Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Focusing On Eye Health

It took me FOREVER and a day to FINALLY wear contacts.  I had a very hard time putting them in.  What helped me was tinted or colored contact lenses and I LOVED them.  I ended up wearing them for about a year and somehow after a year developed an allergy to the dye in them or at least that is what I was told.  After healing my eyes from that ordeal I switched to regular disposable.  I have been wearing them TOO MUCH over the past 18+ years.  Last week I took them out to give my eyes a rest and also did this prior to a massive cleaning spree in my house.  Eventho I took out my contacts prior to cleaning I started to have major sensitivity issues.  I wore my glasses for a full week.  Sunday I put my contacts back in and after a few hours I noticed issues with 2 blood vessels in my one eye.  NOT COOL.  I have to admit I have worn my contact too long and I have slept with them in.

This is bad.  I know.  I believe it has caught up with me.  I have a feeling I have given myself allergies to contacts all over again.  It's probably a warning sign to give up contacts completely.  As much as I don't want to do this I keep thinking it's the way to go.  Long term contact wear isn't good and it's not like when I am 80 I will be wearing contacts.  It's not me being vain, here, but I'm not looking forward to this full time glasses adventure.  My eyes have been bad since I was in 2nd grade but I will say the last 4 or more years my eye sight hasn't gotten worse (altho I do have a very strong prescription to begin with).  I know of people online who have reversed their eye site and no longer have to wear glasses or contacts.  I know that I am not one of those people.  My eyes are too far gone. Now I'm not saying that I'm going to give up but I don't have reversal expectations, either.  I would like to try and heal my eyes naturally from the damage I have done over the next few weeks prior to going in for a check up.  Right now I have Cayla & Co Roxie Eyeglasses but I'm open to a change.


While doing research for things I should be eating for eye health of course carrots pop up first.  Leafy Greens follow.  Well, I eat both and often.  Another suggestion is eggs.  That isn't going to happen.  When I dropped dairy and eggs it was for digestion issues.  I haven't felt this good in my entire life (including when I was a toddler!) so I will not go back to that!  Citrus & Berries is another suggestion!  I LOVE both and SHOULD consume more.  They aren't very tasty here unless they are in season and the season is very short and they are ALWAYS expensive so when I do eat them they are usually frozen.  Almonds is another food that is suggested for better eye health.  I can honestly said since dropping dairy nuts of all sorts has been my filler so I will continue to do that!  Fatty Fish was another suggestion.  And that's a NO.  I haven't eaten fish in 22 years and I'm keeping it that way.  Now...having said that...they suggest eggs because of the Lutein and Zinc and the fish because of the DHA/Omega 3.  Taking that one step farther INSTEAD of fish I will be consuming the following for the DHA and/or Omega 3's...Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds, Hemp Seeds, Mustard Oil, Seaweed, Beans, Winter Squash, Cabbage, Wild Rice, Spices & Herbs, Mangoes, and Honeydew Melon.  MOST of these I get PLENTY of but I have to admit that I will be looking into Mustard Oil. (*I have since read that Mustard Oil is BANNED in the EU, US, and India READ MORE HERE.)  It's suggested that instead of Olive Oil to use Mustard Oil.  Well, I rarely use Olive Oil - my defaults are Grapeseed and Coconut Oils.  And I don't think I use all that much of them.  When it comes to Zinc - vegan sources are...Tofu, Tempeh, Chickpeas (and other beans), Lentils, various nuts, corn, peas, oatmeal, miso, and broccoli.  Again I think I get plenty of these foods.  I will continue to eat these but with more thought on focusing on eye health, specifically.  I know there are many more vegan sources of each but there are just a few.  I don't think my food in take is the problem.  I think I was being lazy and not focusing on my eyes when I should have been.  So what else can I do to help them now?
Rest.  Now that I will not be wearing contacts that won't be hard.  Warm Compresses is one thing I will be trying.  Other sources say warm and cool compresses even.  Eye Exercises which I will start doing soon.  And I think one of the more important ones for me personally is Stepping Away from the Computer more often.  Another thing I would like to be more consistent with with smoothies and juicing!

25 comments:

  1. Wow, I didn't know you could be allergic to contact lenses. What an ordeal. I watched a cooking video on YouTube recently, and she used mustard oil instead of olive oil. I had never even heard of mustard oil! I looked it up, and apparently it's healthy and pretty common! Put lots of spinach in your smoothies too! Wow, good luck on healing your eyes!

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    1. Yeah...my eye looked like I was getting pink eye the first time with the colored contacts. This time around 2 of my blood vessels were red. SCARY! I haven't seen Mustard Oil available much either! I might have to ask Matt at The Raw Food World!

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    2. DOH!!!!! Just found out the Mustard Oil is BANNED in the EU, US, and India for consumption!!!!!! Check this out http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Mustard-oil-has-health-risks/articleshow/13981428.cms

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    3. That is so scary! Thanks for the update!

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  2. Hot peppers are also good. My eyesight increased through juicing. I was already eating whole foods only, so that was the only adjustment I'd made. It was not just in my head, my optometrist commented how healthy my eyes were at an appointment I had about nine years ago. These days, I don't wear glasses. They aren't needed. My father improved his eyesight through eye training. He also avoided cataract surgery by using all that natural eye drops.

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    1. Opal! Thank GOODNESS you stopped by! I've been worried!!! But I know you have been busy, too! Thanks so much! You will have to look at a slew of the other posts over the last month! I know you will get a kick out of many of them! Thanks for the suggestion of hot peppers. I eat them often too. What do you think about Banana Peppers more specifically? I have been eating A LOT of those the last several months! I know that if my eyes weren't as far gone as they are (and have been for most of my life) I would certainly TRY many of the other things that I have read about NOT wearing glasses but I really have to because I can't see a foot in front of me (or even 6 inches in front of me for that matter) eeeeeek! But I'm not giving up! I want to do the best I can!!! I have read people using Colloidal Silver and I do have some but it kind of freaks me out putting 'silver' in my eye! Ya know? Thanks again! Looking forward to your other comments and feedback on other posts!

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    2. Yes, hi, Opal!!!

      Been wondering how she's getting on too...no updates in her blog but thankfully, I do see her once in a while on Facebook.

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    3. I was wondering the same but figured she was busy :)

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  3. I've had glasses most of my life, and I just recently got contacts, though I rarely wear them. Mostly because they dry out too fast when I look at a computer screen. Good luck with your eyes, sometimes it might just been wearing contacts too much over being allergic to the contacts themselves.

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    1. Very true! I'm guilty of that - I totally admit it!

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  4. Ugh, so sorry for the contact/eye challenges! I had no idea contacts are bad long term. Smoothies are awesome, normally I have carrot and kale loaded smoothies for breakfast every morning and finally got hubby on board too with the habit. I hope things gets better for your eyes!

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    1. Thanks! I just need to get up earlier in the morning and be better about being consistent with those smoothies :)

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  5. Hi Jen,
    Sorry to hear about your eye problems. I have been wearing glasses all of my life but I since I have been on a vegan diet for most of my adult life, they have not gotten worse. However, I recently started noticing a black floater in one eye so I going to have to get that checked out. I wanted to share this post about eye exercises to strengthen the eyes with you just in case it is useful: 5 Exercises You Can Do to Keep Your Eyes Strong http://urbannaturale.com/5-exercises-you-can-do-to-keep-your-eyes-strong/

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    1. Thanks so much for this I will be checking that post out very soon!

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  6. I am so blessed, no need for glasses all my life. I actually went to get a pair made once - even though the optician insisted that I did not need it, wanted to look intellectual but it was such a hassle...and I would sweat a lot and the glass would fog up...so in the end, I just gave up. :D

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    1. Oh no! I think you must not sleep with your contacts on. My missus told me - she used those before - hard and later, soft...but of late, she has stopped - since she retired, maybe it is not so convenient to wear glasses now that she is no longer working.

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    2. I know - I'm lazy with them! I totally admit it :)

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  7. Thank for this informative post! I've never been able to wear contacts not because I couldn't but the thought of it just hasn't been appealing (and in any case I have 2 prescriptions , one for short and another for long sight). I have eaten so many of the right foods over the years (especially carrots) so either it's made no difference or my eyes would have been much worse! I do feel I ought to up my omega 3 intake though, I've been looking at algae oil supplements. Totally agree with cutting back on looking at screens though - my eyes used to be so dry but this has changed since I've not been working the past few months.

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    1. Thanks for your personal story and feedback on this! My eyes are 'feeling' better which is a start. I'm going to give it a few weeks before going to the eye doctor for new lenses tho!

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  8. Ugh... I wear my contact lenses too much. I recently noticed this and have been trying to have days that I wear glasses as much as I dislike them :/ I had to start wearing glasses in elementary school too. I started wearing contacts in highschool, but not too much. I used to alternate every other day with glasses & contacts, but since we moved to California, I've been wearing them every. single. day. None of my friends here even know I wear glasses! But eye health is super important, so although I haven't really noticed adverse affects from wearing my contacts, it isn't healthy to wear them so much. Thanks for the good tips!!!

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    1. I know what you mean! I'm not a fan of my glasses either! I feel like I have a head cold while wearing them. I don't feel I see as well with them either. For some reason I can remember that I started wearing glasses 2 weeks before Halloween in 2nd grade! Why I remember that I don;t know! I figured, tho, what 80 year old wears contacts? I mean I will have to switch back sometime,eh? Might-as-well be now, I suppose. LOL

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  9. Hi Jennifer,
    Thank you for sharing your healthy and helpful insignts with us on the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I'm pinning and sharing.

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  10. I gave up my contacts a few years ago and just decided to find fun fashion glasses to go with my outfits. I've gotten a lot of compliments on my stylish accessories. Thanks for all the info on the options out there for better eye health. I need to be better about stepping away from my screens too.

    Doris Gibbs @ Moody Eyes

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    1. For some reason I didn't get notification of this comment! Very sorry! I know it's about 3 years too late! YIKES! Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, tho!

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  11. Thanks for this informative post which is very useful. If you are looking for colored eye lens then visit the website.

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