Most people do not think their eyes and eyesight like other muscles in our body, but the truth is that they are similar in many ways. If you take time to learn the medical principles, you can understand very well and strengthen them naturally.

Like any other muscle, eye muscle can be easily fatigued or stressed. And if not well protected, it will easily be short sighted. As a result, we need eyeglasses, contacts, or Lasik surgery, all of which are options to the correction of visual acuity. But this is just external factor, rather than the underlying cause or causes. In addition, these alternative methods are complex, costly, and a little effective. And when they are faced with the new challenge of how to improve eyesight, people always tend to search more complex and costly alternatives. However, these new methods do not always be more effective.

In fact you can just take some simple steps, which are easy yet effective methods, to alleviate eye fatigue. For example, do not keep your eyes fixed on one object for a long time; and when eye muscles are stressful or tense, you must close or rotate your eyes, or look at other objects, in order to counteract stress or tension on the eye muscle. Keep shifting; constantly changing their focus from one object to another is a good habit for eye health. Some individuals are wondering how to focus on a bigger picture of something in our view. In fact, focusing a more centralized portion is more stressful than a bigger one.

Some of our traditional beliefs about eye health are not correct. With glasses, contacts, and the newest fad of laser surgery, most people think their impaired vision will be cured. In fact they are only treating the poor vision through compromising it.

So if you have short-sightedness, please do not wear glasses or contacts, and just try learn some natural alternatives with very little cost, compared to these other methods. The most important aspect is that these natural methods are not healing and strengthening the eye muscles temporarily, but permanently.

It is no need for us to pay a lot of money, almost $200 on average, for a pair of eyeglasses, as we can choose to wear 10 dollar eyeglasses. With the same amount of money for a pair of ordinary eyeglasses, we can get almost 20 pairs of 10 dollar eyeglasses. It seems that 10 dollar eyeglasses can be discarded at any time if we find any problem on them. The simplest reason is we can only spent 10 dollars for a pair of such eyeglasses. However, a pound saved is a pound earned. We should still try to take care of our 10 dollar eyeglasses, though they are cheap. Suppose one pays no attention to the maintenance of his eyeglasses, he may damage them at any time and have to replace them in the meantime. I can not tell how many pairs such people have to buy within one year. Therefore, good habits in maintaining those eyeglasses are very important. Here are some respects that should be noticed whiling using 10 dollar eyeglasses.

A particular spectacles case is essential. Generally, we can get a case while buying 10 dollar eyeglasses. Some of us think such case is unessential and they seldom use them. In fact, such case can be used to protect our eyeglasses. Particularly, we should put eyeglasses in the case when not use them. It can help avoid any damage caused by some accidental external force, such as falling on the ground, etc.

Those 10 dollar eyeglasses must be kept away from heat. This is because some eyeglasses may get deformed under high temperature. For example, some particular eyeglasses can not stand too much heat, especially those plastic eyeglasses. Some of us may have our eyes damaged for our eyeglasses are melted by heat. Still, heat can also change the accuracy of vision correction and some of us may find our vision blurred with those eyeglasses.

Only the particular cotton cloth can be used to clean the lenses of 10 dollar eyeglasses. In daily lives, most of us have neglected this point and often use paper tissue to clean the lenses. This is a great mistake. For the fibers in the paper can easily scratch those lenses. Maybe the scratch is not very obvious, but it will become worsened as time goes on. Remember any other materials can not be used to clean those lenses, but the particular cotton cloth.

Never put the lenses directly onto the surface of any objects if you pick those 10 dollar eyeglasses off. Some of us often damage their eyeglasses unconsciously by placing them on desk. This is because doing so can also scratch the lenses and shorten the longevity of those eyeglasses. On the contrary, we should let those glasses stand on their arms and frames. This habit can help better protect those eyeglasses.

Put those 10 dollar eyeglasses into the case while doing sports. Some of us love to do exercises with eyeglasses. This is not a good habit. Doing so not only will damage our eyeglasses, but also may injure our eyes if those eyeglasses are broken into pieces.

While picking off those eyeglasses, it is suggested to use two hands at the same time. It is true that picking off them with one hand will make us very cool to look at. But this way will damage the frames which will loose their elasticity gradually.

In a word, those 10 dollar eyeglasses are cheap, but we should still know how to maintain them.

Eyeglasses with three divisions of correction in the lenses are called trifocals. These are considered to be better than bifocals even if it sounds harder to see through. The underlying principle is simple – when a person is progressing from one step to another, an intermediate step between the two steps makes it easier for the person. So do not think that having three different corrections will make tougher to see through.

People with acute presbyopia are usually prescribed trifocals. These people require vision correction at all three steps – long distance, intermediate and near/reading distance. The calculation for the intermediate correction is usually made by halving the reading addition. For example, if a presbyopia patient has -4 diopters with a +3 reading addition; the net power is -1 and hence the intermediate correction would be -2.5 diopters.

As can be understood, trifocals are different from bifocals. Bifocals only have two different corrections on each lens. Trifocals on the other hand have three different vision correction stages. So, trifocals offer more clarity in vision and less strain on the eye.

Trifocals belong to the multifocal classification on glasses.

Trifocals are similar to bifocal glasses. The only difference is that they are equipped with a three level vision correction lens on each lens instead of two level vision correction lenses.

In addition to the distance vision correction and near/reading vision correction like in bifocal lenses, trifocals have an intermediate correction field in each lens to give a better viewing experience.

The calculation for the intermediate area is simple enough. Let’s say that a person has been found to have a power of -4 diopters and +3 addition for reading correction. With these numbers, we know that the net power is -1. The rule for finding out the intermediate is halving the reading addition. So with the given numbers, it would be -2.5 diopters.

The trifocals have the usual semi-circular area with the reading addition like bifocals. There is also the area for seeing things in the distance. And in addition to these two, there is a narrow band of intermediate correction viewing area in the middle of the lens for seeing things that aren’t very far but are further than the reading distance. This is immensely useful for many people. For those who need this area more, like those who are constantly working on computers, it can be made bigger on demand.

People who suffer from acute presbyopia are usually prescribed trifocals. The term has been derived from Latin and it means ‘ageing eyes’. This means that has the body ages, the eyes lose their capacity to adjust and focus on different things. This usually happens after a person reaches 40. Usually this can be countered with corrective glasses, refractive surgery or contact lenses.

But sometimes these measures are not enough and the person develops a condition where all three stages of vision need corrective glasses. So instead of using three different pairs of glasses all the time, people go for trifocals.

Now there are progressive lenses that have no lines to distinguish them from the usual lenses. These are called PALs (progressive addition lenses), progressive power lenses, graduated lenses, no-line bifocals and varifocal lenses.

In 1953, “How to Marry a Millionaire” debuted in the theaters with a gorgeous Marilyn Monroe wearing eyeglasses. Her character, Pola Debevoise, preferred bruises and walking into walls than wearing her frames – thus making eyeglasses seem nerdy and un-hip. In the 1970′s Elton John seemed to make eyeglasses cool again but mostly for those who like outlandish, loud, bedazzled eyeglass frames. Elvis Costello is credited for bringing sexy back to eyeglasses in the 1980′s for artsy-hipster men. Lisa Loeb did her share for making cat eye frames look hot on the girl-next-door but it wasn’t until Tina Fey sat atop her perch every Saturday night that Americans started to notice how hot a woman can look in eyeglasses!

So, what else turns on Americans about eyeglasses? A recent study done by Essilor of America asked more than 3,000 men and women about their perception of eyeglasses and eye wear. Their survey reveals a lot about where Americans stand on eyeglasses. The survey covers everything from eyeglasses in the fashion industry to those hot looking, eyeglass-wearing celebrities we love to emulate!

Ooops, she did it again… Britney Spears topped the list of sexiest spectacle-wearing celebrities among men surveyed by a whopping 44 percent! The women chose well – Richard Gere took the number one spot with 35 percent proving that mature men can still rock eyeglasses far better than their younger counterparts.

Some would ask if glasses affect attractiveness or not. According to the survey, 73 percent of Americans asked said it has little to no impact what-so-ever. What about the old adage of “men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses?” An astounding 60 percent of men strongly disagreed with that expression while 62 percent of women flatly called it inaccurate and not true. Do glasses get in the way of intimate and romantic moments? Apparently 68 percent of respondent who have partners with eyeglasses stated no.

What about the perception of looking smarter when you wear eyeglass frames? It seems common knowledge that people who wear eyeglasses are perceived as being smarter but only 40 percent of those asked agreed to this perception while 39 percent thought people looked more sophisticated when they wear frames. The occupation most associated with wearing eyeglasses is, to no surprise, librarians with 74 percent, followed by teachers with 71 percent, lawyers with 56 percent, artists at 27 percent, and actors/musicians with 20 percent.

Which eyeglass frame styles rank sexiest? Rimless eyeglasses rank as the sexiest frames by both eyeglass wearers and those who do not wear eyeglasses at 49 percent. The second spot goes to metal frames with 38 percent. Would you consider wearing eyeglasses as a fashion accessory? Almost half of the American population would – even if they don’t need prescription eyeglasses. However, wearing out-of-date and out-of-style eyeglasses can ruin your appearance according to 22 percent of those surveyed.

What turns YOU on about eyeglasses?

Let us discuss what contact lenses are and how they differ from traditional eyeglasses.

What is a contact lens?

A contact lens is a soft or rigid lens placed on the cornea of the eye. It works just like a traditional eyeglasses but it is lightweight and virtually invisible. Some manufacturers use blue tint into the lens to make it visible during cleaning.

Now, because you have to put it directly into the cornea of the eyes, there are risks involve. To avoid risk of injury, you have to be careful in buying and ultimately wearing your contact lenses.

Things to know about contact lens

If you want to wear contact lens, you have to ask an eye specialist to check if you can wear it. Some people with conditions like allergies, diabetes, works with chemicals and have history of corneal infection may not wear contact lenses. Thus, you have to check with your doctor to be sure. When you are given the green light to go and shop for your lenses, read on for some useful tips.

Where to buy contact lens

In buying, the total value is important not just price. Aside from looking at the tag price, the reputation of the seller is likewise important.

o Your eye doctor may have it in his inventory, ask for the price. It may be better if he can package it with his service. You know the reputation of your eye doctor and may be you can trust the products he endorses.

o Buy contacts online. It is however necessary that you check the reputation and look for feedback in forums to know if the seller is a reputable seller.

How to wear contact lens

o Wash your hands. Make sure that there are no chemical particles or soap residue in your hand. Your eye may be subject to irritation if your hands are unclean as you wear your contacts.

o Check the contact lens; make sure that it is correctly arced.

o Put the contacts in your finger. Use the other hand to hold your upper lid to avoid blinking. Hold also the lower lid open using the middle finger of the inserting hand.

o Look up and place the lens gently. Slide it slowly and look down to position the lens properly. When you feel it is in the right position slowly release the eyelids and close your eyes.

o Blink several times, this will help position the lenses properly and help your eye adjust as well.

o Do the same thing on the other eye.

It is important to keep the eyes moist. It is also important to take the contact lenses out before your go to bed. There are contact lenses that can be worn for longer hours while there are others that can only stay in the eyes for shorter time like those for cosmetic purposes.
Proper care to your contact lens, your eyes and proper usage will help you avoid the problems that go with using contact lens.

Always check with your doctor and ask his advice should problems arise.

Second to your physical health, taking care of your eyes is just as important to your overall well-being. Believe it or not, possessing good vision is an integral part of living a healthy lifestyle. Whether you pay into the hundreds for your eye care, or a little less, the most important thing is knowing how to carefully care for your prescribed eyeglasses. Without the proper care, repeat visits to your optician may be far more frequent than you desire. So for the purpose of saving you time and money, here are a few tips on how to properly care for your eyeglasses.

Storing Your Eyeglasses

The majority of damage done to eyeglasses can be directly linked to how they are stored. Here are some tips for properly storing your glasses:

1. Always store your eyeglasses out of the reach of children and pets.
2. Never lay your glasses face down on their lenses.
3. Always store your glasses in the eyeglass case provided by your optician.
4. Store your eyeglasses in a place safe from being trampled or stepped upon.

Cleaning Your Eyeglasses

Keeping your eyeglasses clean is just as important as how and where you store them. Here are some suggestions on how to properly clean your glasses:

1. Rinse your glasses under running water to remove any particles that can scratch the lenses. Using an eyeglass spray or cleaner provided by your optician, rub over the lenses and frames with your fingertips. Rinse the glasses once more, then dry in a circular motion with a soft cloth.

2. Rub a couple of spots of vinegar on each eyeglass lens and wipe off with a soft cloth. In addition to breaking down stuck on dirt and grime, the vinegar breaks up grease and oil that comes from your skin.

3. Dip your glasses in a sink full of warm soapy water and swish them around for several seconds. Remove them, rinse them with running water, then dry them with a soft cloth.

4. When cleaning anti-reflective coated lenses, it’s best to only use products that your optician recommends. In addition, to prevent severe scratching, always wet the lenses with the solution provided prior to cleaning with a soft cloth.

5. Gently clean the nose guards with a soft toothbrush and warm dish soap and water. Be careful not to scratch the lenses of your glasses.

Repairing Your Eyeglasses

Every so often, you’ll find it necessary to get a quick repair or adjustment made on your glasses. Although there are several eyeglass repair kits available on the market today, these should only be used for simple fixes such as a loose screw, or a missing nose guard that can easily be replaced. Any other adjustments and fittings should be done at your local optician to ensure that the job is properly done. Eyeglasses can be quite expensive, but if you take proper care of them, they’ll take proper care of your eyes for a long, long time.