The eyes have it

If you’ve read up to this section of the Sunday Lifestyle, your eyes must be tired. Our eyes are probably the most used and abused part of our body. We can’t do anything without this indispensable little pair of spherical blinkers. Our workaday routine — reading, doing computer work, doing household chores, and playing — depends pretty much on how well our eyes work. “Since the sense of sight is used in any activity, clarity of vision is one of the most important concerns of Filipinos,” Carlos Jose Garcia, Novartis Healthcare Philippines, Inc. associate brand manager, takes a long, hard look at eye care today.

A secondary concern, adds Garcia, would probably be the symptoms that already affect a person’s productivity and quality of life, like eye tirednesss, excessive tearing, redness, irritation, and blurriness of vision.

In a word, it’s called dry eyes, a condition caused by a combination of factors, Garcia adds. These are: deficiency of tear-producing organs in the eye that results in poor quality of tears and excessive evaporation of tears due to overexposure to environmental factors — for instance, wind, sun, computers, air-conditioning — that lessen a person’s blink rate (the less the blink rate, the greater the chances of tears evaporating).

The refreshing good news is that now, there’s GenTeal that offers soothing relief for dry eye symptoms by mimicking the composition of tears and restoring the dry environment of the eye surface. Its breakthrough preservative system, GenAqua, provides the benefits of having a preservative in the bottle and an un-preserved solution in the eye.

“In the long run, it is more cost-effective for users,” Garcia points out. “Preservatives protect against microbial contamination in eye solutions. However, once it is in the eye, it is no longer needed. Long-term exposure of the cornea to preservative may cause damage that may lead to complications. GenAqua, GenTeal’s unique preservative system, eliminates the danger of conventional preservatives. It is naturally and rapidly neutralized into water and oxygen by the eye enzymes, thus protecting the eyes from damage due to preservatives. This process takes only 60 seconds (GenTeal’s soothing effect can be felt as soon as it is dropped in the eye).”

Genteal On The Eyes

An added bonus is that GenTeal comes in a virtually preservative-free, multi-dose dropper bottle that you can carry with you anytime anywhere and use as often as you want. GenTeal also comes in two preparations: eye gel and eye drops, both available over the counter in drugstores nationwide. You can use the drops during the day and the gel at night.

Indeed, we can’t overlook the importance of eye care. Every day, our eyes are exposed to a lot of harmful things like aging, air and light, smoking, pollution, visual and mental fatigue, unhealthy diet, and stress.

“Oxidative stress can lead to age-related macular degeneration (AMD),” explains Maureen Calderon-Javier, Novartis Ophthalmics senior product manager. “This happens when our defense antioxidant systems are overcome by free radicals, creating a buildup of waste products that impedes nutritional exchange to and from the eye, causing accumulated damage which may result in a decline in visual acuity.”

As we get older, the incidence of eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma, and AMD increases. Javier stresses, “To prevent the development of eye diseases when you get older, it is very important to take care of your eyes while you’re still young.”

AMD, which destroys sharp, central vision, can lead to loss of vision. Affecting people over 60, its other risk factors are smoking, obesity, gender (women appear to be at greater risk than men), and an unhealthy lifestyle.

Clearly, to reduce AMD risk, one must quit smoking, eat healthy, and maintain an active lifestyle. “Yes, increase your exercise level,” Javier prescribes. “Protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays with a hat and sunglasses. Monitor your vision weekly with an Amsler Grid. Increase your intake of antioxidants in your daily diet. Consider taking a nutritional supplement, especially designed for AMD, such as Vitalux Plus. See a doctor for regular checkups, especially when you reach the age of 40.”

RX: Vitalux And Vitalux Plus For Eye Health

What specific nutrients or antioxidants are good for the eyes?

“Antioxidants like vitamins A, C, E, and zinc form one of the human body’s first lines of defense against free radicals. The National Eye Institute’s Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) found that taking a specific high-dose formulation of antioxidants and zinc significantly slows AMD progression by 25 percent and reduces the risk of advanced AMD and its associated vision loss.”

But the high levels of vitamins and minerals in the AREDS formulation are difficult to get from diet alone (most old people do not get to eat a well-balanced diet), which is why nutritional supplements like Vitalux and Vitalux Plus offer a convenient source of eye nutrients/antioxidants to help maintain good eye health and prevent the dreaded AMD.

Vitalux approximates the daily requirement of antioxidants needed to protect the eyes from early damage. Vitalux Plus, for people aged 50 and up, is a rich source of antioxidants to help reduce the risk of AMD.

Now, you see why you should take care of your eyes as if your life depended on it.