FitSugar

Fact or Fiction: Health Myths

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:50:39 -0700

Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? And do you need all that water? With myths and old wives' tales sounding more like bona fide medical advice, knowing how to take care of yourself can be plain confusing. Do you know which of these accepted words of wisdom make real health sense? Take my quiz to find out.

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Health Tip: Replace Contact Lens Case Every Three Months

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

You only get one pair of eyes so it's important to care for them as best you can. If you wear contact lenses, here's one thing you can do to keep your lenses clean and prevent eye infections. Every three months (at least) replace your case with a new one. In between replacements, disinfect the case after every use by rinsing it with your sterile contact lens solution. Then leave it open to air dry to prevent bacteria from growing. When was the last time you changed contact cases?

Wear Contact Lenses? Keep These in Mind

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0700

If your vision isn't perfect, and you're an active person, contact lenses are essential in my book. Contacts don't fog up when you're running, or fall off when you're biking. And you can wear them when swimming, you just have to wear goggles or keep your eyes shut. If you're a contact lens wearer like me, here are some things you should keep in mind.

Always wash your hands before inserting or removing your lenses. Touching your eye with germy fingers is a great way to get sick or contract an eye infection.
If you suffer from allergies, wearing contacts can make your symptoms worse since allergens can stick to the lenses. Wear glasses if your symptoms are really bad, and if you can't part with your contacts (I don't blame you), be sure to clean them thoroughly or replace disposable lenses more often. Also, look for drops containing antihistamines that may help relieve watery or itchy eyes.

For more tips and to see what that photo is all about keep reading

Protect Your Peepers With UV-Rated Shades

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:40:34 -0700

Sunshine in your eyes can do more than make you cry; UV rays, both A and B, can cause serious damage to your baby blues. Since you can't put sunscreen on your eyelids or cover your cornea with zinc oxide, you need to protect your peepers with quality shades that are UV rated. It is recommended that you wear shades the provide 99 percent UVB protection and 95 percent UVA protection, but many sunglasses offer 100 percent protection from both. When shopping for shades skip any labeled "cosmetic" - these darkened lenses are just for looks. Also note, that polarized glasses decrease glare and do not provide UV protection unless they specify that they do.

You don't have to spend a fortune to protect your eyes at the beach when biking. Here are some great picks ranging from $30 to $60.

Tifosi T-F900 Helo Aviator Sunglasses - $40.00	Tifosi T-F850 Scout Sunglasses - $30.00
S4 Mac 751S4 Aviator Sunglasses - $55.00	S4 Women's Samantha 793S4 Resin Sunglasses - $35.00
S4 Women's Elle 719S4 Oversized Resin Sunglasses - $45.00	S4 Kermo 733S4 Resin Sunglasses - $45.00
Tifosi T-V670 Tyrant Sunglasses - $60.00	Tifosi Envy T-G281 Sunglasses - $30.00

Do You Wear Glasses or Contacts?

FitSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:30:00 -0700

I have worn reading glasses since my freshman year of high school but was still shocked to learn that 81 percent of Americans wear corrective lenses of some sort.

I guess being the window to the soul requires some outside support. Keeping tabs on the health of your vision is important. So I want to know . . .

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Healthy To-Do: Get Your Eyes Checked

FitSugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Suffering from dry eyes and blurry vision, major league baseball player Brain McCann, catcher for the Atlanta Braves, was recently outfitted for glasses after having his eyes checked.

While most of us don't depend on our peepers to track incoming curve balls, we all rely on our eyes for just about everything. This is why it is important to have your eyes checked regularly. The American Optometric Association recommends that adults have their eyes checked at least every two years. Early detection with vision problems means corrective action is easier to make, and the health of your eyes can be an early warning sign of diabetes. If you are one of the 81 percent of Americans who wear corrective lenses, be they glass or contacts, make an appointment to have your eyes checked. Your eyes may have changed and correcting your prescription can save you a lot of headaches, and I mean that literally.

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Fact or Fiction: Eyesight IQ

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:30:00 -0700

We all want to protect our peepers, but how? With so many myths floating around about what's bad or good for your vision, sometimes it's hard to see the truth. So test your eyesight IQ with my quick little quiz and see if this clears some things up.

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Your Contact Lenses Could Make You Blind

FitSugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Many of you rely on your contact lenses in order to help you see, but your lenses could end up taking away your vision. What an ugly irony. The problem starts with a simple single cell microorganism - acanthamoeba.

Acanthamoeba is one of the most common types of protozoan that live in soil and fresh water. They can be found in city tap water, so if you rinse your lens case in water from the sink, this amoeba can be transferred to your contact lenses and then to your eye. These protozoan can live and multiply in both your contact case and your eyes, and can go back and forth between the two because commercial contact lens solution can't kill them. Once they're in your eyes, they can cause a painful infection known as amoebic keratitis, which can lead to blindness. The prevalence of this infection has increased because so many people wear contact lenses now.

The lenses that you wear for a year or two were found to contain the most pathogenic (disease-causing) strains of acanthamoeba. The ones that you keep for a month or two weeks contained fewer, and the daily lenses contained no acanthamoeba. Talk to your eye doctor about the kinds of contact lenses you wear to see which would be the healthiest for your eyes. Scientists are on the move trying to develop a contact lens solution that can kill this nasty amoeba, but for now, it's recommended that you don't rinse your lens case in tap water.

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Bugging Out: How to Deal With Computer Eye Strain

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:00:00 -0700

If staring at a computer screen all day has your eyes bugging out, try this simple trick for a little relief.

Start by rubbing your palms together for about 10 seconds to build up heat in your hands.
Place the heels of your hands lightly over your eyes and block out as much light as you can. Allow your finger tips to gently press into your forehead because chances are high it is tense, too.
Hang out in the "dark" for five to 10 slow breaths. While you're breathing, focus on allowing all the tension in your face and jaw to release.

While it is not quite the same as lying on the couch with a lavender eye pillow, it works well in a pinch.

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Don't Forget to Blink

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0700

When working at a computer we tend to blink about five times less than usual. Blinking might seem like an unimportant activity, but it lubricates eyes. Having dry eyes is not only irritating, but it can interfere with your ability to get your work done and get out of the office.

Here's a handy little exercise to help you remember to blink. Every 20 minutes, slowly close your eyes 10 times. These slow, steady blinks will help lubricate your eyes and lessen any computer strain you might being feeling in your peepers.

Fit's Tip: If you drink a lot at your desk while working on the computer, slowly blink your eyes whenever you take a sip of your beverage.

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