You have just woken up and are about to go for your morning walk. But before you go, you decide to take a glance at the newspaper. And what do you find? Pollution levels have risen above the permissible limit into the severe category, something no more unusual in Delhi-NCR.
You wear a mask and cover your face, thinking this will prevent the smoke from affecting you, but does that happen? Largely yes, but you realize that there was one part that was left unprotected and it led to irritation in the said part for the entire day. Guess which part it was?
Your eyes! So, yes air pollution does affect your eyes, and that too in a severe manner if exposed repeatedly or for a long time. Contrary to popular belief, even being in a polluted area for a short while can have devastating effects. Continue reading to find out why it happens, what are the effects and how to prevent this from occurring.
How does air pollution affect your eyes?
Before learning about how your eyes are affected by pollution, let us first find out what this pollution consists of. You may have heard in recent reports about PM2.5 and PM10. But what are they?
PM stands for Particulate Matter, or in simple terms, substances existing as particles, suspended in the air which are invisible to the naked eye. PM usually consists of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide.
Now, our eyes are special organs. Not only by their function but also by their oxygen transportation method. The cornea of our eye doesn’t have any blood vessels, it takes oxygen directly from the atmosphere by diffusion. If the air is clear, only oxygen comes.
If not, pollutants also enter the eyes, and cause a myriad of conditions:
- Watery eyes-usually a response to flush out the pollutants, more the amount of watering, the greater the exposure
- Itching
- Irritation
- Redness
- Swelling
- Dry eyes in areas of low moisture
So only outside pollution affects the eyes?
Not at all! Unlike outdoor or environmental pollution, indoor pollution is far more dangerous. Indoor air pollution is caused due to smoking, incomplete combustion of fuel during cooking, and poor indoor ventilation and is already a known cause of asthma and childhood cancers. Other substances contributing to indoor pollution are beauty and household products which are themselves non-harmful but emit volatile substances such as formaldehyde and acrolein, which are harmful to the eyes.
What people fail to recognize is the fact that these can also affect the eyes leading to severe conditions such as:
- Conjunctivitis
- Glaucoma
- Cataract
- Age-related macular degeneration
What are the methods to prevent eye damage due to air pollution?
Prevention and maintaining hygiene is the first line of defense against eye damage by air pollution. Prevention is only possible by using protective eye gear when in polluted areas.
Other than this some other ways are:
- Stay hydrated
- Wash eyes at frequent intervals to prevent them from drying out
- Do not rub your eyes and if needed, wash your hands first.
- Do not wear contact lenses and eye makeup if irritation persists.
- Visit an ophthalmologist at the first appearance of any condition for early treatment
Dr. Priyanka Singh is an extremely competent ophthalmologist having 12+ years of expertise. For any eye complaints visit Neytre eye care centre, Saket. Book an appointment today!
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Add: 129, D Block, Saket, Near PVR Anupam, New Delhi -110017
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