BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO SCREEN.
Whether students are returning to classrooms or staying at home learning on the computer screen, healthy vision is mandatory for effective learning.
NEAR FOCUSING on the screen causes blurred vision and eye strain, and BLUE LIGHTS from electronic screens damage the retina and disturb the sleep cycle.
Children should have their eyes checked by their eye doctor as they are “going" back to school, back to screen.
“M“: MONOGRAM FOR MOTHER
Morning: I “met” my Mommy when Mommy mixed milk for my meal. I made a mess. Mommy mopped it up. Mommy made medicines for my maladies, mended my mishaps, made my miserable moments merry.
Mid-day: After matrimony, my man and I moved miles away from Mommy. Mommy missed me. I missed Mommy too, but not as much as Mommy missed me. As I matured to a mother myself, “Mother” means to me much much more than a mere moniker.
Throughout many millennia, from mythical to modern, “Mother” has always had a multitude of meanings: magnificence but also modesty, mightiness but also mildness. No mountains match her magnificence, no melodies match her mildness, no machines match her might, and no monks match her modesty.
Midnight: In the mausoleum, under the macabre moonlight, I mourned my Mommy. Now, Mommy is missing, and from then on I will miss my Mom more than my Mom misses me.
The morale or message of this manuscript? “Mother” means Much (or Many), More, and Most.
Johan-Chanh Tran (writing as a daughter to her mother).
(My mother is 88 this year, and is still healthy and alert). Happy Mother's Day.
COVID-19 & EYE HEALTH
Patients asked me whether red eyes could be an early sign of Covid-19 infection. Recent research shows that though many Covid positive patients do have conjunctivitis (swollen tearful red eyes) and have Covid particles present in the tears, it is still unclear whether Covid itself or some other micro-organisms opportunistically causes eye infection. However, it is known that Covid droplets in the air may adhere to your eyebrows and eyelashes, and through eye rubbing, may migrate to your eyes.
From the eyes, the viruses will flow in the tears (through the lacrimal ducts) DIRECTLY to your throat! So don’t neglect to protect your eyes when you are near others. You can wear glasses to minimize your eye exposure to the airborne viruses.
When cooking, protect your eyes from splashing boiling water or sizzling oil; when cleaning, keep your eyes protected from sprayed caustic chemicals. Remember that eye strain, irritation, blurry vision, or headaches may be caused by stay-at-home extended computer use. Also beware of the damaging effects of the blue light from the electronic screen. Please stay safe and healthy.
Johan Tran, Ph.D., O.D., Board Certified
WE ARE OPEN FOR EMERGENCY EYE CARE. We disinfected our office, frames and optical equipment to keep our patients safe and healthy (and happy too). We are open to relieve the hospital emergency rooms from the load of patients who have only eye problems and need immediate eye treatment, during the current COVID-19 adverse situation.
For protection against the COVID-19 (or any flu) virus, remember to cover your EYES too. Washing with soap+water is more effective than rubbing with gel sanitizer because the wash also removes grease, toxic chemicals and heavy metals. In sterilizing surfaces and equipment, 70% rubbing alcohol works better than the higher 90% or 99.9% alcohol. Johan Tran, PhD, OD, Board Certified.
How does the cold weather affect our eyes? The cold irritates the cornea which is the most sensitive part of the eyes. Also, the outdoors cold air and the indoors heated air will make the eyes dry. Dry eyes will become red, swollen, and painful. Reduced outdoors activities decrease the body absorption of Vitamin D (from sunlight) which is needed by the immune system to fight against conjunctivitis and other eye diseases. So, protect your eyes from the cold temperature, take omega-3 supplements and use eye lubricant to prevent dry eyes, and take enough Vitamin D to combat infections.
