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!
