Eye Safety Notes

Can my contact lens get lost behind my eyeball?

A contact lens that slips off the corneal surface of the eye and moves under the eyelid cannot go far. The conjunctiva, a clear lining that covers the inner surface of the eyelids, forms a small sac or pouch between the eyelid and the eye to contain the eye¡¯s tears. The ¡°lost¡± contact lens can only go as far as the edge of this sac, not behind the eyeball. Usually you can gently manipulate the contact lens back into place. If the lens is difficult to retrieve, you may need to flush your eye with sterile saline. Your eye doctor can advise you on safe methods of retrieving a "lost" lens.

Preventing Eye Injury Around Children

Over one million people suffer eye injuries each year in the United States. Almost 50% of these accidents occur at home, and 90% of them could have been prevented.
Prevention is the first and most important step in avoiding eye injuries.
Toys and games can be dangerous when used incorrectly.
Pay attention to your child¡¯s age and responsibility level when you buy toys and games. Avoid projectile toys such as darts, pellet guns, etc., which can hit the eye from a distance.
Supervise children when they are playing with toys or games that can be dangerous.
Teach children the correct way to handle items such as scissors and pencils.
BB and pellet guns should be considered as dangerous as regular firearms.

Preventing Eye Injury Around Fireworks

Over one million people suffer eye injuries each year in the United States . Almost 50% of these accidents occur at home, and 90% of them could have been prevented.
Prevention is the first and most important step in avoiding eye injuries.
All fireworks can be dangerous to people of all ages.
Never allow children to light fireworks.
Do not stand near others when lighting fireworks.
Wear protective safety glasses near fireworks.

Preventing Eye Injury Around the Car

Over one million people suffer eye injuries each year in the United States . Almost 50% of these accidents occur at home, and 90% of them could have been prevented.
Prevention is the first and most important step in avoiding eye injuries.

Sparks and fumes can ignite rapidly and explode. Battery acid can cause serious eye injuries.
Put out all cigarettes and matches before opening the hood of the car. Use a flashlight - not a match or lighter - to look at the battery at night.
Keep protective goggles with your jumper cables and wear them.
Wear protective goggles for auto body repairs when grinding metal or striking metal against metal.

When you jump-start a car:

Make sure the cars are not touching each other;
Be sure the jumper cable clamps never touch each other;
Never lean over the battery when attaching cables;
Attach the positive cable (red) to the positive terminal of the dead battery first, then attach the other end of the positive cable to the good battery;
Attach the negative terminal of the good battery, then attach the other end of the negative cable to a grounded area on the engine away from the negative terminal of the dead battery. Never attach a cable to the negative terminal of the dead battery.

Preventing Eye Injury In Sports

Over one million people suffer eye injuries each year in the United States . Almost 50% of these accidents occur at home, and 90% of them could have been prevented.
Prevention is the first and most important step in avoiding eye injuries.
Sports and recreational activities cause more than 31,000 eye injuries each year.
Wear protective safety glasses, especially for sports such as tennis, racquetball, squash, baseball and basketball.
Wear protective caps, helmets or face guards where appropriate, especially for sports such as ice hockey.

Lens Care Tips

Caring for your contact lenses is important to the health of your eyes. Lenses start to feel uncomfortable when protein deposits form on the lens' surface. These deposits, found naturally in the tear fluid of your eyes, accumulate on the lens over a period of weeks and months.

To ensure that contact lenses give their wearers optimum performance and superior comfort, CooperVision developed a convenient planned replacement lens program. CooperVision's Preference? quarterly planned replacement lenses and Hydrasoft? Options quarterly planned replacement lenses, manufactured from a material that resists deposit build up, can be worn for up to three months without enzyming. The material's deposit-resistant properties keep your lenses cleaner and your vision sharp. Frequency? monthly planned replacement lenses can be worn for up to four weeks without enzymatic cleaning.
Preference, Frequency, and Hydrasoft Options planned replacement lenses are fit exclusively by your eye care professional at regularly planned visits to ensure good eye health. With periodic checkups, planned replacement justifiably is considered the healthiest soft contact lens option available.
Whether you're wearing a CooperVision planned replacement lens or a conventional lens, you should always follow your eye care professional's prescribed cleaning regimen. Failure to do so could result in red eye, pain, light sensitivity, tearing, or sudden changes in vision.

Did You Know?

Are contacts a good fit for you?
Most people with vision conditions have no problem wearing contact lenses. And, with new materials, replacement schedules and lens care technologies, wearing contact lenses has never been easier.
However, you may have difficulty wearing lenses, if:

• your eyes are irritated by allergies.
• your work environment hosts large quantities of dust or chemicals.
• you suffer from uncontrollable diabetes, severe arthritis in your hands, or an overactive thyroid.
• Your eyes are overly dry due to medications or pregnancy.

See your eye care professional to find out if contact lenses are right for you.
Children need regular eye exams
Of children between the ages of 5 and 12, one in four suffer from an undiagnosed vision problem that effects their educational performance. Because children often have no way of knowing if their vision is poor, it is much harder to detect the problem. It is recommended that all children have their eyes examined at age 4. If there is a family history of eye conditions, it is recommend that their eyes be examined by the age of three. Early detection is the key to good vision and vision problems often respond favorable during the growth and development of a child's visual system.

Signs that your child may have a vision problem

• Squinting, rubbing or blinking the eyes a lot
• Having trouble seeing the blackboard at school
• Using a finger as a place mark when reading
• Holding head at an awkward angle when reading
• Closing or covering one eye to focus
• Holding reading materials close to face
• Having red or crusty eyes

Adults need regular eye exams, too

Ideally, you should have your eyes examined every year. Routine eye exams can detect early signs of vision conditions, allowing for fast treatment of most problems. Eye exams can also reveal serious and often times, hidden medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammations and infections.
A typical eye exam
Quick and painless, routine eye exams ensure good, healthy vision. Before your exam, your eye care professional will ask you about your health history and your family history, whether you've experienced any eye trouble, and ask you to describe your work and lifestyle. Then, he/she will test your eyes: checking for eye movement, peripheral vision and color blindness, administering a glaucoma test and determining the health of your optic nerve and retina.
Computer use and your eyes
Many in our workforce spend the majority of their work day in front of a computer screen. And, nearly 90% of those working at a video display terminal experienced some form of vision problems as a result. Symptoms that are related to computer use are:

• Difficulty focusing after working at a computer
• Eye strain or fatigue 
• Headaches
• Dry, itchy and/or irritated eyes

There are also environmental factors that increase computer-related eye strain:

• Bright lights in your peripheral vision can be distracting.
• Reflected light on your computer screen can cause a glare, decreasing the contrast of the screen character.

Choosing Right Glasses for Eyes

Glasses today have become the hottest fashion accessories. They are available in different styles and frames. Thus choosing the right frame of glasses is a tough job. We have brought for you tips that will help you choose the right frame of glasses.

Pinpoint your need:

First and foremost decide you need one pair ofglasses or more. That is one pair for work and another pair for evenings and weekends. Thus after you have pinpointed your need it will be easy for you to decide what kind of frame you require. For work you need the simple and conservative style. For evenings and weekends you need a more bold, ultra-modern and ultra-feminine style.

Face Shape:

Your face shape plays a key role in deciding what kind of frame will suit you. Thus choosing the right frame will not only accentuate your good features but will also help you in hiding the less-desirable features. Thus try the following frames for the face shape listed below.

• Round Face: oval, straight or rectangular frames, slightly larger than your face.
• Square Face: oval frames with straight or rounded lines, in a size more or less equal to your face.
• Triangular Face: large frames with the top line straight or rounded.
• Oval Face: any frame is suitable for this face type.

Skin tone:

Skin tone is also an important in determining colouring. All complexions fall into one of two colour bases - blue (cool) or yellow (warm). A cool complexion has blue or pink undertones, and a warm complexion has a "peaches and cream" or yellow cast. Thus for cool complexion use contrasting and dark colours. While for warm complexion use soft tones.

Eye Colour:

Eye colours are usually a secondary element in determining the correct frame. Following points will guide you.

• Blue: grey, blue or tortoise-shell fames.
• Green: burgundy, violet or green frames.
• Brown: bronze or horn-rimmed frames.
• Black: pink, silver or gold frames.

Hair colour:

If you have black/brown hair then go in for black or navy frames. Blondes please avoid gold frames and opt for a bronze one.

Following are the different kinds of frames available in the market:

• Plastic Frames: They are available in different styles and colours. Plastic frames are also available with lamination using layers of different colored plastics that are laminated together to create unique colorization.
• Rimless Frames: Rimless frames look sophisticated and chic. Rimless glasses with lenses cut in soft shapes and in soft colours give the perfect feminine look.
• Frames with Tinted and flash-coated lenses: Tinted and flash-coated lenses created to match or complement the frame's colour have celebrity appeal, creating a modern, trendy look.

Points to Remember:

While choosing a frame for your eyes make sure you have enough time to consider your options and to select the right frames.
If you are confused take a friend along with you or ask the in-store consultant.


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Personal Eye Care

On how to care for your eyes and preserve your vision

One of the greatest enemies of our eyes is the sun. Just like the skin, eyes are damaged by UV rays coming from the sun, whether it is overcast or a clear and sunny day. Sunglasses should always be warn in daylight hours when you are outside and you need to be sure that the sunglasses you choose offer UV ray protection. There are many sunglasses sold which are just tinted glass and do not really protect your eyes, they simply offer shade from the brightness. Check the label on your sunglasses before you buy them and be sure to wear them.

Reading , working on the computer and watching television really can harm your vision. When you are doing any of these things which require staring at one place for a long time, it is important to take frequent brakes and look at things farther away for a bit, and look around from time to time to offer your eyes a break and minimize fatigue. There are special films offered for computer screens to minimize the amount of harm done to your eyes from looking at the monitor for long periods of time.

Frequent check-ups with your optician will help keep your eyes healthy. If your eyes become a little weak, wearing glasses for a period of time can often strengthen your eyes back to the point where you no longer need them. If you continue to let your eyes deteriorate without visiting the eye doctor, the damage may be too great to reverse. Often, your prescription will change in a short period of time and it is important to keep on top of it to avoid further damage to your eyes.


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Puffiness Under Eyes

Puffiness under eyes is basically caused due to fluid and fat. Puffiness results when a fat pad that cushions the eye begins to pull away from the bone of the lower eye and sags due to age. Heredity makes this more of a problem for some people. Retaining water can also cause puffiness, especially in the morning. Thus if you see puffiness under your eyes, that is an indication that you're probably not getting enough water in your system and thus drink plenty of water. When a person is dehydrated the body starts storing water as a defence system and this will add to puffiness around the eyes. Also, under eye puffiness can indicate that you're sleeping on a pillow that is too flat, ingesting too much salt or perhaps celebrating with alcohol to a greater degree than normal. Excess salt intake, kidney or heart problems, steroid use and other conditions that cause water retention can create puffiness under eyes.

For puffiness caused by fat, cosmetic surgery is recommended to remove the fat pad. Making a minimal incision inside the lower eyelid, surgeons are able to remove the sagging fat pad that causes puffiness. Laser treatment to vaporise extra skin around the eyelid can also make a difference.

Tips for puffy eyes

• The puffiness of the eyes can be reduced with a glass of ice water and four stainless steel spoons. Chill the spoons in the water and then place one over each eye. When the spoons become warm, switch them with the others chilling in the glass of water. Keep switching until you see improvement.
• Settle down for two to five minutes with a chilled, steeped chamomile or green tea bag over each eye. The natural properties of these herbal teas help to bring puffy eyes back down to size.
• Cucumber contains anti-inflammatory properties to reduce redness and puffiness of eyes. Slice a large cucumber, reserve two slices to place over eyes. Peel and puree the remaining cucumber. This can be applied as a pack onto your face. Remove after fifteen minutes. Apply moisturiser thickly to seal in water.
• A natural and effective treatment is to use vitamin E oil and rub the oil overnight around your eyes.
• Strain the juice of grated potato and saturate cotton wool pads with it or lay the grated vegetable on the eye between the muslin. Slices of raw potato will soothe swollen eyelids and reduce swelling and puffiness.
• A drop of perfectly fresh castor oil smeared along the eyelids will also remove puffiness.
• A few egg whites stiffly beaten and applied with a brush to the face and under the eye will make the skin feel tighter and look less puffy. Add a drop or two of witch hazel, which also reduces swelling and will keep the egg whites from drying to rapidly.
• Rinse your face in cold water when you wake up or when puffy eyes attack anytime of the day to constrict blood vessels and reduce swelling.
• Avoid foods high in saturated fat and consume more fibre in your diet. Regularity helps move toxins out of the body, which helps control puffiness.
• Get enough sleep. If you don't, the skin surrounding your eyes is guaranteed to swell. If you're out late Saturday night, log in a few extra hours on Sunday morning. You must get 8 hours sleep daily.
• Sleep on your back with your head elevated by two pillows. This allows fluid to drain overnight instead of collecting under your eyes, causing puffiness.

Note: If you continually have eye puffiness then go see your doctor. You could be having symptoms of sinusitis or allergies that can be cleared up by antibiotics or medication.

Make-up Tips

• If your eyes are puffy, avoid dark eyeliners, which draw attention to under-eye bags.
• Use eyeliner along the upper lash lines only; this helps open up eyes.
• Go easy on the concealer; too much of it smeared on puffy tissue equals a beauty disaster. Moisturise beneath the eye area to ensure the concealer glides on smoothly.
• Experiment with bright white or icy silver shades on your eyelids to give the illusion of lift.
• Apply cosmetics between the inner eye and nose for instant lightness.

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How to Apply a Pencil Eye Liner

Properly applied eye liner will help you define your eyes so that they look tip top perfect. But if you do not apply it properly, it will turn your look upside down, from great to BAD.

Follow these steps to apply an eye liner properly.

1- Start by choosing the right color for you. Brown and black are good in general but black is more preferable if you have dark hair. Charcoal is also nice and goes well with everything. Test and check which colors work best for your.

2- If the pencil si too hard and waxy, warm it up a bit using your fingers or some hot water. This will get the pencil to flow better.

3- Sharpen the pencil properly and start applying the liner on the upper lid. When finished, the pencil's tip would have smoothed out a bit making it perfect for lower lid application.

4- Place the tip of the inner corner as close as possible to the eye lash line. Follow the line all the way to the outer corner. As you get close to the outer corner , press hard to make the line thicker and darker.

5- Connect the top and bottom lines on the outer corner of the eye, but not on the inner corner. If you connect the lines on the inner corner, your eyes will look smaller.

6- Double check to make sure the lines are even and properly blended. You can use the tip of a small brush to even things out.

Great Looking Eye Brows

Follow these steps to achieve great looking eye brows:

1- Brush your brows from the down side up, then use scissiors to trim the hair that is a bit too long

2- Use a ruler or any straight object to make sure that your inner corner of the eye is in line with the inner side of the brow.

3-Move the ruler to the middle of the eye (where your iris is when you are looking Straight forward). Make sure that the center of the eye brow arc is in line with the iris.

4- The end of the eye brow, the outer corner of your eye, and the tip of your nose should form a straight line. You can line the tip of your nose with the outer corner of the eye to determin where your eye brow should end.

5-You can use an eye brow brush to make your brows look nice and tidy. You can also use an eye brow gel to hold the hair in place.

Hand Care

Hands are the first of all body parts to show your age and need quiet a lot of pampering and care to keep of wrinkles and keep them looking young, supple, soft and beautiful. Here are some tips that you can use for the purpose:

• Do not let the skin on hands dry and moisturize them often to keep off the winkles.
• Sun exposure damage skin so use sunscreen lotion on hands before venturing out.
• Protect your hands from dust, pollution and chemical reactions at all times by wearing gloves while doing gardening or washing dishes.
• Keep the evaporation from drying out water or fungal infections from developing by patting your hands dry frequently.
• Special treatments such as a warm oil bath and herbal therapies can keep your hands soft and supple forever.
• Warm hands are key to better skin and good health. Cold hands often lead to colds and flu infections.
• Acetone polish removers dry out nails, so, don't use them.
• Do not color nails for few days after every two weeks for better and healthy nails.
• Make you nails stronger by dipping your fingertips in lukewarm olive oil.
• Do not remove cuticles because they are there to protect your nails from infection.
• Use hand cream often and keep a bottle of it every where you visit frequently such as bathroom or vanity, kitchen and bedroom.
• Mix glycerin, lemon juice and a few drops of rose water and use it to massage your hands every other day.
• Cornmeal is a great scrub for hands and cleanse and softens your hands wonderfully.

Hand Care

You may be going to beauty salons for facials or skin care treatments, or using homemade skin care products to take care of your face but you may have forgotten all about your hands. Your hands need just as much care as your face and you don't even need to go to the beauty salon for this. Here are a few quick tips on how to care for your hands.


Hand Care Tips


* Always wear rubber gloves when you plan to do any household work or gardening. If your hands are exposed to too much water, soap, detergents, dirt or chemicals then, the skin of your hands can become wrinkled and rough.
* Ideally, you should moisturize your hands at least 4 times in a day, especially after washing them. Even if you do not have time make it a habit of moisturizing your hands before you go to bed at night. This is just as important as brushing you teeth before you go to bed, every night.


* You can also use your face exfoliator on your hands. This will help to remove any dirt and dead skin cells, and nourish and rejuvenate the skin of your hands.
* You can scrub your hands with bath salts, after washing them with soap. This will leave your hands squeaky clean. Do remember to slather some moisturizer on your hands afterwards.
* If you have oily hands, you can try rubbing cornmeal on them after washing them with soap.
* Go in for regular manicures (professional or homemade) to keep your hands and nails in good condition.
* Drink lots of water and fresh fruit juices. Eat a balanced, low-oil diet.
* Exercise regularly. If you are healthy and fit, you skin will have a healthy glow.
* If the skin of your hands is dry and flaky—you can massage a little petroleum jelly on your hands before you go to bed at night. After you do this, you may wear thin cotton gloves. Wake up in the morning and enjoy the soft feel of your hands.
* A quick, easy-to-make homemade scrub for your hand will help. Here's the recipe for a rejuvenating homemade hand scrub:


Ingredients for the homemade hand scrub recipe


* White Oats- 1 tbsp.
* Honey-1 tsp.
* Water-½ cup
* Milk (refrigerated)-1 tbsp.


How to prepare the hand scrub
Take the water and the oats in a glass (Pyrex) vessel. Boil the mixture till the water evaporates, completely. Take care not to burn the oats. Scrape out the well-boiled oats and put it in a glass bowl. Add the milk and honey to the boiled oats and mix well.


How to apply the hand scrub


* Clean your hands with a mild soap.
* Pat your hands dry with a soft towel.
* Apply the hand scrub, evenly, over your hands (fingers included).
* Leave on for 10 minutes.
* Wash off the hand scrub with lukewarm water.
* Pat your hands dry with a soft towel.
* Take an almond-sized drop of moisturizer in your palm. Massage it into the skin of your hands and fingers, using gentle but firm rotating movements of your finger tips.
* Use this hand scrub two times a week for best results.
* This hand scrub exfoliates, moisturizes and rejuvenates the skin of your hands. Use this hand scrub, regularly, and enjoy the clean,
* soft and firm feel of your hands. (You may use this scrub for your feet as well.)


Note: Do not use if you are allergic to any of the ingredients.


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Quick Makeup Routine

This is a quick makeup routine for when you are in a hurry and still want to look great

1. Start by applying a moisturizer.
2. Use some powder to cover pimples, blackheads and other imperfections
3. On the tips (or apples) of your cheeks, apply blush lightly
4. Apply light brown eye shadow on the moving eye lids.
5. Apply eye liner and a two coats of mascara.

Remember this should not take more than 5 minutes