CHALAZION: HOW TO TREAT IT

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A chalazion is a lump in the eyelid that is caused by inflammation of a gland within the skin. Typically , this lump grows over days to weeks and is occasionally red, warm, or painful. A chalazion is caused by the oil in the gland becoming too thick to flow out of the gland. This oil blocks the gland, but the gland still produces more oil. Without anywhere to go, the oil builds up inside the gland and forms a lump in the eyelid. Eventually, the gland ruptures (breaks open) and releases the oil into the tissue of the eyelid, causing inflammation.

A chalazion is not a sty .A sty can resemble a chalazion in the sense that it is also a lump in the eyelid. However, a sty involves glands and eyelash hair follicles that are closer to the skin surface of the eyelid. In addition, a sty is usually more painful and looks infected.

Symptoms

  • Swelling of the upper eyelid may occur gradually over weeks. The condition rarely involves the lower eyelid.
  • A chalazion appears as a localized hard lump that may grow as large as an eighth of an inch.
  • Occasionally, you may feel pain and your eyelid may be red.

Treatment

Self-Care at Home
  • Warm compresses may be helpful. Hold a warm, wet towel on the eyelid for 10-15 minutes, 2-4 times a day, to reduce swelling.
  • Lightly massage the area several times a day .
  • Do not “pop” or scratch the chalazion.

When to Seek Medical Care

You should call your ophthalmologist if eyelid redness or swelling does not improve with warm towel compresses in 3-4 days. You should contact your ophthalmologist immediately if you have frequent bouts of eyelid swelling or if you experience any of the following:

  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Any visual changes (eg, blurred vision, decreased ability to see)
  • Eye pain or drainage
  • Extensive swelling or redness
  • If both the upper eyelid and the lower eyelid of one eye are swollen
  • If both eyes are swollen

Medical treatment

  • Treatment of the chalazion may include the following:
  • Application of war m compresses for about 15 minutes, 2-4 times a day, to reduce swelling
  • A prescription for antibi otic eyedrops or ointments if a bacterial infection is suspected to be the cause
  • Injection of a steroid medicine to help decrease the inflammation
  • Surgical removal of the lump if it creates symp toms or lasts for weeks

Read more...

Optical Illusions Challenge

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Fun optical illusions quiz - it's an amazing illusion trivia challenge which will amaze you! Enjoy!

Read more...

Illusions

An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may occur with more of the human senses than vision, but visual illusions, optical illusions, are the most well known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses. For example, individuals watching a ventriloquist will perceive the voice is coming from the dummy since they are able to see the dummy mouth the words. Some illusions are based on general assumptions the brain makes during perception. These assumptions are made using organizational principles, like Gestalt, an individual's ability of depth perception and motion perception, and perceptual constancy. Other illusions occur because of biological sensory structures within the human body or conditions outside of the body within one’s physical environment.

Some of the best illusions are collected here for your enjoyment:

Optical Illusions.

Eye Illusions.

Scary Optical Illusions

Visual Illusions.

They are really amazing.View them now

Read more...

Eye Illusions

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Is this really a spiral?


There is nothing moving on the picture. (© Akiyoshi Kitaoka: Used with permission.)


Another static picture. (© Akiyoshi Kitaoka: Used with permission.)

Motion is just an eye illusion. (© Akiyoshi Kitaoka: Used with permission.)


Beautiful scene. But there is something more to it(hidden-woman-child).


Are the horizontal lines parallel? (of course they are)


There is nothing moving below. (© Akiyoshi Kitaoka: Used with permission.)





See the face of a soldier and a man that is bending over on the below eye illusion.


Given the wood do you think you could make this?


This impossible object is called "Devil's Fork" or "Schuster's Conundrum" (by D. H. Schuster)


Try to arrange dice like this.


If you can read the following picture, then you can shout ...( EUREKA )


Are there really just flowers?


It is quite interesting that all numbers can be created by using only two numerals - 4 and 8.


You may read across and upright.
A-B-C or 12-13-14?


Boats on the picture are not moving. It's just an eye illusion. (© Akiyoshi Kitaoka: Used with permission.)


Given the wood do you think you could make this?


Or this one?


Another interesting building.


1st Color Blindness Test - can you see a "12" on this plate?


2nd Color Blindness Test - there is a "26" on this plate.


3rd Color Blindness Test - can you trace a line from one "X" to the other?


4th Color Blindness Test - you should see 58 (upper left), 18 (upper right), E (lower left) and 17 (lower right).

Read more...

Play outdoors for your eyes

Friday, September 5, 2008

Parents now have another reason to shoo their kids outdoors to play, along with making sure they get enough fresh air and exercise because, In a study, Australian researchers found evidence that children who spent the most time outdoors were the least likely to suffer from myopia, also called nearsightedness or shortsightedness

"Our evidence suggests that the key factor is being outdoors, and that it does not matter if that time is spent in having a picnic or in playing sport," Dr. Kathryn A. Rose told Reuters Health. "Both will protect a child's eyes from growing excessively, which is the major cause of myopia."

Common Problem

Myopia has become increasingly common in recent decades, with more than 80 percent of people in some highly-educated groups being nearsighted, Rose of the University of Sydney and her colleagues point out in the journal Ophthalmology. Work that requires a person to focus on something close up -- for example reading -- has been proposed to cause nearsightedness, they add.

To investigate how viewing activities at various distances might influence myopia risk, the researchers looked at 1,765 six-year-olds and 2,367 12-year-olds participating in the Sydney Myopia Study. Just 1.5 percent of the six-year-olds were myopic, but 12.8 percent of the older children were. Both age groups spent about 2.3 hours outside each day, on average.

Time spent outside had no significant relationship to myopia prevalence among the younger children, nor did the amount of close work they did.

But among the 12-year-olds, those who spent more than 2.8 hours outside every day were less likely to be myopic than their peers who spent more of their time indoors. Children who spent less than 1.6 hours outdoors every day and more than 3.1 hours in near-work activity had double to triple the likelihood of being nearsighted compared to kids who spent the most time outside and the least time in close-up work.

"We have not yet established why being outside is protective," Rose said. "But a likely candidate is the high levels of light experienced outside compared to inside. Studies in animals suggest that retinal dopamine is released in response to light, and dopamine is known to be able to block eye growth." Myopia is caused when the eyeball grows too long.

Advice

The researcher offers the following advice to parents: "Try to ensure that your children spend time outside because we have evidence that the more time they spend outdoors, the less likely they are to develop myopia. This is true, even if they are also doing a lot of close work such as reading and studying." But also, she adds, parents should be sure their kids are wearing hats and sunscreen.

SOURCE: Ophthalmology, August 2008.

Read more...

  © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP