Car exhaust fumes can irritate your eyes, dry air from the heating makes the tear film evaporate, concentrated work at a monitor causes insufficient lubrication of the surface of the eye because you do not blink enough: there are many influences which have a negative impact on the tear film and its composition. The consequence: your eyes become too dry. This becomes noticeable through burning and itching, and some people complain about veiled vision or a foreign body sensation in the eye. Depending on the symptoms, you can relieve and protect your eyes with little exercises or simple tips and tricks. Here is an overview of what is good for your eyes.

Has the day at the office completely drained your eyes? These exercises will relax your stressed eyes

The annoying burning in your eyes that keeps disturbing you during work is called Office Eye Syndrome. Anyone who not only wants do something good for themselves after work, but also their eyes, can do this with a few simple exercises:

• Sit upright. Breathe deeply into your tummy and then out. Make circles with your eyes; at first clockwise and then anti-clockwise. Five times in both directions is enough. This trains the small eye muscles and spreads lacrimal fluid all over the eye.
• Lie down and close your eyes. Take your index finger and thumb and, on both sides of your face, grasp the skin above and below your eyebrows and massage the fold of skin created. This relaxes stressed eyes.
• Rub your hands together until your palms are nice and warm. Now close your eyelids and place your warm hands on your eyes. Completely relax your face while doing so. This exercise – called palming, by the way – also relaxes your eyes.

If done regularly, these exercises have a positive effect on your eyes and your lacrimal fluid. Read the section entitled Tips for the Office to find out what you can do when your eyes start causing you trouble while you are sitting in the office.
 

Your surroundings play a major role in the health of your eyes: how to set up an eye-friendly environment

Oxygen is not only important for breathing, but this chemical element, whose technical name is oxygenium, is also essential for the health of your eyes. So always make sure that you regularly ventilate your work and living spaces. In order to let in enough oxygen, you should open the windows for a few minutes every hour, especially in air-conditioned offices. It is also recommended to regularly go for a walk in the fresh air and to let your gaze wander while doing so – that is relaxing. Use your lunch break to do this or get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way home.

As well as the supply of oxygen, the lighting conditions in the room are also important. So always make sure that there is enough light in the room, especially if you are doing an activity which involves putting a lot of strain on your eyes. For example, at work, while cooking or when reading a book in the evening. The reason: if your eyes have to work despite bad lighting conditions, this causes them considerable strain. You can get sufficient light from two light sources: a standard lamp and a ceiling light. A little tip: in the kitchen, you can switch on the light on the extractor hood as well as the ceiling light.

When it comes to external influences, it is not just a matter of taking care of certain things, it is also a matter of avoiding other factors:

• Dry air. This includes heavily air-conditioned rooms as well as air from heating, for example.
• The same is true for draughts.
• Try to give cigarette smoke a wide berth.
• Stay as little as possible on busy roads because the exhaust fumes irritate your eyes.

Please also read: Tips in everyday life.
 

Nutrition for your eyes: the correct food and drink

A balanced diet and sufficient amounts of fluids are essential for our health and therefore also for that of our eyes.
Omega-3 fatty acids play a decisive role in the productsion of lacrimal fluid. These fatty acids are present in linseed oil as well as in cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring. As a general rule: adults should freshly prepare and eat fish around twice a week.

In addition, it is advisable to drink about two litres of fluids every day. Most suitable are mineral waters, diluted fruit juices and unsweetened teas. Among other things, the liquid supplies the eyes from within and so protects them from drying out.
What else is good for your eyes? Please also read: Dry eyes and nutrition
 

Lubricating eye drops bring quick relief

HYLO COMOD^® lubricating eye drops are particularly well-suited to the moderate form of dry eyes. The ingredient sodium hyaluronate lubricates the sensitive surface of the eye and in so doing quickly and effectively fights typical symptoms such as redness, itchiness and foreign body sensation.