World Sight Day And The Significance Of Healthy Vision

October 12, 2023, marks World Sight Day – a global event aimed at raising awareness about blindness and vision impairment. Our eyesight is essential for our daily activities as it allows us to connect with our surroundings. Through our vision, we can appreciate the world’s various colors, shapes, images, sizes, and patterns. Sight enables us to identify movement, while vision helps us determine motion. It’s remarkable that our eyes can process 36,000 pieces of information in just an hour, and over our lifetime, we’ll see around 24 million different images. Red, blue, and green are the three primary colors our eyes can see, and all other colors are a combination of these. Our eyes are our most critical sensory organs, allowing us to perceive around 80% of all impressions. They protect us from danger when other senses like taste or smell fail, making them incredibly important.

Things To Know About Your Eyes

Taking care of our eyes is crucial for our overall health and well-being. As one of the most delicate systems in the body, any unusual symptoms or sensations should be addressed promptly by an eye care professional to receive proper treatment and maintain continued function. It’s important to recognize the common eye symptoms that require examination by an eye care professional. Our sight and vision are essential, and we must prioritize their care. Below are important things to know:

• There are four types of vision; nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, or near-perfect eyesight.
• The most important organ of sense is our eyes, our vision. We perceive approximately 80% of all impressions using our sight. It is our eyes that best protect us from danger
• Keep us safe
• They allow us to connect with our surroundings
• Help maintain the sharpness of our minds
• Sight and vision are different entities.
  • Sight is physical – it is a sensory experience in which light reflects off of shapes and objects and the eyes then
• Sight absorbs the visual elements of this world. Vision unveils a world that can exist. Sight reveals boundaries in our path. Vision sees beyond limits (Lexgillette).
• Your eyesight takes place in the eyes and vision takes place in the brain.
• Your eyes pick up a clear image (eyesight) and the brain (vision) can process, understand, and analyze that image.
• Vision is how the brain filters the information delivered by the eyes.

The Cornea Or Conjunctiva (Eye Rheum) And A Mucus Discharge From 

Eye Rheum, also known as ‘sleep” in the eye matter, eye gunk, eye boogers, or eye discharge, A little sleep in the eyes upon waking is a normal function of the eye. It is your body’s mechanism for clearing the eyes of any bacteria or debris such as allergens or cosmetics. A change in your eye’s normal discharge (consistency, frequency, or amount) may indicate an eye infection that requires prompt treatment. Conjunctivitis (bacterial, viral, or allergic) is the condition most commonly associated with abnormal eye discharge.

Bright Light (Photophobia) And Eye Discomfort

Photophobia, sensitivity to light, is the sensitivity or intolerance to bright light. In mild cases, one might need to squint in bright light, but in serious cases of photophobia, the bright light causes severe eye pain. Corneal abrasion, dry eyes, scleritis, conjunctivitis, encephalitis, meningitis, and subarachnoid hemorrhage all cause photophobia. Some causes of photophobia are not considered serious medical problems, but sometimes these symptoms accompany conditions that are medical emergencies. Any instance of light sensitivity should be brought to the attention of an eye care professional.

Floaters (Myodesopsias or Muscae Volitantes_in Latin it is flying flies)

Small spots, squiggly lines, strands, or ring-like objects that appear in the field of vision are called floaters. Especially apparent in bright environments, floaters are most often a benign annoyance. They are ocular trouble consisting of the emergence in the visual field of black or white-colored dots, spots, threads, or cobwebs of different shapes, that move with eye movements. However, they may appear in conjunction with more serious underlying conditions such as eye tumors, retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, or a retinal tear.

Anyone experiencing floaters should seek treatment with an eye care professional. (All see Retinal Detachment is Section entitled “Diseases and Conditions of the Eye”). They are ocular trouble consisting of the emergence in the visual field of black or white-colored dots, spots, threads, or cobwebs of different shapes, that move with eye movements.

It is always important to visit your eye doctor yearly, or when you believe there are issues, to ensure you protect this important sense.  Contact us immediately if you are experiencing any of the issues listed above.