Mask, ski, sleep… Six tips for taking good care of your eyes

"The eyes are an organ that must be taken care of in order to preserve its functions": such is the message hammered out, at the microphone of Europe 1, by the ophthalmic surgeon Damien Gatinel.

In the program

, Tuesday afternoon, the head of department at the Rothschild Foundation answered several questions on eye health and gave tips to protect his eyes from small everyday attacks.

Drink to avoid dehydration

In the posterior chamber of the eye is a gel, the vitreous.

"It fills the inside of the eye, while the retina is the tunic that lines the posterior wall inside," all in a humid environment, explains Damien Gatinel.

"You have to drink regularly to avoid dehydrating the vitreous", insists the specialist, because "it can become dehydrated and cause problems, such as retinal detachments. It is a little more frequent in summer." 

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Don't forget to adjust your mask

Some people sometimes have "problems related to the mask," says the head of the Paris establishment.

"The sight, of course, but it is above all the fact that when the air is exhaled, it passes upwards and dries up the surface of the eyes. That is why we see patients who consult us saying that they have dry eyes right now. "

How to cure it ?

You have to "adjust the mask well and make it waterproof under the eyes, for example", answers Damien Gatinel. 

Get checked regularly

Some diseases also affect the eyes.

"The eye is a crossroads where we can observe many diseases, because there is cartilage which is the wall of the eye, neurological tissue which is the retina and blood vessels", explains the professional, who states that "you can see high blood pressure and diabetes in the back of the eye. That's why it's important to have an exam every now and then. Sometimes the ophthalmologist finds high blood pressure. looking at the back of my eye. "

There are also "two problems" in the ocular expression of diabetes: "The most important is diabetic retinopathy, which is a leak of capillaries damaged by diabetes. We therefore see small leaks at the bottom of the eye. 'eye. There is also the cataract which appears a little earlier in the diabetic. " 

Take care of ergonomics at work

Many employees are invited to work from home due to the coronavirus epidemic.

For them, as for those who go to the office every day, "if you spend your day on a screen, it is useful to have filter glasses or a screen that itself cuts off the blue light a little", observes the head of department at the Rothschild Foundation.

“You have to have a workstation designed to be able to accommodate a screen worker throughout the day,” he continues.

"It assumes a distance, a height from the eyes, shoulders, etc. Obviously," having windows that allow you to take a little break from time to time and look into the distance to rest your eyes "is an advantage." Every 20 minutes, we recommend looking into the distance ", explains the specialist. 

Avoid rubbing your eyes at all costs

Rubbing the eyes too often can cause keratoconus, a pathology that corresponds to thinning and hardening of the cornea, an element only half a millimeter thick.

And the sleeping position has a direct impact on the pressure put on the eye.

"We published an article recently where we realized that people who sleep on their stomach or on their side, with a head rest in the pillow, have many more keratoconus than the population of patients who sleep on their stomachs. the back, "says the specialist.

There are several assumptions about this, such as the friction of the pillow or the weight of the head on the eye, which is over 12 kg.

"You have to sleep on your back and put on eye protection if you have keratoconus."

Think about glasses in the mountains

The holidays are approaching, Christmas is not so far away ... Special precautions should be taken during the winter, especially for those who go to the mountains.

"It is crucial that children and adults wear appropriate protection, especially in mountainous environments," insists Damien Gatinel.

There, "in addition to the intense sunlight, there is the reflection on snow-covered surfaces", which causes a "double exposure".

"You have to have glasses that cover well. Glasses designed for alpine sports and mountain sports are particularly recommended," he concludes.