THE HEALTH RISKS OF ARTIFICIAL EYELASH

The fixing of Artificial eyelashes, otherwise known as fake lashes, has become a norm and an increasingly popular trend in the fashion world today. It is a must-have for women seeking a glamorous look. However, we should not neglect the health implications associated with it.
There are typically three types of Artificial Eyelashes;
1. Synthetic Lashes
2. Human hair lashes
3. Mink fur Lashes

Synthetic lashes are made from human-made materials, including rubber and other recyclable materials

Artificial Eyelash

Artificial eyelashes are also known as fake eyelashes and often serve as a supplement to the existing eyelashes or as a replacement.
Lash glues have been rated amongst the most toxic of all beauty products on the market today for its high concentration of chemicals such as formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde has been linked to developmental or reproductive toxicity, organ system toxicity, and neurotoxicity and is a confirmed carcinogen by the National Cancer Society.

All of the glues on the market today contain some form of harsh chemical ingredients such as latex cause allergic reactions in many individuals, ammonia, phthalates, and many others.

When the glue is drying and setting, it's also releasing these chemicals into the air that we are breathing and can cause asthma-like symptoms.

Current lash glue products that claim to not have harsh chemicals in them still actually do, including sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate.
Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate is a skin and eye irritant that can cause permanent damage to your eyes.
In addition to these health problems, these harsh chemicals are prematurely aging the eye area and making your lashes dry, brittle, and potentially sparse.

When clients go in to get their eyelashes fixed, one thing they dont typically worry about, or even think about is the type of glue used.
The most common type of glue used for fixing eyelashes in many busy centers is black bonding glue, which is originally meant to be used for hair and can be dangerous for the eye.

Black bonding glue is dangerous 

Black bonding glue forms a solid bond, and given the small surface area of a lash band, and the fact that eyelids are continually moving, that relationship will crack and weaken.

Here are some of the hazards that could be caused by the black bonding glue most people use for fixing their lashes.

A woman who got severe allergic reactions after using fake eyelashes

1. Damage of the real eyelashes- Most people tend to wear false lashes because their natural ones are neither lush nor long enough. Sadly, wearing the fake lashes regularly and also applying it with the black bonding glue puts stress on the hair follicles, exposes the eyes to different dangers, and eventually makes the real lashes to fall out and not grow back. Sometimes, in the course of the removal process, the glue gets sticky and removes the natural lashes with it.

2. They can trap bacteria- When applying glue to stick the eyelashes, you create a moist environment which makes the dirt to get caught and for bacteria to thrive.
Natural eyelashes protect the eyes from dust, foreign materials, and sweat, while low quality and unhygienic false lashes usually cause irritation and infection.

3. Eye sensitivity: The bonding glue can cause sensitivity and irritation to the skin. People with sensitive skin typically suffer from rashes and irritation due to adhesive. Eye irritation and tenderness can cause an infection that can lead to eye damage or even vision loss.

4. Trapping dirt: Hygiene wise, false eyelashes are a risk as they tend to trap dirt and bacteria, and this could lead to them infecting the eye. Whereas, Natural eyelashes prevent dirt, sweat, and bacteria from entering into the eyes, by trapping and keeping out anything that comes near the eyes.\

Information: for those in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, an eye doctor will be on air to discuss more on "Health Risk of Artificial Eye Lash" Stay tuned to "Orient FM 94.5

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World Sight Day 2016: NOA Collaborates With Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC)

The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) in collaboration with Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) presents WORLD SIGHT DAY 2016 with the theme: Universal Eye Health Call To Action: Stronger Together to create awareness on vision standards for safe driving. The event will take place on Thursday 13th of October 2016 in all the 36 states in Nigeria including the federal capital territory Abuja.

World Sight Day is a global event observed annually on the second Thursday of October with the common purpose of drawing attention on blindness and vision impairment. Originally, World Sight Day was initiated in the year 2000 by the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation. It has since been integrated into VISION 2020 and is coordinated by IAPB in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) in this year's World Sight Day will focus on drivers' vision; to create awareness on vision standards for safe driving and the key messages include the following:

• The prevalence of visual impairment in Nigeria is nearly 5 percent, and four out of five blind people are needlessly impaired.
• An estimated 23 percent of drivers worldwide have uncorrected vision and need spectacle correction to improve visual capacity while driving.
• An estimated 59 percent of accidents could be linked to causes associated with poor sight such as failure to use corrective lenses or glare related reasons.
• Risk of car crashes increases by 9 percent in visual impairment.
• Over 90 percent of decisions made behind the wheel depend on good vision.
• Good eyesight and visual perception are fundamental for safe driving.
• Many drivers are unaware that visual difficulties increase as light conditions change, due to lack of information about the role of sight in road safety.
• Any visual impairment will affect the ability of the driver to see road signs clearly at distant and near and will subsequently affect his ability to interact with other road users.
• Even though people with visual impairment try to compensate for their difficulties usually by avoiding crowded routes and slower driving, it is not enough to make up for a reduced ability to recognize road signs, hazards and pedestrians.
• When you drive with less than the set minimum requirement for safety driving, you endanger your live and that of the others. It is an offense!
• All drivers with blur distance vision due to refractive error should get their prescribed glasses and make sure they wear the glasses when driving.
• We need drivers with good vision to increase safety and reduce road traffic accidents on our roads.

Speed thrills but kills faster with blurred vision.

 It's better to lose a minute in life than to lose life in a minute. Please drive safely. All drivers, both commercial and private, should have their eyes tested annually.

Yes we can do it because we are stronger Together.

For More Enquiries, Call:

08076308041, 08023232668, 08033470065, 08033475138.

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How To Maximize Your Vision Using Lighting

Studies have shown that the quality and type of lighting can have a significant impact on our health and comfort.

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How To Locate And Remove Ocular Foreign Bodies

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In the eyes, there are four common sites where foreign bodies can easily lodge and they include the following: subtarsal site, superficial site, intra-ocular site and retained intra-ocular site.

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What Are The Causes Of Chemical Eye Injuries And How Can It Be Treated And Controlled

Most chemicals harm the eyes by direct contact with the external ocular tissues; these are amongst the most urgent ocular emergencies.

Concentratedsulphuric acid from exploding car batteries, household bleaches, detergents, disinfectants and lime are examples of chemicals that can cause burns to the eyes. However, it should not be forgotten that chemicals can also cause damage to the internal ocular structures, e.g. retina and optic nerve, through systemic absorption. 

Direct effect of chemicals

The main groups off chemicals that produce damage and that may be in the form of gas, vapor  liquid or solid are: organic solvents, surfactants, irritants and allergens, aerosols, alkali and acids.

Recommended: HazardousChemicals That Damage The Eyes

Indirect effects of chemicals

Chemicals come in various forms (solid, liquid, powder, dust, mist or vapor  and some can be toxic to the eye if they are accidentally ingested, absorbed or inhaled. Neurotoxic agents, such as organic solvents and heavy metals and their salts and alcohols, can cause optic neuritis or other ocular toxicities.

Treatment of chemical trauma

The ideal method of treatment is to neutralize the chemical. As this is often not possible and as time may be lost looking for the appropriate solution, immediate and prolonged irrigation of the eye with water or saline should be carried out. The faster the chemical is diluted, the better the prognosis. Water fountains, showers, etc. should be available in areas where chemicals are being used so that accidental spills or splashes of chemicals can be dowsed immediately with water.

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Recommended: Acid and Alkali Chemical Eye Injury

Irrigation should be continued for at least 20 minutes and the eye should not be padded, so that the tears continue to wash out any residual chemical. Any chemical particles that remain should also be removed. Various solutions are recommended for lime, mortar and plaster, including 11 percent disodium edetate, 10 percent ammonium tartrate, 10 percent glucose solution. For other alkali injuries, 2 percent boric acid or 2 percent acetic acid solutions are advised. For acid burns, 3.5 percent, sodium bicarbonate solution is advised.

In industries, an injured employee should be referred to the casualty department of the local hospital for further irrigation. Treatment then depends on the severity of the burn. In mild cases it may involve the instillation of topical antibiotics to prevent secondary infection and a mydriatic to dilate the pupil. The use of topical steroids is controversial. Whilst they have a beneficial effect in reducing the inflammatory reaction, they can retard the repair processes and hence lead to corneal melting and perforation.

In cases of alkali burns, citric acid has been shown to reduce the incidence of corneal ulceration in experiments by inhibiting polymorphs. Collagenase inhibiting, such as L-cysteine, have also been reported to have a beneficial effect in preventing ulcers in alkali burned corneas. The fitting of a scleral contact lens may help prevent adhesions of the bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva, i.e. symblepharon. A full thickness corneal graft may be necessary if the cornea is opaque but the prognosis is poor, especially if the cornea is vascularized.

Photo Credit: health.howstuffworks.com

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Does Your Job Involve Working Under High Temperature, How Does It Affect Your Vision

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Thermal or heat burns are of two types: flame and contact burns. These may be caused by hot bodies, fluids or gases. Burns usually involve the eye lids and not the globe, which will probably have been protected by the blink reflex. The characteristic picture is of marked oedema and tissue necrosis.

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Eye Damage From Sun and Ultraviolet Rays Exposure

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The most common sources of UV radiation, apart from sunlight, are germicidal lamps, high pressure mercury arc lamps, fluorescent lamps and welding arcs.

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Safe Driving Requires Good Vision

Vision is the one human sense that is absolutely essential for safe driving.  Although other senses relay important, but somewhat less essential, information to a driver, so that the appreciation of a situation is much improved, it is estimated that up to 90 percent of the information received is visual.

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Relationship Between Visual Function and Driving Performance: Part III

No driver should wear tinted spectacles at night because of the reduction in visual function, which is further reduced by tinted or dirty windscreens and by age. There is no real necessity to have a tinted windscreen.

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Relationship Between Visual Function and Driving Performance: Part II

Night Vision

It is often found that the accident rate relative to distance traveled during the hours of darkness, is greater than that during the hours of daylight. Accidents occurring at night are also more likely to result in fatalities or severe injuries, and the majority of accidents to pedestrians occur at night.

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Relationship Between Visual Function and Driving Performance: Part I

Static Visual Acuity

Good central visual acuity and its associated clear retinal image are necessary for the early recognition and reading of road signs. It also aids the early detection of small and hazardous objects, such as pedestrians, motorcycles and other obstacles in the roadway.

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