Eye Health Facts
Seeing in the dark
Vision in the dark continues to improve for about 30 minutes after being in bright light, as our eyes switch over from the colour-rich, crisp vision of daylight to the less crisp but more sensitive vision of night.
Once the eyes are adapted to dark, their most sensitive area is off to one side of 'straight ahead', making it possible to sense something out of the corner of your eye that disappears when you look straight at it.
Retinal degenerations, a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa, and Vitamin A deficiency can all reduce night vision.
Eye Health Facts
Itchy Eyes
It's possible to get itchy eyes with a viral infection, but most commonly itchy eyes are caused by allergy - seasonal or all through the year.
Treatment for allergic conjunctivitis can take on a number of forms:
- If possible, try to identify the allergen, and minimise contact with it.
- Cold compresses can help with symptomatic relief.
- Anti-histamine eye-drops are useful for occasional allergic eye.
- Combination anti-histamine/ mast cell stabilisers work best in situations where an allergic season is well defined.
- More severe cases may require corticosteroid eyedrops to bring the inflammation under control.