I have bad eyesight. Poor vision is a medical and social problem. How to identify symptoms of decreased visual acuity

Date: 04/22/2016

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  • About the phenomenon of vision
  • Visual impairment: types and causes
  • Treatment of poor vision
  • Poor vision and childbirth

The eye is the most mobile organ of our body, the work of which is ensured by the corresponding muscles, and poor vision, according to the famous ophthalmologist U.G. Bates, depends on the incorrect functioning of the muscular system of the eyeball caused by mental stress. This leads to various vision pathologies and their mixed forms.

According to classical ophthalmology, visual impairment most often depends on the weakening of the muscles that ensure eye movement and accommodation (focusing the image on the retina). And the decisive role in decreased vision is played by the weakening of the ciliary (accommodative) muscle, which is responsible for changing the curvature of the lens to ensure focusing of the eye and clear vision both at distance and near.

About the phenomenon of vision

The uniqueness of our vision lies in the fact that the eye is not only a sensory organ that perceives light and color, but also a part of the brain at the forefront of perception. This primarily concerns the retina, which performs the primary processing of visual information - transforms light waves and impulses into an electrical impulse of a neuron. Also, the eye is one of the most complex systems in the body, and the quality of the image it perceives is interpreted by the brain and largely depends on the state of the psyche. The process of mental interpretation of the image obtained on the retina is a complex multicomponent process that connects a person with the outside world. And a person learns to see from birth - before he can walk and even hear. After all, a child’s vision is imperfect from birth and babies are born farsighted.

In our age of information technology and high speeds, the human psyche is subject to constant stress: stress, a lot of information, a fast pace of life. All this cannot but affect the condition of the eyes of a modern person. That is why now there are so many people of different ages, including children, who have various anomalies and are forced to resort to various types of treatment methods, in particular, laser correction operations, wearing corrective glasses and lenses to improve poor vision, etc.

If your vision has deteriorated, your ophthalmologist will tell you what to do and which correction option to choose.

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Visual impairment: types and causes

Before talking about violations, a few words should be said about how the image is produced on the retina. According to the classical theory, accommodation, or focusing of the visual image on the retina, is obtained by changing the refractive power of the lens (refraction) due to a change in its curvature. The main role in this process belongs to the ciliary muscle located around the lens. Due to the incorrect functioning of this muscle and the degree of elasticity of the lens itself, the following anomalies arise and develop:

  • hypermetropia (farsightedness);
  • myopia (nearsightedness);
  • astigmatism (violation of the uniform curvature of the cornea);
  • presbyopia (inability to see small print or objects at close range; “senile vision”);
  • strabismus;
  • amblyopia (a form that cannot be corrected with glasses and lenses);
  • floating particles (vision illusion, which is “flying flies”), etc.

In addition, the above visual anomalies (refractive errors) can be combined and have varying degrees of progression, the signs of which manifest themselves in a decrease in visual acuity.

Deterioration of vision can also be associated with trauma and damage to the visual apparatus, brain and various diseases (uveitis, encephalitis, meningitis, keratitis, etc.).

In addition to the classical theory of accommodation, there are alternative points of view, for example, according to the outstanding American ophthalmologist W.G. Bates, the cause of any refractive error is a conscious or unconscious effort of the psyche to see an object located at a certain distance. For example, myopia is caused by the effort to see objects that are far away, and hypermetropia is caused by the effort to see what is close.

The effort to see always creates tension under which the muscles of the eyeball are forced to work, which leads to their incorrect functioning and the appearance of vision anomalies. Thus, the process of vision is normally completely passive and similar to how the ear picks up sounds. The initial effort to see is a mental effort, and mental tension is always accompanied by a loss of mental control. Eyes that are under constant stress produce various refractive errors: poor vision in the twilight (twilight vision) combined with myopia, astigmatism combined with strabismus, hypermetropia and presbyopia, etc.

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Treatment of poor vision

Modern medicine has a wide range of means for correcting and improving vision. This arsenal includes such methods of treatment and vision correction as:

  • glasses;
  • contact lenses;
  • surgical improvement of vision, including laser correction;
  • therapeutic exercises (eye exercises, video simulators, acupressure);
  • drug therapy (vitamin complexes, etc.).

Naturally, there are alternative treatment methods that have something in common with traditional ones. So, U.G. Bates offers a set of measures to relieve mental stress:

  • palming (from the English “palm”, “palming” - covering the eyes with the palms so that light does not penetrate);
  • solarization (sun treatment);
  • therapeutic exercises (blinking, large and small finger turns, eye training using a check table, central fixation);
  • exercises aimed at relieving mental stress (memories, mental images, relaxing the psyche).

It must be said that when choosing a treatment method, you should definitely consult with an ophthalmologist.

Some traditional means of vision correction, for example, wearing glasses or contact lenses, do not fundamentally solve the problem, but only relieve the symptoms of poor vision and help a person fully live and work with one or another form of refractive error.

In addition, laser correction is now popular, which is a modern and fast method of correcting poor vision. However, this is a surgical operation that has certain contraindications. Therefore, in any case, consultation with an ophthalmologist is necessary.

Alternative methods (for example, a set of classes according to W. G. Bates), in turn, require regularity, perseverance and patience. Also, it may take a long time to restore visual acuity.

One of the most important senses that the human body is endowed with is vision. Thanks to him, a person gains the ability to see the world around him, cognize it, learn and change it according to his desires and needs. A person deprived of vision finds himself in partial isolation - visual images are not available to him, he is limited in perception. Such a person is not destined to see the smiles of his relatives, spring flowers and autumn leaves, snow, the greenness of young grass and the clear summer sky. A person with low vision or completely blind is limited in his personal and professional activities. He cannot engage in many sports, and poor eyesight often vetoes the desire to become a military man, pilot, sailor, driver, and many other specialties.

It’s even worse if visual impairment is detected in a small child. The more serious these violations are, the more difficult it will be for him to recognize the world, learn and develop.

But even for an adult, vision impairment brings many unpleasant moments. The need to wear glasses, extremely unpleasant eye diseases, severe image distortion that interferes with normal vision, reading and writing - all these are mainly consequences of our high-tech computer lifestyle. There are many reasons why a person complains of blurred vision, but the vast majority of them relate to acquired diseases and conditions.

Poor vision is a very broad generalized name for a condition in which visual impairment occurs, leading to a change in the perception of the shape of an object and the assessment of the distance to it. When vision deteriorates, a person complains of a lack of clarity and sharpness of the image, objects “blur”, lose their contours, and become cloudy. The patient cannot make out inscriptions, numbers, and designations, but if his vision has deteriorated greatly, he often experiences difficulty moving and using ordinary household utensils.

Naturally, a decrease in visual acuity significantly affects the patient’s quality of life. Moreover, the degree of negative impact increases as vision decreases. Since there are many causes for this condition, it is important to accurately diagnose and, if possible, cure the underlying disease or eliminate what causes vision impairment.

The reasons why vision deterioration occurs can be classified in different ways. If we focus on what causes it, we can apply the following division:

  • Pathologies of the visual organs of a congenital nature. They can be genetically determined, that is, be hereditary, or appear as a result of various disorders of fetal formation during intrauterine development.
  • Pathology of the elements of the visual organs of an acquired nature, the cause of which may be eye diseases. Eye diseases of various natures, including infectious ones, can lead to a decrease in the quality and acuity of vision.
  • Visual impairment caused by injury to the eyes, nearby organs, and brain. Loss of vision is often the result of severe concussions, blows to the head, falls, eye damage from various objects, or after polytrauma.
  • Visual impairment associated with external influences: thermal, chemical and radiation. This includes burns caused by chemicals, fire or flammable liquids.
  • Visual impairment caused by certain pathologies or diseases of internal organs, for example, high blood pressure or diabetes.
  • External influences of a non-physical nature: reading books with small print, in poor lighting, lying down, in moving vehicles, watching TV programs for too long, working with a computer, especially various games, using electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, e-books).
  • Age-related changes. The older a person is, the higher his risk of developing various eye diseases, as well as decreased visual acuity. Most people develop so-called presbyopia with age, that is, age-related farsightedness. This is why many middle-aged people can easily navigate the street, but are forced to use glasses to read, watch television or do small jobs.

The classification of visual impairments does not always have clear boundaries, since some problems may be interrelated or stem from one another.

Sometimes a person may experience symptoms of rapidly deteriorating vision. This may indicate very dangerous damage to the body, for example, methanol poisoning. In this case, there is a risk of not only irreversible damage to vision or complete blindness, but also death. If threatening symptoms appear, it is necessary to urgently seek medical help and call an ambulance.

With visual impairment, people often complain that they cannot focus their eyes on the outlines of objects. Most often, this indicates the presence of a specific problem with the formation of two foci, which is called astigmatism. It accompanies many vision defects and can occur in both farsightedness and myopia. A defocused image occurs because the optical focus is formed not on the retina, but in front of it. In this case, the eye receives not a clear, but a blurry signal, the image takes on a scattered appearance, and vision can deteriorate greatly.

One of the most common problems with visual acuity among modern youth is excessive computer use. If previously the cause of vision loss was the flickering of a computer screen, now overwork has an increasing impact on visual acuity - many people, mainly children and teenagers, do not leave their computers for hours. Monotonous actions and fixation of gaze on the screen, slow blinking and drying of the mucous membranes of the eyes often become the reasons why vision begins to gradually deteriorate.

Types of vision problems

Poor vision is a serious problem; it should worry not only because a person cannot see some details, but also because it can affect the condition of other organs. Prolonged eye fatigue leads to headaches, cerebral vascular spasms, dizziness, a tendency to faint, migraines and many other extremely dangerous and unpleasant conditions and diseases. If vision deteriorates, it is imperative to look for the reason why visual distortions appear and treat them. This will help not only prevent a decrease in visual acuity, but also identify some other diseases.

The classification of existing visual impairments varies in different countries, but is mainly divided according to the degree of visual acuity of the eye that sees better:

  • Almost normal - 20/30 - 20/60.
  • Moderate visual impairment - 20/70 - 20/160.
  • Severe vision loss - 20/200 - 20/400.
  • Profound vision loss - 20/500 - 20/1000.
  • Almost complete blindness - over 20/1000.
  • Complete blindness - lack of sensitivity to light.

It is also important to consider possible loss of peripheral vision.

Types of visual impairment also leave their mark on the problem of determining the cause of this condition, since there may be a combination of several factors at once, for example, the presence of a congenital defect in the structure of the eye, such as an injury that led to a decrease in visual acuity, as well as diseases of the visual organs. To “get to the bottom” of the reasons why blurred vision occurred, you will have to undergo many different examinations and take many tests.

The most common problem is ametropia of the eye. This concept also includes farsightedness. A huge number of the world's population have various forms and degrees of ametropia. Ideal vision is very rare; vision of about 0 5 is most common, that is, a minimal deviation from the norm. Doctors believe that optics up to 1 do not need correction, that is, wearing glasses or contact lenses, otherwise amblyopia, or “”, may develop. With it, the eye, whose functions are partially compensated by glasses, begins to become “lazy” and vision continues to decline.

Common types of visual impairment are complemented by a huge list of diseases. Sometimes temporary vision loss is associated with injury. For example, when someone faints, vision is not restored immediately; the patient first begins to hear, and only then does the ability to see return to him. In a number of diseases, only impairment of twilight vision appears, that is, perception decreases as the contrast of surrounding objects decreases.

Slightly different is vision loss due to diabetes mellitus, or diabetic retinopathy. This disease develops gradually and over time can lead to complete blindness, which is why it is so important to diagnose and treat diabetes in a timely manner. Risk groups include people with a family history and those who are overweight or obese, even if they do not yet have vision complaints.

The causes of visual impairment, sometimes catastrophic, can be a variety of diseases, for example, or clouding of the lens of the eye, etc. The latter disease is incurable and gradually causes a severe decrease in visual acuity. Its development can only be slowed down with special drops and special techniques. Cataracts are now successfully operated on, replacing the lens with an artificial one and returning people the ability to see clearly.

In recent decades, computer syndrome has become one of the most common causes of vision impairment. In the initial stages, it causes severe drying of the mucous membranes of the eyes, which is successfully corrected with special drops. This condition is caused by radiation from the computer screen and a reflexive slowdown in blinking. In this case, the eyes do not receive enough moisture and suffer from this. There is a feeling of “sand in the eyes,” pain and pain. Over time, with a large amount of computer time, vision weakens due to constant overload. At the beginning of the process, falling can be prevented if you start giving your eyes rest, dosage your work with the computer, get distracted from it more often and use special eye drops.

Poor vision as a social problem

Visual impairment is gradually ceasing to be a private problem and moving to the state level. Because of people with poor vision, accidents occur in transport and at work, poor vision threatens errors in complex and important operations and actions, and visually impaired people are at much greater risk than citizens with good vision. Children are especially affected - they are deprived of the opportunity to engage in active sports associated with tension, shaking or heavy lifting.

In psychologically unstable individuals, which include both teenagers and old people, decreased vision with a high risk of complete or partial loss of vision often leads to the appearance of serious mental disorders, including the desire to commit suicide. The state must take measures to ensure that decreased visual acuity due to illness or injury can be treated, and to work with such patients, attract not only experienced ophthalmologists, but also good psychologists, and sometimes psychiatrists.

But the person himself can influence computer syndrome. Parents should ensure that the child does not spend more than two hours a day in front of a computer screen or sit in the dark with the lights off. Adults, who constantly strain their eyes due to their occupation, can also reduce the impact of the computer on their vision. To do this, you can wear special glasses, use vitamin drops and “artificial tears,” and also take your eyes off the screen more often, changing the focus of your vision. Then the words “I can’t see what is written” will not become an unpleasant and painful discovery for you, and you will be able to maintain good vision until old age.

Scientists say we receive 80% of information about the world around us through our eyes. Practicing ophthalmologists - the chief physician of the Family Ophthalmology Clinic, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Vladimir Trubilin and Candidate of Medical Sciences Maria Trubilina - told the Social Navigator project what will help preserve vision and what the frequent use of eye drops can lead to.

Such an important and fragile mechanism as vision requires special attention. From the first days, a person should undergo regular examinations by an ophthalmologist.

In recent decades, the situation in the world has had a bad impact on our eyes: the computer and various gadgets have become an inseparable part of life.

"Visual tasks have grown in the modern world. Nowadays it is difficult to find a specialty that is not computerized. Moreover, often during work several digital devices are used, for example, a mobile phone, tablet, computer. The use of a mobile phone has led to a reduction in close working distance. If in the past century, a book was read on average at a distance of 35-40 centimeters, but we bring a mobile phone closer to our eyes, at a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters. All this causes stress to the visual system,” says Maria Trubilina.

Your own doctor

Our eyes also suffer greatly from trying to fix problems on our own. The availability of various medications and vision correction methods can be harmful.

“Now, unfortunately, optical products are publicly available, for example, contact lenses are sold in lens dispensers, they can be bought via the Internet. And this is a big problem, because, having picked up the lenses once, patients stop seeing the doctor, buy the lenses themselves and come only when face complications. These can be infections that are very difficult to treat, it can be disorders of the ocular surface, ingrowth of blood vessels into the cornea. One way or another, contact lenses are a foreign body that is located on the surface of the eye. Doctors have to deal with complications that could have been prevented with regular routine examinations of patients. The same applies to the glasses that our patients buy themselves without a prescription in trays and markets. The quality of the materials from which they are made, the compliance of diopters and center-to-center distance with such a purchase remain behind the scenes." , notes Vladimir Trubilin.

To drip or not to drip - that is the question

Who hasn't had red eyes at least once in their life? Most likely there are none. Many people are accustomed to dealing with this problem on their own, without the help of doctors, by buying eye drops at the pharmacy. But in this case, the drops have only a cosmetic effect, narrowing the blood vessels and reducing or eliminating redness. Redness of the eyes can be the cause of a serious illness, and without consulting an ophthalmologist it is impossible to find out the true cause of the changes occurring.

The modern world is a world of digital technologies. We use gadgets all the time. For this reason, many suffer from the so-called computer vision syndrome - a feeling of discomfort, watery eyes or, conversely, dryness, irritation, and redness of the eyes.

To some extent, our eyes are influenced by the environment in which we find ourselves. In winter - heating devices, in summer - air conditioning. Because of this, the ocular surface suffers, causing a feeling of discomfort - dry eye syndrome.

In addition, studies have shown that working on digital devices leads to a reduction in blinking movements, which contributes to the development of dry eye syndrome.

In these cases, tear replacement drops help, which are very effective and have virtually no side effects. But this must be diagnosed by a specialist and prescribed the correct treatment. Remember: these symptoms may be hiding other, more serious problems.

Under no circumstances should you self-medicate. It is better to consult a doctor in a timely manner.

Are diets and sharp eyesight incompatible?

Another factor that affects our vision is nutrition. The condition of the blood vessels plays an important role - they are everywhere, including on the retina. Fatty, fried, salty foods negatively affect the circulatory system and increase cholesterol levels. Accordingly, poor nutrition can lead to vision problems.

You need a balanced diet, more vegetables and fruits. Addiction to diets and refusal of a wide range of foods is not good for your eyesight. You need to eat a varied and nutritious diet, experts emphasize.

Age crisis

Eye problems can occur at any age. But there are risk groups - children under 14 years of age and adults over 40.

Children are born farsighted, with a strong plus. Until the age of seven, the plus decreases and vision normalizes. It is very important to monitor this process by undergoing annual examinations with an ophthalmologist, and if abnormalities are noted, then be observed at least twice a year.

At seven years old, a child goes to school, and the visual load increases. The older the child, the more time he spends on textbooks, notebooks and the computer. And during this period, it is very important to monitor your vision at least once a year by visiting an ophthalmologist.

Why do you need to visit an ophthalmologist annually at the age of 40+?

Firstly, this is the period of the appearance of presbyopia, or senile farsightedness, when near vision changes, and this process needs to be controlled.

Secondly, after 40 years of age, intraocular pressure must be measured annually, says Professor Trubilin. If we go back to Soviet times and remember the medical examination system, then measuring intraocular pressure every year for people over 40 years of age was included in the list of mandatory examinations.

Perhaps this is why it was possible to diagnose glaucoma at the earliest stages, even before the appearance of complaints in patients?

Nowadays it is more difficult to do this, so you need to monitor the condition of your eyes annually!

What to do?

If vision has deteriorated, it is important to know the reason.

You can restore good vision by prescribing glasses, contact lenses, laser correction or cataract surgery. But there are diseases in which it is impossible to restore lost vision. The ophthalmologist’s task is to preserve the vision that is available at the time of the examination and try to stabilize the process.

Due to the increase in the duration of work at close and medium distances, it is necessary to observe the regime of visual stress.

Of course, you cannot prohibit the use of computers, mobile phones, tablets, etc., but it is strongly recommended to take breaks from work for at least a few minutes every hour.

But not just from the computer to the phone, but completely forgetting about all devices nearby and turning your gaze as far as possible.

Research in recent years suggests that digital devices are a source of increased radiation of the short-wave spectrum of white light, the so-called blue light, which is not harmless to the entire body, including the eyes. Therefore, people even without visual impairments are recommended to wear glasses with zero diopters, but with a special coating against blue light.

Take care of your eye health and visit an ophthalmologist regularly!

Patients often do not feel any changes in their vision. Preventive examinations allow you to identify the disease at an early stage and take measures to stop its development.

And lastly: be sure to listen to your body and its signals. At the slightest failure, be sure to contact a specialist.

Interviewed by Alina Kuramshina

Income from operations - glasses, lenses, drugs - brings up to $100 billion per year! Bates method has been restoring vision since 1901 for free, perhaps because Bates spied it from... the Indians.

Why doesn’t “traditional” medicine use this method? because it is not in her tradition to treat without the use of expensive drugs...

Excerpt from lecture Professor Zhdanov:

“...American ophthalmologist professor William Bates in 1901 published a scientific work in which he proved that all four vision disorders: myopia, farsightedness, strabismus and astigmatism are associated in humans with improper functioning six oculomotor muscles. Some muscles are overly tense, and some are overly weakened. As a result, some people experience myopia, other's - farsightedness, for others - strabismus, and almost everyone experiences astigmatism.

Moreover, Bates developed exercise system, which allows tense muscles to relax, weak ones to train a person’s vision restore.

He borrowed the basis of these exercises from the North American Indians. The Indians developed a millennia-old culture of developing and preserving vision in boys, young men, men, and warriors. And Bates noticed that the Indians constantly do some kind of exercise with their eyes. He delved into the essence of these exercises, how an ophthalmologist professor understood their purpose and developed his own method.

Why Indians? Yes, because the Indians inherit part of the ancient culture of India Superior, once a single super-education that included Asia (with Europe) and both Americas. All this was called one word - India! Consequently, the knowledge of the Indians is an echo of traditional medicine existing in the vastness of Eastern Asia (India, Tibet, China) because they are all heirs of culture White Gods, who once came from the north.

The Bates Method is over a hundred years old

And, of course, a completely legitimate question arises: “Why do you and I know almost nothing about this?” Some naive people say: “Vladimir Georgievich, why don’t you tell people in such simple Russian language in the Health program what’s going on, show all these exercises?” Underneath this, oddly enough, there is three very good reasons.

First reason– monetary. The annual net profit from the sale of glasses, contact lenses and eye surgeries worldwide exceeds $50 billion. This $50,000,000,000 has been preventing scientific truth from reaching consumers for a hundred years, who suffer so much from ignorance of this truth that many even go blind.

At one time, we sent information about this vision restoration system to hundreds of countries. Only the Japanese responded, a huge thank you to them.

They sent a thank you letter and shared the results. “...On the basis of one sociological institute - in order not to undeservedly offend anyone, allow me not to mention the name of the institute - we conducted research among students. The positive result was over 80% . But at the moment, the Japanese economy is not ready to absorb such a load..."

I don’t understand, what does economics have to do with it?

Then comes the explanation: “...If 10% of the nearly sixty million visually impaired Japanese give up their glasses and restore their vision, there will be 6 million unclaimed glasses. This will be a significant blow to the economy, and we consider this method of vision restoration to be premature for Japan.”

Attention, answer! The law of economics is: the consumer must not disappear!

If you recover or, God forbid, die, you won’t go for glasses. Is not it? There is a whole network of organizations and structures interested in people with poor vision.

Several years ago, when one of my students decided to open his own training center for vision restoration, he unfortunately ended up next to the company "Optics". He was delicately told: “Don’t meddle in our business! Don't put our customers off!"

So, my dearest, I congratulate you. You are a client! And if you think that someone needs your health, then you are deeply mistaken!!

Quite the contrary, thanks to your poor eyesight, manufacturers of glasses, medicines earn a lot of money, pretending that they care about health, image, etc. Every time they offer to change their appearance, they artificially create fashion, specifically supports the need to constantly change glasses.

The second reason is also banal - this is the inertia of our medicine. For a hundred years, the most accurate theory of vision of the Bates eye has been known, according to which people remove glasses and restore their vision. Until today, in all medical institutes of our country, for some reason, students study only Herman’s theory of vision Helmholtz According to which, at the first visual disturbance, glasses must be placed on the eyes and the person will eventually be driven to blindness. Our most important institute of eye diseases in Moscow, all its branches throughout the country, do you know whose name it bears? Herman's eternal breadwinner Helmholtz.

AND third reason– is also banal. In order for a person to restore his vision himself, he needs to work on himself. Need to work. We need to switch to a sober, healthy lifestyle, eat right, we need to cleanse the body, eye muscles, eyes from accumulated toxins, and restore their elasticity. In the end, you need to do these exercises. And for many, as it turns out, this is simply unacceptable. It turns out that it’s easier to go to doctors, whine for them to give you new eyes, just to do nothing yourself.

These three reasons, I believe, really seriously hinder the introduction of the Bates method into our lives. As you can see, all 3 reasons are easily overcome if you overcome the main reason - your laziness!

How to restore vision (Shichko-Bates method)

You already know how to protect your eyes. This article will be useful to those who have not previously followed the wise advice of Chinese medicine and now want to restore their vision. As a translator, I know first-hand how eyes get tired and vision deteriorates. Fortunately, there are simple exercises that will help restore it.

I will give excerpts from the first lecture by Vladimir Georgievich Zhdanov, which is part of a course on vision correction using the Shichko-Bates method.

Exercises to relax and train the extraocular muscles

From today you can include these exercises in your arsenal of exercises to restore your vision.

Palming

The first exercise that we will learn is called “palming”, from the English word "palm"- palm. It is known that our palms have some kind of radiation unknown to science, but very healing. And a person constantly involuntarily heals himself with his palms. “Oh, my stomach hurts. Oh, my head hurts. Oh, ear. Oh, my tooth hurts." And he keeps trying to bring his palm to his sore spot. It turns out that your palms can provide significant help to your tired and sore eyes.

How palming is done

Place your palms together like this. It’s as if you want to water birds from your palms. Keep your fingers together so that the water doesn't spill. Fingers together. You don't need to go too deep. Almost straight palms.

And now, with our palms facing us, we cover the fingers of one hand with the fingers of the other hand. So that it looks like this kind of roof. At right angles.

Now you will put this structure of palms over your eyes instead of glasses so that the crossed fingers are in the center of the forehead, the nose sticks out between the little fingers, and the eyes fall exactly in the center in the dimples of the palms. Make sure that your nose sticks out between your palms. And this nose must be able to breathe.

Now, under your palms, open your eyes and press your palms to your cheeks, to your nose, move your palms so that your eyes are open and the light does not fall on your eyes. So that there are no cracks. Not near the nose, not from the cheeks, nowhere. So that your palms tightly cover your eyes, and your eyes, falling into the dimples of your palms, calmly open and close and therefore no light reaches your eyes. This exercise is called "palming". From a scientific point of view, this is “eye biophoresis”, this is warming the eyes with the warmth of your own palms.

Here's how this exercise is done classically. Rub your palms together until warm. Fold your palms into a “house”. Place it over your eyes. Close your eyes. Place your elbows on the table. The main thing is that the head is not thrown back or tilted too much forward and that the elbows are not suspended. The eyes are closed.

From this moment on, every time you read, write, watch TV, work on the computer, as soon as you feel tired, your eyes are tired - you need to put everything aside, rub your hands until warm and do palming. Three to five minutes. In five minutes, when you open your eyes, you yourself will gasp - how well they are rested and ready for further visual work.

Now I will describe several exercises for training weakened extraocular muscles.

Attention! You can sit under the palm tree for a whole day - it’s not dangerous, it’s useful. The bigger, the better. But the exercises that I will show you now are: you can't make too many of them. If you do a lot of them, your eyes will hurt, you will curse everything in the world and will never do this again. Therefore, the exercises that I will show you now can be done only three times a day - before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner. AND no more, how much I will show you.

In addition, for these exercises gymnastics for the eyes there are contraindications.

First contraindication– if a person had surgery six months ago. Well, that is, less than six months after the operation. That is, after any eye surgery, you need to wait six months for everything to heal and heal, and only after that you can do this eye gymnastics, which I will show you.

Second contraindication– if a person has a detached retina. You cannot do this gymnastics with a detached retina. You can provoke further detachment. Therefore, if you have a retinal detachment, you need to go to the doctors, now there are techniques - they weld the retina. After welding, you need to wait six months for it to take root well, and only after that carefully begin to do this gymnastics for the eyes.

Gymnastics for the eyes

This kind of gymnastics is done without glasses. At the same time, the face is motionless. Only one eye works. You should not make sudden eye movements.

blinking

Blink your eyes quickly and easily. They blinked, blinked, blinked their eyes, blinked, blinked. This is how a butterfly has wings. No need to squint. Light, quick blinking of the eyelids alone.

By the way, this light, quick blinking relaxes the eye muscles. And people have long noticed: if you don’t see well, blink your eyes. The person blinked and blinked - he really sees much better.

Exercise 1

Look up. Down. Up. Down. Blinked, blinked, blinked.

Exercise 2

Squint your eyes to the right. Left. Right. Left. Blinked, blinked, blinked.

Exercise 3 – “Diagonals”

Raise your eyes to the right and up. Then left and down. Right-up, left-down. They blinked.

Reverse diagonal. Left-up, right-down. Left-up, right-down. They blinked, blinked, blinked.

Exercise 4 – “Rectangle”

We draw a rectangle with our eyes. Raise your eyes up, top side, side, down, bottom, up. They blinked.

Reverse rectangle. Top, side, down, bottom, up. Blinked, blinked, blinked, blinked.

Exercise 5 – “Dial”

Imagine a huge clock. Where the bridge of the nose is, the arrows begin. And we look around at the numbers on the dial. They raised their eyes to twelve o'clock and walked in a circle. Three o'clock, six, nine, twelve. Three, six, nine, twelve. They blinked.

Counter-clockwise. Twelve, nine, six, three, twelve. Nine, six, three, twelve. They blinked, blinked, blinked.

Exercise 6 – “Snake”

Eyes to the side and start drawing the snake with the eyes from the tail. Up and down, up and down, up and down, up. And head, back, up and down, up and down, up and down, up. And a tail.

Exercise “Pleasant Memory”

In order to better and faster relax your eyesight under palming, Bates came up with one very important exercise, which he called "A pleasant memory".

And every time you do palming, at this moment you need to think about something good, good, pleasant. Remember a pleasant meeting, a pleasant trip, a pleasant vacation. A pleasant memory, it greatly relaxes a person’s psyche, muscles, facial muscles and eye muscles.

Relaxation- This is the basis of the Bates method. First, relaxation, and then there is training of weakened extraocular muscles (performing the above exercises + blinking between exercises - and all this under palming).

Exercise “Imagining Black”

Whenever you palm, pay attention - at the first moment, afterimages of light will loom before your eyes. For about a minute and a half a TV, a candle, a light bulb, a piece of window, some kind of fog, a cloud looms. This indicates that your optic tract is overstimulated. The light doesn’t reach our eyes, but it seems to us that we see something. And here, in order to remove these residual light images, Bates came up with another very important palming exercise, which he called "Black Representation".

And every time you close your eyes and palm, you have to imagine, say, a black velvet curtain in a theater, it’s so black, black, big, big. And then the light goes out, and it gets blacker and darker. Or imagine the black mascara that you spilled in front of you and are covering these luminous places.

Exit from palming

So, now let’s remember the way out of palming. Eyes closed. Palms on the nose. Under the palms of the hands, the eyes closed slightly, relaxed, closed, weakened, closed, weakened. Eyes closed, hands removed from face. And they shook their heads with their eyes closed. Up and down - yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no, no, no, no, no, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Blood supply was restored. And now, like children, they rubbed their eyes with their fists. We took a deep breath, exhaled and opened our eyes, blinking quickly.

Please note that the colors have become more vibrant. The fact is that with the help of exercises we saturated the visual cones of the retina with oxygen and nutrients. And the visual cones are responsible for color perception.

Exercise 7 “Solarization of eyes on a candle”

In a dark room, you need to light a candle in front of you at a distance of about two meters. This exercise, like all other exercises in this article, is performed without glasses. Imagine that your eyes do not move and always look only in front of you, i.e. to look to the side you need to turn your head, not your eyes.

Turn your head and look at the left wall. Now quickly turn your head to the right and look at the right wall. Turn your head left, right, left, right (20-30 times).

We don’t pay any attention to the candle at all. When we look at the left wall, we will feel in the dark that the candle is somewhere on the right. Then whack - a candle flew before my eyes. And now we are looking at the right wall, but we will feel the light on the left. Then whack - again the candle flies back and forth quickly in front of your eyes like that. We don't pay any attention to the candle.

This is only part of the first lecture, which lasts more than an hour.

All lectures can be viewed here: http://seeactive.by/methods/zhdanov-shichko-bates.html

Today, many offer their patients to quickly get rid of vision problems through surgery or laser correction. However, not everyone can afford this method. Yes, and laser has age restrictions. Such operations are not performed until the age of 18, since vision is not yet fully formed, and for people with corneal diseases, low immunity, and women. Also, this method does not cope with age-related farsightedness. And people after 45 years of age are still forced to wear glasses after correction.

Gymnastics for the eyes

Poor vision can be treated without surgery. There are many eye exercises that can help improve visual acuity. Here are some of them.

1. Place a watch in front of you and blink quickly for 20-25 seconds.
2. Close your eyes tightly and slowly relax your eyelids, opening your eyes. Repeat the exercise 10 times.
3. Extend your index finger in front of you. Look at the tip of your nose and then at the tip of your finger. Do this at least 30 times.
4. Close your eyes, then sharply open your eyes and look up and down, left and right, without moving. Repeat the exercise 10 times.
5. Relax, close your eyes and lightly massage the inner corners of your eyes with your fingers.

Perform this set of exercises during the working day. It’s better to do it once every hour and a half. This will help relieve eye fatigue and improve blood circulation.

Specialty foods and vitamins

To restore visual acuity, it is recommended to eat more foods such as carrots, nuts, cabbage, beets, citrus fruits, apricots, eggs, fatty sea fish, blueberries, and lingonberries. You can also drink teas and decoctions of mint, hawthorn, thyme, ginseng, and nettle. They are rich in vitamin A, C, E, so necessary for vision. In addition, vitamins and minerals for the eyes can be obtained using special dietary supplements and drops that are sold in pharmacies.

In addition to traditional medicine, there are a lot of folk tips that help restore visual acuity. For example, you can mix blueberry juice with distilled water in a 2:1 ratio. And bury five drops in each eye in the morning. In addition to blueberries, goat's milk is also dripped into the eyes. Fresh whey is mixed with boiled water in equal parts. Use this solution once a week. Place 2 drops into each eye, then cover the eyelids with a dark bandage or scarf and lie there for half an hour. For older people, valerian tincture is recommended at night. It is believed that if this procedure is done daily, visual acuity will soon return.

Take care of your eyesight. Visit an ophthalmologist at least once every six months; while working, do not forget to take breaks for eye exercises and spend time in the fresh air more often.

Poor vision affects a person’s lifestyle and his psycho-emotional state. To see the world and people around you, you need to use special optics: glasses, lenses that correct congenital or acquired vision defects.

Loss of vision

A person can lose vision at any age. The years take their toll, the eye muscles become less elastic, and clarity disappears. Violation of safety rules, accident, specifics of work, heredity - these factors can affect the fact that a person begins to see poorly. This situation imposes a number of restrictions that will depend on the person’s usual lifestyle and the degree of vision loss. In each case, it is necessary to undergo an examination by an ophthalmologist. He is the one who is able to assess the severity of the problem, help find a way out of the situation, make a prognosis for the future, and prescribe treatment.

Restrictions for the visually impaired

Poor eyesight can be a reason for refusal to apply for a job or refusal to obtain a driver's license. Visually impaired people begin to lead a secluded lifestyle because they are afraid to go outside. Unfortunately, in Russia, roads, buildings, entrances, and streets do not have equipment for people with disabilities. It is this fact that turns a person into a hermit. It’s scary to go out into the street, to appear helpless, to ask strangers to cross the road or read an advertisement. Poor eyesight does not allow you to engage in your favorite hobbies: knitting, sewing, embroidery. It is difficult to read newspapers and books.

Poor eyesight does not make a person worse than others. This is just a limitation that needs to be accepted. A person must understand that the path of life will develop differently, and there is no need to give up on oneself. Modern medicine has made significant progress. New technologies make it possible to partially or completely restore vision and alleviate the condition.

There are ways that help improve the quality of life of a person with poor vision: glasses, lenses, magnifiers, special devices for the visually impaired. The support of loved ones and family is important. It is these people who help to adapt to new living conditions and provide moral support. In addition to the eyes, a person has several other sense organs that help him compensate for the deficiency. Poor eyesight does not prevent you from being happy and self-sufficient, it does not prevent you from starting a family, working and relaxing.

People with poor vision attend special trainings and seminars where they learn how to live with such a defect, how not to despair and find the strength to fight. The seminars are also aimed at educating people in the field of medicine, informing them about new technologies and medications that help improve vision.