Most of us have great eyesight and thus we tend to take eye health for granted. However, as we age, our eyesight may deteriorate and that may probably be the only time that we would realize that we should have taken good care of the eyes when we were younger. For people who have been wearing eyeglasses at an early age, these individuals understand that eye health is one of the major indicators of our quality of life. Imaging how life would be if you had blurry vision?
Sadly, people would only decide on visiting the eye doctor when they experience vision problems. If not, eye clinic visits would even be part of our annual schedules. This sad reality is so different from our regular visits to the dentist, in which we undergo dental prophylaxis every six months, with or without the presence of dental cavities or disorders.
Shocking News About Eye Health
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A recent medical report presents quite shocking news about eye health— the simple act of drinking water can prevent the development of blurry vision and other vision problems. The report describes that dry eye is an eye health condition that is characterized by difficulty in producing tears. Although this description sounds so simple and straightforward, it is best to understand that tears play a major role in eye health.
Tears help the eyes maintain this wet condition that allows good eyesight. In addition, tears form the film that coats the eyes as it is exposed to the air while we are awake. When there is a decrease in the amount of tears around the eyes, we may feel discomfort, and in some cases, may cause severe eye pain. A lack of tears may also cause blurry vision and other forms of vision problems.
Dry Eye Syndrome and Blurry Vision
The recent medical report presented the findings of a research study involving approximately 111 study participants diagnosed with dry eye syndrome and answered questions regarding eye health, vision problems, and frequency and amount of intake of water and other fluids. The questionnaire also included questions regarding dry eye symptoms. In addition, blood samples were also collected from the study participants and these were subjected to measurements of plasma osmolality, or the amounts of ions present in a specific volume of plasma. Plasma osmolality directly reflects that degree of hydration of a study participant; a high plasma osmolality level indicates poor hydration and a low plasma osmolality value represents good hydration. A control group consisting of individuals without dry eye syndrome was also assessed using the same questionnaires and blood tests.
The Results of the Eye Health Study
The results of the study showed that the patients with dry eye syndrome have a higher plasma osmolality level, indicating that these individuals were not drinking enough fluids on a regular basis. On the other hand, the members of the control group showed lower plasma osmolality levels, which represented better drinking schemes.
