High levels of pollutants in the air are harmful for your respiratory, cardiovascular systems as well as your eyes. As pollution has risen significantly beyond safe limits in Delhi, effective solution to protect eyes is need of the hour. Our eyes are sensitive to the pollutants present in the air caused by emissions from various industries and means of transport.
Pollutants such as gaseous pollutants, odours, dust, fumes, mist, and smoke present in the air causes irritation and redness in the eyes. These pollutants also contribute to dryness in your eyes which causes dry eyes.
There are many symptoms of eye-problems which are caused when eyes are exposed to high levels of pollutants in the air; most common ones are listed below-
Dryness
Redness,
Burning sensation,
Watery Eyes,
Ropy Discharge,
Itchiness,
Gritty sensation,
Difficulty in vision due to watering and itching etc.
Variety of indoor and outdoor air quality factors contribute to exacerbate the above symptoms which result in severe eye-problems. There are simple yet effective measures which minimizes the adverse effects of outdoor air pollution on eyes-
Cover your eyes with glasses
We see many people on the road wearing face-masks to protect their lungs from the harmful effects of polluted air but seldom incident of wearing eye-gear to protect eyes. Make sure you wear eye-glasses or sun-glasses to protect exposure of your eyes to the polluted air when you commute through a two-wheeler vehicle. If you use a car, then make sure you keep the AC vent away from your face. Direct air from air-conditioner causes dryness in your eyes which further causes the above mentioned eye-problems.
Avoid rubbing your eyes
With high levels of pollution, it becomes impossible to escape the exposure to the harmful smog. If you feel that any pollutant particle has entered your eyes don’t rub your eyes as it may lead to further irritation and redness in eyes. Wash your eyes with water and use relaxing eye-drops to comfort your eyes. Rubbing your eyes also make your eyes prone to eye-infections because of transfer of infectious germs through your hands.
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Use Cool Compress to relax eyes
Cool compress works wonders to sooth the inflammation of eyes caused by exposure to air-pollution over the extended periods of time. As you cannot avoid going out while commuting to work on daily basis, you can surely relax your eyes using cold compress. Cold compress helps by cooling the inflammation affected area by slowing metabolic rate and reducing swelling around the area. Just wrap few ice-cubes in a clean cloth or towel and place it over your eyes for few minutes. Make sure you follow this simple and effective measure to cure the inflammation around your eyes caused by air pollution.
Use lubricating eye-drops
Lubricating eye-drops ensure that your eyes are properly moisturized with the layer of tears which is effective in protecting eyes against dryness, redness and itchiness. While travelling to work or meetings, you can always keep the eye-drops handy and use it 2-3 times a day to keep your eyes hydrated. This help prevents your eyes from dryness and subsequent effects of exposure of eyes to harmful pollutants in the air. Not only this, lubricating eye-drops also relax and rejuvenate your eyes strained by working for long hours in front of the computer screen.