Eye Care

Eye Care
An Important Aspect of Health
If you were asked, “Do you take care of your eyes once a week or at least once a month?” the most
common reply would probably be in the negative. The eyes are considered to be the most important
organ in our body and yet; people neglect to care for them.
Although we use our eyes everyday, we rarely pay attention until there is some serious problem.
Ayurveda advises to take care of health while in a healthy state. You can maintain perfect eyesight
for most part of your life by following some simple remedies.
• Every morning after waking up, fill your mouth with water, close the eyes and sprinkle water
on them about 10-15 times. Be sure, as Ayurveda advises, to wake up before sunrise. Do not
use hot water to wash the eyes.
• Do not wash the eyes or face when the body is sweating, especially after hard physical
exercise or after being exposed to heat and sun.
• Do not stare continuously, specially while looking at long distance objects. Blinking or giving
rest to the eyes is good. Do not look at the objects in bright sunlight for a long time. Avoid
reading, writing or working with eyes in improper light, or when the light is not sufficient. Take
a break and give rest to the eyes if you feel heaviness or tiredness in the eyes.
• Staying up late in the night and sleeping after sunrise is harmful for the eyes. In case of
staying up late, drink a cup of water after each hour or half hour.
• Protect your eyes from dust, smoke, strong sunlight and strong wind. Avoid staying long in
such conditions. In case you have to stay, blink often and massage the closed eyes gently
with your palms.
• Try to maintain regular and clean bowel movements. Constipation weakens the eyesight. In
addition; too much anxiety, mental stress, grief, anger and worry are harmful for the eyes.
• Regular eye exercise maintains perfect eyesight. One simple method of exercise is moving
the eyeball - right and left; upwards and downwards and rotating it in the clockwise and anticlockwise
directions.
• Another simple way of protecting of eyes is through ‘palming’. Rub the palms of both hands
for about 30 seconds, close the eyes and gently place the warm palms over the eyes.
• Eating cabbage and carrots is very beneficial for the eyes. These should be eaten raw. It is all
right to drink cabbage and carrot juice mixed together or separately.
• If Triphala (an Ayurvedic preparation) is available, you can wash the eyes with ‘Triphala
water’. Put a teaspoonful of Triphala powder in a glass of water, and let it stay overnight.
Strain the water and wash the eyes with it.
• Putting one drop of honey in each eye once a week is also beneficial to the eyes. It causes a
bit of irritation, but cleans the eyes.
Try these remedies and keep your eyes healthy and beautiful. Everyone, including those having
weak eyesight, can use these remedies. Through these methods, one can even improve one’s weak
eyesight and maybe even give up the use of spectacles forever.