The eye care tips you must follow, in COVID-19. Living with COVID-19 has become the new normal and to all of our dismay, the fact that the virus is astoundingly contagious has never been more evident. As the whole nation is fighting with novel coronavirus, the most important thing that should be taken care of is our mouth, eyes and nose for this virus spreads through the air. And although not much research has been done about the contraction of the virus through ocular pathways there have been an undeniable amount of cases where this has been the case.
The spread of coronavirus can only be stopped if we take proper precautionary measures. When the infected person sneezes nearby, the virus can easily enter into the healthy person through the nose, mouth and eyes as well. It’s also quite possible for the Virus to enter the nasal passage through the tear duct. The use of masks prevents the entering of virus particles into the nose and mouth, but the eyes still remain unprotected.
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Some Eye Care Tips
Try Wearing Glasses
If you wear contact lenses, consider switching to glasses for some time. Individuals who wear contact lenses tend to touch their eyes more often than the average person. Wearing glasses may help in preventing exposure to the eyes. It also reduces eye-rubbing. Both corrective lenses and sunglasses can shield your eyes from infected respiratory droplets. Must follow eye care tips:
Keep Your Glasses Clean
The virus can live on many surfaces. Hence, it is essential to clean and disinfect your lenses daily using soap, water or with some disinfectant liquid. Polish them with a dry cloth.
Avoid Rubbing And Touching Your Eyes
If you feel the urge to rub your eyes, wash your hands, and use a gentle and soft cleansing wipe. Coronaviruses tend to stay on any surface for many days. So, it becomes necessary that when you touch any object that is not sanitized, avoid touching your eyes immediately after that. Eye care includes not touching and rubbing your eyes during such emergency times.
Eye Care Supplies And Medications
Make sure to stock up some essential eye care supplies and medications in the event of quarantine or limited availability. If you are under medication, then ensure to have enough of them in stock.
Precautions If You Have An Eye Care Appointment
Most routine patient visits, such as an annual eye exam, or appointment for glasses, weekly checkups should be done with proper measures. Urgent and emergent cases should resume. Contact your eye care provider’s office BEFORE travelling to the office to check whether your appointment is cancelled or not.
Call the provider’s office ahead of time if you have a cough or fever. If the appointment is not an emergency, then prefer staying at home.
If you need to cough or sneeze during your exam, move away from the microscope. Cover your head and face in your arms or cover your face with a tissue or a cloth. Wash your hands with soap and water immediately. Sanitize your hands right after that.
Practice Social Distancing During COVID
With a spread of misinformation and outbreak of mass hysteria every two hours it’s better to be safe than sorry. While nobody likes crowded places this dislike should now likely escalate to phobia of crowded places since they happen to be amongst the biggest spreaders of the virus. Contracting the virus is much easier when you are within the reach of infected person weather symptomatic or asymptomatic. With asymptomatic carriers making it impossible to determine who around you has contracted the virus and who hasn’t it is much easier to maintain distance from everyone around irrespective of hoe health they might seem apparently. Practicing Social Distancing also helps escape the dreadful fomites of the disease.
- Wash your hands in regular intervals with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Always use a hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoid touching your face, particularly your eyes, nose, and mouth when you are outside or in public places.
- If you cough or sneeze, cover your face with your arm or a tissue. If you apply a tissue, throw it away then and there only. Then wash your hands now.
- Always carry some tissues and a sanitizer with you while stepping out of your house.
- Do not forget to wear a mask every time you step out. Cover your eyes with glasses.
- Regularly disinfect commonly touched surfaces and items in your house, such as doorknobs, gates, kitchen slabs and countertops.
Keep Your Nails Short
It is not hygienic to have long nails, especially during such a pandemic. A lot of dirt can accumulate under the nails. That can act as an excellent storage space for the Coronavirus particles. Especially if you forget to clean this area with soap and water while washing your hands and later when you rub your eyes COVID-19 can get transferred from the dirt under your nail to the eyes and cause COVID-19.
Avoid Sharing Eye Cosmetic Products
It is highly recommended not to share cosmetic products like kohl, mascara, eyelash curler, eye makeup- brushes, etc. with other people during such pandemic time. Apart from COVID-19, one could get other infections by frequently sharing cosmetics.
Give Your Eyes Some Rest
During such time, people seem to use most of their time looking into computer and mobile screen. Seeing at a computer for long times can tire out your eyes. Rest your eyes by using a break every 20 minutes to look at something around 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
If You Wear Contact Lenses, Take Necessary Steps While Using It
Regularly wash your hands before you put your contact lenses in or take them out. Be sure to disinfect your contact lenses and replace them. COVID-19 spreads through direct contact with eyes, mouth and nose. Make sure to take necessary steps while using them during this pandemic.
Use Proper Lighting
Eye strain often is created by very bright light, for example, from sunlight by a window or from more bright interior lighting. Ideally, computer and television screens must be placed such that they are not near windows with sunlight streaming in, or with bright sunlight after them. As some computer screens are fairly reflective, anti-glare reflectors should be installed on screens to reduce screen glare and improve contrast.
Don’t Delay Treatment for Urgent Eye Issues
You may be concerned and worried about visiting a doctor’s office during the pandemic. But delaying the treatment could cause permanent eye and vision loss. Consult your ophthalmologist in the following situations:
- If you have macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy and need regular eye injections, then call up your eye care practitioner and ask for a safe appointment.
- You notice changes in your vision or a loss of vision. You see blurry things and your vision is not clearer.
- Experience an eye injury or an eye problem.
- You have eye pain and a severe headache.
- If you experience fluid coming out of your eyes.
- Your eyes are very red and irritated. There are some reports that people with coronavirus may develop pink eye conjunctivitis.
Always Keep Your Eyes Moisturized.
Dry eyes can start to more rubbing, so think adding moisturizing drops to your eye round. The more you itch or rub your eyes, the more it gets exposed to COVID-19 particles. So always try to keep your eyes moisturized during this pandemic.
Conjunctivitis And COVID-19
Some COVID-19 patients suffer from conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is commonly called ‘pinkeye’ and is the inflammation of the layer that covers an eyeball. In a recent study the scientists have discovered that the conjunctiva layer of the eye does have ACE2 on the surface cells and it becomes a very efficient mediator for the virus to latch on to and enter the host’s body. What was additionally found was the presence of TMPRSS2 enzyme on the surface of the cells that in fact helps the virus and paves an entryway for it.
Eye Care Tips For Kids And Children During COVID-19
- Prevention Should Be Taken First
As a parent, you need to focus on preventive measures rather than reactive measures. So whenever your kid is involved in activities that have a chance of injury, it is better to take all the precautions. For example, if the child is playing any outdoor sport then he/she should wear safety goggles.
- Explain Your Children To Not Rub The Eyes Repeatedly
Whenever a child gets a feeling of itchiness in his/her eyes, the first response is always rubbing the eyes with hands. This does more harm as rubbing it causes the irritation to increase and there is a chance of COVID-19 particles to enter into their eyes.
- Reduce Continued Exposure To Digital Devices
Kids love video games and they tend to play for a long time. This is again very harmful to their eyes as the light-emitting out of the digital devices like smartphones, tablets are not good. Also during the pandemic kids are seen glued to the screens which make them more prone to eye diseases.
- Maintain A Balanced Diet That Supports Eye Development
Just like the body, a healthy diet helps in the improvement of eyesight. You should include fruits like papaya, mangoes, and other fruits in your kid’s diet. Similarly, leafy vegetables and iron-rich foods help in developing sharp eyesight.
- Make Use of Sunglasses When Stepping Out of The House
In summer kids like to go outdoors like the beach, park, etc. The UV lights emitting from the sun are at a higher level in summer which can affect your child’s eyesight. So make sure to let your kid wear a sunglass every time they step out.
- Undertake Regular Checkup of Eyes
In case the child is complaining of blurry vision or irritation in eyes, you need to get it checked immediately to take corrective measures. It is important for all of us to follow all safety precautions to reduce the risk of becoming infected or infecting others. By safeguarding our eyes, and mouth, we can significantly help slow the spread of the COVID-19. For more information on COVID-19 and eye care tips visit: EyeMantra blogs
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