DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?
Can you believe it is already the middle of December?! The holidays are zooming on by, and often the last thing we think about is our own health this month. We’re too busy shopping for others, making sure the decorations are just right, getting those packages in the mail in time (which means even earlier this year!), or planning out our food festivities! At Spectacle, we love seeing and partaking in all of these things too, but often on our minds are the eye problems that are more heightened at this time of year. With holiday stress comes holiday eye injuries that is for sure! Let’s dive right in and help you be more prepared, so we can put your mind at ease this Christmas season…
The Stress Twitch
As the end of the year winds down, it is inevitable that stress ramps up. Stress can show in many ways in your body, whether you realize it or not. One common stress symptom we see is an uncontrollable eyelid or lower lid twitch called myokymia. Myokymia is an involuntary eyelid muscle contraction. It can be seen several days or even weeks after the initial stress has hit and can linger for days or even weeks as well. It will come and go and sometimes it will be felt more than other times. Typically, it is more bothersome and causes even more stress than you had in the first place! So why does it occur? We like to think of a college student during finals week… increased caffeine, stress, junk food, and computer usage. It will go away on its own, but to help calm down some of the intense twitching, we recommend a few things.
Keep tear drops handy to relax the eyes when a twitch is occuring.
Decrease the stressors! Limit computer usage and caffeine, while increasing your sleep time and healthy eating habits.
Eat a banana a day because the increased potassium can reduce the lid twitching tremendously.
Find an outlet. An obvious may be yoga, but really anything that helps to relax your body would be a huge help in the long run.
Is my eye bleeding?
Around this time of year (or I guess anytime this particular year), coughing and sneezing can be more rampant. Sometimes if we cough or sneeze too hard, we can pop a blood vessel in our eyes. If your eyes are dry, much like dry skin on your hands, they may be more prone to bleeding. These always look much worse and scarier than what is actually happening! But don’t panic, there’s really not much you need to do. The blood will dissipate over time, but may take anywhere from 7 to 21 days for the blood to fully leave the eye. In the meantime, we want those eyes to stay nice and lubricated to prevent any rebleeding in the eyes that can only make the healing time even longer.
You’ll shoot your eye out
But far and away, the most common thing we see around now is eye injuries. Just think, kids eager to try out new toys, champagne bottles being popped, and putting up new decorations… there’s lots of opportunities for eye injuries everywhere you look! We recommend exercising caution in just about every scenario. Make sure to keep an eye on the kids as they are playing with new toys and make sure the toys they play with are age appropriate. Be sure to cover any bottles before they pop with a dish towel to lessen the blow. Also, while you’re decorating the house think about where things are going… breakable decor out of reach of pets and children, make sure ornaments aren’t cracked or broken when taking them out of storage this year, and wear eye protection when handling the Christmas tree.
We hope you keep these things in mind while you’re bustling around and decking the halls this year to avoid any eye injuries that can put a damper on that holiday spirit. We wish you all a safe, healthy, and less stressed holiday season. A Christmas gift you will be especially grateful for in 2020!!
