covering of your eyes, conjunctiva, is a sensitive area? As allergens or irritants enter your eyelid, they irritate the conjunctiva. Consequently, you will experience inflammation in your eyes.

Your immune system responds whenever harmful external invaders enter your body. If you are vulnerable to allergies, your body will react instantly, mistaking irritants as dangerous substances. How does your body react? It produces antibodies to fend off the intruders.

In response, the mast cells in your conjunctiva discharge a chemical known as histamine. It triggers the swelling of blood vessels in your eyes to cause redness and itching.

Triggering Factors

When airborne allergens enter your eyes, you are a potential candidate for eye allergies. It can be indoor allergens like mold spores, pet dander, and dust mites. Outdoor allergens such as wood pollen, trees, and grass can also make you vulnerable to these allergies. In addition, perfumes, smoke, soaps, contact lenses, and cosmetics can also lead to allergic reactions.

What are the Symptoms?

The most common symptoms include redness, itchiness, burning sensation, and swelling. You may also experience watery eyes, higher sensitivity to light, and blurry vision. In addition, many people feel that something like dirt or grit has gone into their eyes.

How to Manage or Prevent Eye Allergies?

You can prevent eye allergies to a certain extent if you don’t expose yourself to allergens and other triggers. It may not be possible for you to stay 100% protected against them. However, you can follow some steps to minimize the exposure.

– Use a dehumidifier to get protection against mold
– Wear sunglasses when going outside
– Add an HEPA filter to your air conditioner and vacuum cleaner
– Opt for mite-proof covers on pillows and mattresses
– Clean contact lenses regularly
– Close windows when the presence of external irritants is high
– Clean hands after interacting with pets
– Reduce or avoid the use of carpets

Seek the help of an optometrist in Toronto if the symptoms do not subside after one week. The optometrist will perform the necessary eye exam before recommending a treatment plan. The treatment options for eye allergies include over-the-counter drops and medications, prescription allergy drops, and sublingual immunotherapy.

Pros and cons of having blue light protecting glasses

having blue light protecting glasses

Description: Caring for the eyes of the computer screen is an increasingly known concern on the part of everyone. Taking care of the view of the screens is something that began years ago with the development of auxiliary screens that overlap on the monitors of the old computers. Currently, your eyes are exposed to the blue light emitted not only by computer monitors but by devices such as mobile phones or tablets. The number of hours you spend in front of devices that emit blue light increases, not because you spend more time in front of the computer, but because you are more exposed to blue light, in intermittent periods, between all the different devices.
The use of blue light protecting glasses constantly protects you from the harmful properties of the light of the screens.

The Advantages of Wearing Glasses that Block Blue Light at Night

The benefits of the glasses that block blue light are immense and varied. The use of these glasses for a week caused surprising results among people with bipolar disorders. People who used blue light protecting glasses that block the light between 6 pm-8 pm for seven days had a marked improvement in mania symptoms compared to those who wore clear glasses. What’s more, the improvements began just after three nights of use.
The dramatic results make sense given the relatively recent discovery of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, which are receptors in their eyes that detect only blue light. These receptors communicate with the areas of your brain that are related to controlling your biological clock (hypothalamus), as well as your mood and emotions (the limbic system).  Research also found dramatic improvements in insomnia and mood in approximately half of the bipolar patients wearing blue light blocking glasses.

The disadvantages of having blue light protecting computer glasses:

  • The glasses with blue light filters change the color of everything you see in the yellow tint. This often causes difficulties to read the screens.
  • The light blue glasses increase the number of complaints of scotopic vision loss.
  • It also raised concerns about changing the perception of colors.
  • The blue light glasses could not protect skin containing also melanopsin, the photoreceptor that warns your body to warn you if it is day or night.

Therefore, melanopsin or light blue glasses cause sleep disturbances.