06 Oct
Blog

Common Eye Disease: Dry Eye

Dry eye is a common and chronic condition that most people face at some point in their life. In fact, it affects up to a third of the world's population! The good news is that there are many remedies available to alleviate this common condition, including wearing an eye mask for dry eye.

What is dry eye?

When a person has dry eyes, they are not producing enough high quality tears to moisturize the eye. Although it can hit anyone, it gets stronger as you get older. Common causes of dry eyes can be:

  • Harsh weather conditions
  • Allergies
  • Some medication
  • An underlying disease
  • Computer, cell phone or television screens
  • Lack of quality of sleep
  • Wear contact lenses for too long

Common dry eye symptoms

Most people with dry eyes may experience symptoms such as stinging, scratching, or burning. It can also feel like there's always something in their eyes. Some of the other symptoms that people can experience include:

Redness

Red eyes are a common dry eye symptom because there aren't enough natural tears to keep your eye moist. When they get dry, they also get red and irritated due to the lack of moisture.

Blurred vision

Dry eyes can lead to blurred vision because the tear film either evaporates too quickly or becomes too slimy. When both happens, your tears may not be able to disperse smoothly and will not stay on the cornea long enough for you to have a clear view. Frequent blinking can temporarily help by redistributing the tear film over the cornea.

Photosensitivity

Dry eyes are a major cause of photophobia, or sensitivity to light. Medical researchers have not fully understood why dry eyes tend to be sensitive to light. However, some believe it could be due to inflammation of the trigeminal nerve through the cornea. Since dry eyes also trigger other symptoms, such as migraines, this could also contribute to sensitivity to light.

Watery eyes

You may be wondering why do you keep watering when your eyes are dry? This is because, due to the irritation that comes from dry eyes, your body's natural response is to produce more tears in order to get rid of them. After a while, your natural eye drainage can become too much, causing tears to overflow. The additional tear production is called a reflex tear.

How can an eye mask soothe dry eyes?

Eye masks are a good solution for managing dry eye symptoms, and different types can provide different reliefs. For example, heated eye masks are known to increase eye moisture, which could treat some of the underlying causes of dry eyes.

Those with this uncomfortable condition could benefit from using an eye mask as it improves hydration, increases oil production, or reduces inflammation. Warmed eye masks increase oil production and thus reduce tear evaporation. Other masks can trap moisture inside, which improves eye moisture.

Are you looking for an eye mask for dry eye?

Nobody wants to deal with the unpleasant side effects of dry eyes! Fortunately, there are some helpful remedies that can help relieve these symptoms, including eye masks. Well worth trying if your dry eyes are an issue for you.

18 Aug
Blog

Frailty Is the Disease, Physical Exercise Is the Cure

Frailty is a measure of the downside of aging; exercise is the remedy.

An interesting study review article in Nature, The Degree of Frailty as a Translational Measure of Health in Aging, looks at the effects of different degrees of frailty and how they affect aging, particularly with regard to diseases of later life.

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15 Aug
Blog

Celiac Disease: Symptoms, Causes & Treatments

Celiac disease is a condition in which the immune system reacts to gluten. Well what is gluten? Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, etc.

Celiac disease is also known as

  • Sprue
  • non-tropical sprue
  • gluten sensitive enteropathy

Don't confuse yourself with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, the person's immune system attacks their own body tissues. However, when a person is gluten intolerant, gluten intake causes short-term abdominal pain and gas.

In contrast to gluten intolerance, celiac disease damages the body in the long term.

What's the harm in celiac disease?

While the person has celiac disease, the immune response to gluten creates toxins that destroy the villi.

Villi are tiny finger-like protrusions in the small intestine. When it is damaged, the intestines cannot absorb the nutrients.

Symptoms of Celiac Disease

The symptoms of celiac disease vary from child to adult. Typically, unlike adults, children have more digestive-related symptoms.

Children can have the following symptoms:

  • diarrhea
  • fatigue
  • Weight loss
  • Flatulence and gas
  • stomach pain
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • constipation

However, adults can have the following symptoms:

When to see a doctor

If you have diarrhea or indigestion that lasts for more than two weeks, contact your doctor.

See a doctor if your child is pale, irritable, or not growing, and has foul smelling, bulky stools.

Causes of Celiac Disease

More precisely, the exact cause is not known.

Gastrointestinal infections and intestinal bacteria can sometimes contribute.

Celiac Disease Complications

If left untreated, celiac disease and no control over gluten consumption can cause:

  • When your villi become damaged, your body cannot absorb enough nutrients. This can lead to anemia and weight loss. This can seriously affect the growth of children.
  • Malnutrition can lead to calcium and vitamin D deficiencies. This softens the bones in children and decreases bone density in adults. It can also lead to reproductive problems.
  • Damage to the villi can lead to lactose intolerance.
  • You are at a higher risk of developing multiple cancers if you don't eat a gluten-free diet.

How is Celiac Disease Diagnosed?

People with celiac disease often have high levels of anti-endomysium (EMA) and anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTGA) antibodies. These tests are a good way to start a diagnosis. These can be detected by blood tests. Tests are most reliable when done while gluten is still in the diet.

For people with DH, the doctor may recommend a skin biopsy or an internal biopsy for the final diagnosis.

How is Celiac Disease Treated?

Without getting around the bush, let's say it directly. There is no treatment for this. You need to avoid gluten from your diet to be comfortable and avoid complications.

if your gut is already damaged. Only eat a gluten-free diet. This allows the villi to heal and begin to properly absorb nutrients.

If you are struggling with symptoms, we recommend symptomatic treatment. Symptoms can improve within days after gluten is removed from the diet.

What to avoid in celiac disease

Avoid all preparations

  • wheat
  • spelt
  • rye
  • just
  • triticale
  • bulgur
  • durum
  • farina
  • Wheat meal
  • semolina
09 Aug
Blog

6 Weeks of Exercise Leads to Genome Changes Linked to Disease

Exercise changes your DNA, and your DNA thanks you.

It's like it's always said on social media, getting regular exercise is great and it's your fault you don't look like an Instagram filter on steroids. However, real scientists also know that exercise reduces the risk of virtually all chronic diseases, although they are not entirely sure how this happens or what the mechanism behind it is.

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