LensPriceCompare Blog

Choosing the right eyewear can make or break your appearance. There are a lot of eyewear products available in the market whether they’re for prescription or non-prescription lenses or for sports activities. You can also choose from a variety of designer labels, fashionable brands, discount eyewear and there is even a separate market niche for children’s eyewear. So, with all these products to choose from, how do you select the best one for yourself?

There are many factors to consider when choosing the right eyewear. First, it’s purpose. Choosing your eyewear for the office, it needs to look professional and should exude an aura of confidence without sacrificing your personality. If your eyewear is for your sports activities, then they need to be tough and durable to match the level of sports that you’re likely to participate in. Practicality dictates that your eyewear need to be scratch-resistant, UV protected and durable because you’ll be wearing it for hours on end.

Second factor is face shape. Yes, there are a wide variety of styles and designs to choose from but some of these may not be suitable for your face type. Your eyewear should complement your facial structure, should define your assets and hide your weaknesses. Here are a few tips. Oval shapes have the best facial shape because any kind of eyewear frame suits them. The sky is the limit when choosing their frames. Round face shapes can use a little defining with wide, angular frames. In contrast to round shapes, square shapes are all angles – they have square jaws, broad foreheads and high cheekbones. They can use round curves and cat eyes type of frames to soften their angles. Oblong shapes need to widen and shorten their face shapes. They can do this with the use of round or square shapes that don’t extend beyond the widest part of their face.

Third factor is aesthetics. What it boils down to is your personality and your budget. This is where the colors and the styles come in. You may go for the designer labels if your cash flow will allow or you’re limited to discount eyewear if your budget is a little short. You also need to know which colors will suit your coloring – both hair and skin.

Your eyesight is as important as breathing. A lot of our daily activities and routines involve using our eyes. At work, you need to use the computer most of the time, you need to read and you need to interact with people. The same way when you’re simply relaxing or enjoying sports, you need to be able to see. Seeing things is something that we do on a daily basis that it seems like you don’t even think about it which is sometimes why we neglect to take care of it. When that happens, we experience eye sight problems. What are the common eye sight problems that people become afflicted with?

One common eyesight problem is myopia or near-sightedness. It is also called short sightedness because objects that are closer have a tendency to be clearer than that of distance objects. Myopia is a result of the elongated shape of the eyeball that causes light to be focused directly on the retina rather than just on its surface. Headaches are also a side effect because people with myopia usually strain to focus and see things that are farther away. Eyeglasses, contact lenses and Lasik surgery are the most common treatments for myopia.

In contrast to myopia is hyperopia or farsightedness. People who have been diagnosed with hyperopia have the ability to see distant objects like they were near but they have to strain very hard to see objects that are within their proximity. If a myopic’s eyeball is longer, a person with hyperopia has a shorter eyeball causing the light to fall behind the retina rather than directly on the surface. As with myopia, eyeglasses, contact lenses and Lasik surgery are the treatments for hyperopia.

Another common eye sight problem is astigmatism. The root of the problem for astigmatism is the shape of the eyeball which is more oblong than spherical causing two light points instead of one to focus on the retina. Symptoms that may indicate astigmatism include blurred vision at all distances and headaches. New contact lenses are now able to treat astigmatism with their Toric lenses. Eyeglasses and refractive surgery are also alternative treatments.

Presbyopia is a common eyesight disorder especially when you reach your 40’s. The eyes lose their focusing ability such that your vision for distant objects is still clear but focusing on close objects begins to degenerate. Wearing reading glasses or bifocals and now new multifocals or progressive lenses are available to correct presbyopia.

How do you know when something is not right with your body? You feel pain. Pain is usually an indicator that something is amiss. It’s easier to detect which part of your body needs attention and easier still to diagnose and treat. But with your organ of sight, your eyes, pain is not felt as easily as a tooth ache. What then should you look out for to tell that your eyes are not up to standard?

Your eyes function as a whole complex system that receives light, relays it and converts it into nerve impulses to be perceived as images by the brain. Your visual acuity is dependent on how well these parts work and any change or difference in its workings will be sure to affect your vision. These eye symptoms are the things that you need to be aware of because any threat to the eyes’ parts is a threat to your vision.
Eye symptoms may be classified as change in vision, change in the eye’s appearance or any abnormal feeling in the eye. Generally, eye symptoms indicate a problem in the eye but there may be times when a change in your vision is indicative of a problem in the brain or part of a disease that affects other organs or systems in the body. Eye symptoms may also start slow and gradual, building up to a full-blown problem. They may also be sudden and instantaneous, like in the case of accidents. Most common eye symptoms include - red eyes, blurry or loss of vision, double vision, eye inflammation, pain in the eye, itching and dryness, just to name a few.

The important thing to remember is that whether it’s a slight difference or a major injury to the eye, it is essential to seek medical advice and to consult the proper eye doctor. Some eye diseases don’t show any symptoms at their early stages so it’s necessary to maintain regular comprehensive eye check-ups just to be on the safe side.

The secret to good eyesight and healthy vision is the maintenance of healthy eyes. If you were to dedicate the same amount of time and effort in keeping your body slim and perfect with the way you would to taking care of your eyes, you probably won’t be beset with as much eye problems as most people. Keeping your eyes healthy is also important as a lot of your activities are also dependent on having clear and unmarred vision. If you don’t take care of your eyes now, it may be too late to correct any problems that may arise in the future.

What can you do to keep your eyes healthy?

The first step is getting a good eye doctor and meticulously following his instructions. It would be prudent to visit the doctor once you feel that your vision is not up to par or if you’ve been having trouble with seeing clearly. A comprehensive eye exam will determine what the best solution is for your eye condition. You may just have some refraction problems like myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism which can easily be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. Or the doctor may find some early symptoms of eye diseases in which case it’s better to have early detection and early treatment. Maintain regular visits to the eye doctor too especially if you’ve been diagnosed with eye conditions to enable the doctor to monitor your eyes’ health. Also, since some eye conditions are often hereditary, if you have a susceptibility to a certain disease and even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms, it’s still best to keep a regular appointment with your doctor.

Another thing that you can do to maintain healthy eyes is to practice good posture. It may seem like they’re not connected but when you think about it, when your eyes are not on level, with say the computer, you’re putting a strain on them too. So, if you slouch, you not only strain your eyes, but also your back and your neck and even your fingers. All these stretched muscles will ultimately spread pain all over your body draining it of its energy.

Setting up a workstation with a good lighting environment is important. Too much glare from too much lighting will make your eyes hurt. Too little lighting also stresses your eyes and forces them to focus. Too much strain leads to dry eyes and eye irritation. Have a good source of lighting when working or reading, especially when your work involves small details or when you have to look at the computer the whole day. Look away every once in a while to relax the eyes. Keep blinking as it helps to moisturize the eyes too.
Best of all, live healthy. What nutrition you put in your body also gets to the eyes. Keep your eyes protected from UV light when going out by wearing sunglasses or head protection for the glare. Try some eye exercises too.

Why do people exercise? That’s the big question. Some would say to lose weight. Others would say to tone their muscles and give their body definition. The basic premise is that you exercise so that you stay healthy; to keep the body in shape and to make sure that its parts perform as they should. The same principle should apply to the eyes as they too have muscles, nerves and blood vessels that need to keep fit in order to give perfect vision.

Eye exercises are important because you rely on the muscles, their strength and elasticity, to provide you clear vision. When the eyes lose their elasticity and flexibility, they also lose their ability to focus which results in blurry vision, headaches and even some pain the eyes. The weaker the eyes, the more prone they are to diseases and other abnormal eye conditions. It’s simply easier to perform eye exercises because they’re free, they’re good for you and in the long run, they prevent costly eye correction procedures that will result from treatment and maintenance.

These exercises don’t even have to take up much of your time. Resting and relaxing is the best exercise that you can give your eyes. If you’ve been staring at the computer for hours at a time, make sure that you take a break and let your eyes look away. Keep blinking as this refreshes your eyes and gives them back the moisture they need. If you want, you can simply use your palms to cover your eyes for a few seconds and give them a little massage. You may even alternate between looking at distant objects and then looking at nearby objects for several seconds at a time, repeating about 5 times. Some repetitive form of eye movement is generally expected when doing eye exercises, so try to find the best combination for yourself.