Who knew that the weather has so much to do with our eyes?
Blog vol 4.49. Who knew that the weather has so much to do with our eyes?
The Weather Network is a great online source for local weather, providing up-to-the-moment weather data. It is like having your own personal meteorologist. It is not like your grandmother’s weather report: temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and cloud cover. The Weather Network has daily high and low temperatures, humidex readings, air quality index, UV index, pollen counts, current radar data, daylight hours, phases of the moon, the seven-day forecast, the fourteen-day forecast, and even bug reports.
What does this have to do with eyes and eye health? Everything. Read on.
Poor air quality affects the heart and lungs, pretty important to the body. Body health = eye health. And if you are a naturalist, a birder, or an astronomer, poor air quality will affect visibility even through your Nikon binoculars or telescope.
High UV index means harmful sun rays. Time for SPF 40 sunscreen, sun shades (we like Maui Jim), a wide-brim hat, and conservative amounts of sun exposure to the skin and the eyes.
High pollen counts trigger seasonal histamine production (allergies), requiring anti-histamines, oral and/or eye drops, a mask to screen pollen from your air passages, and other symptom-reducing measures. My sympathies to all of you allergy sufferers out there.
Bug reports tell of mosquito, black fly, and deer fly numbers (for good reason), but they also indicate high insect activity, like deer tick numbers (carriers of Lyme disease). Again, body health = eye health.
Just for fun, the phases of the moon, for night walks, and you more astrological types. The full phase will detrimentally affect your view of the night sky, ironically, though it will make for a lovely nighttime walk.
Impending rain, snow, storms, or fog affect road visibility. This affects your vision though there is not much to do about it except stay off the roads when possible.
All of this eye and vision information, and all from one report.
Til next week,
The good doctor
