Eye Health or Protecting a Valuable Asset

Sight is one of our most cherished senses. We read, appreciate art, observe nature and connect with loved ones by gazing into these “windows of the soul.” We spend good money on cosmetics to enhance the eyes’ natural beauty, and it just makes sense to promote our eyes’ health as well.

Easy steps include wearing sunglasses and hats outdoors, eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress and avoiding cigarette smoke. Some medicinal plants also might be worth incorporating into the routine.

Herbs for Eye Health

Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) has long been a folk remedy for the eyes. Most natural food stores contain teas, tinctures and homeopathic eyedrops made from this herb. A South African study found that eyebright eyedrops hastened recovery from conjunctivitis (redness and discharge caused by irritation of the outside lining of the eye). Extracts lower blood sugar in diabetic rats. Whether the same effect holds for humans isn’t yet known.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) improves blood flow to the retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye). Preliminary research suggests extracts improve vision in people with glaucoma. It is also antioxidant and protects nerve cells, including those in the eye.

Coleus (Coleus forskohlii) contains forskolin. Forskolin eyedrops have been shown to reduce the production of fluid within the eye, thereby reducing pressure. Therefore, it may have relevance in the treatment of glaucoma.

Green tea (Camellia sinensis) contains antioxidants, which mop up free radicals—substances that create the so-called oxidative damage underlying many chronic diseases, including glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts. Furthermore, lab studies show that treating retinal cells with green tea’s polyphenols protects them from damage from ultraviolet light. (Such damage raises the risk for macular degeneration. UV light also contributes to cataracts.)

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) contains potent antioxidant flavonoids called anthocyanins. Its American botanical cousins blueberry and cranberry also contain such chemicals. During World War II, Royal Air Force pilots reported that eating bilberry jam improved their night vision. While initial studies supported such claims, more recent trials have not shown that bilberry benefits include a significant improvement in night vision. Most studies have used healthy volunteers with normal or above-average eyesight. Whether or not bilberry extracts might benefit elders with deteriorating night vision remains to be seen. One recent study did find that anthocyanins from another berry—black currant (Ribes nigrum)—hastened adaptation to the dark and also reduced eye fatigue.

Preliminary studies in humans from the 1980s suggested promise for managing cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Studies in laboratory rats show extracts may defend against cataracts and glaucoma. In other studies, extracts protect nerve cells in the retina, strengthen blood vessels, improve circulation, and block the formation of new blood vessels, a process involved in diseases of the retina such as diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. Leaf and berry extracts also have an antidiabetic effect—a relevant action, given the high risk of eye diseases among diabetics.

Many herbs, fruits and vegetables have antioxidant power. Garlic (Allium sativum) is one. Preliminary lab research suggests it may help prevent cataracts. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) contains the potent antioxidant curcumin, which has been shown to protect against cataract formation in rats, both alone and in combination with vitamin E.

Get the Right Supplements

A vitamin and mineral formula called AREDS may slow down dry macular degeneration as it moves to the more serious wet stage. It's a research-tested blend of nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and beta-carotene. The updated AREDS2 formula added lutein, zeaxanthin, and omega-3 fatty acids and removed beta-carotene, which might be safer for smokers. Beta-carotene is linked to a higher risk of lung cancer in people who smoke.

Get Moving

Exercise has surprising benefits for your vision. It strengthens your heart muscle so it can pump more oxygen-rich blood to your eyes. Staying fit also helps control your weight and prevent obesity, which puts you at risk for macular degeneration.

Food for Eye Health

Bell Peppers
Bell peppers give you the most vitamin C per calorie. That's good for the blood vessels in your eyes, and science suggests it could lower your risk of getting cataracts. It's found in many vegetables and fruits, including bok choy, cauliflower, papayas, and strawberries. Heat will break down vitamin C, so go raw when you can. Brightly colored peppers also pack eye-friendly vitamins A and E.

Sunflower Seeds and Nuts
An ounce of these seeds or almonds has half the amount of vitamin E the USDA recommends for adults each day. A large study found that vitamin E, together with other nutrients, can help slow age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from getting worse. It may also help prevent cataracts. Hazelnuts, peanuts (technically legumes), and peanut butter are also good sources of vitamin E.

Dark, Leafy Greens
Kale, spinach, and collard greens, for example, are rich in both vitamins C and E. They also have the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. These plant-based forms of vitamin A lower your risk of long-term eye diseases, including AMD and cataracts. Most people who eat Western diets don't get enough of them.

They're high in antioxidants and other nutrients that support eye health, like lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. Kale, broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts are loaded with them. Sauté these veggies in olive oil for an extra nutrition boost.

Eat More Fish
It's high in omega-3s, healthy fats that boost your eye and heart health. Try salmon, trout, sardines, tuna, and mackerel. Aim for two servings of fish each week, or ask your doctor if fish oil supplements are a good idea for you.

Salmon
Your retinas need two types of omega-3 fatty acids to work right: DHA and EPA. You can find both in fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, and trout, as well as other seafood. Omega-3s also seem to protect your eyes from AMD and glaucoma. Low levels of these fatty acids have been linked to dry eyes.

Sweet Potatoes
Orange-colored fruits and vegetables -- like sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, mangos, and apricots -- are high in beta-carotene, a form of vitamin A that helps with night vision, your eyes' ability to adjust to darkness. One sweet potato also has more than half the vitamin C you need in a day and a little vitamin E.

Lean Meat and Poultry
Zinc brings vitamin A from your liver to your retina, where it's used to make the protective pigment melanin. Oysters have more zinc per serving than any other food, but you don't have to be a shellfish lover to get enough: Beef, pork, and chicken (both dark and breast meat) are all good sources.

Beans and Legumes
Prefer a vegetarian, low-fat, high-fiber option to help keep your vision sharp at night and slow AMD? Chickpeas are also high in zinc, as are black-eyed peas, kidney beans, and lentils. A can of baked beans will do the job, too.

Eggs
It's a great package deal: The zinc in an egg will help your body use the lutein and zeaxanthin from its yolk. The yellow-orange color of these compounds blocks harmful blue light from damaging your retina. They help boost the amount of protective pigment in the macula, the part of your eye that controls central vision.

Your body can't make lutein and zeaxanthin, but you can get them from squash all year long. Summer squash also has vitamin C and zinc. The winter kind will give you vitamins A and C as well as omega-3 fatty acids, too.

These related veggies come with another winning combination of nutrients: vitamin A (as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene), vitamin C, and vitamin E. They're all antioxidants that protect the cells in your eyes from free radicals, a type of unstable molecule that breaks down healthy tissue. Your retinas are especially vulnerable.

Squash
Your body can't make lutein and zeaxanthin, but you can get them from squash all year long. Summer squash also has vitamin C and zinc. The winter kind will give you vitamins A and C as well as omega-3 fatty acids, too.

Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts
These related veggies come with another winning combination of nutrients: vitamin A (as lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene), vitamin C, and vitamin E. They're all antioxidants that protect the cells in your eyes from free radicals, a type of unstable molecule that breaks down healthy tissue. Your retinas are especially vulnerable.

Keep Your Blood Pressure Low

Your eyes rely on a steady stream of oxygen carried by blood vessels that run through them. High blood pressure can damage the vessels and your heart's pumping ability. You can keep it under control with diet, exercise, and medicine if needed.

Get Cholesterol Under Control

A fatty substance called LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, not only raises your chance of having heart disease, it's also a problem for your vision. In macular degeneration, cholesterol can build up in your eyes and form deposits called drusen that affect how well you see. To lower your LDL, limit saturated fat in your diet, exercise for 30 minutes a day, and take statin drugs if you need them.

For Eye Health, Control Blood Sugar

Elevated levels of glucose (sugar) damage proteins, generate free radicals and accelerate aging. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. People with this disease carry an increased risk of cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Even in people without diabetes, high-glycemic diets (those rich in simple carbohydrates, which rapidly increase blood glucose) have been linked to a heightened risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Can anyone offer other suggestions?  Or herbs that feel are beneficial for eye health?

I have heard that chamomile is a good general eye tonic.

I can tell you what not to do: first always wear safety glasses because my eyes are riddled with scars from the drilling of steel fragment out of my eyes. I was a welder and we had to use die grinders to shape our welds and remove slag and foreign material to pass x-ray. In the building of ships this meant being in cramped spaces with pneumatic tools. These die grinders cut the steel by ripping it minutely, so it has jagged edges that get caught in your eyes. As soon as you would pull the trigger you were covered in dust and thus got LOTS of eye injuries.

Also protect your eyes from weld flash. Even a pair of regular safety glasses will deter the ultra violet light, but obviously need a dark shield over them. Use the right lens: stick welding is about shade 10, but wire feed can be 11 or 12 based on whether or not the weld is flux core or pulse. For those that have never experienced weld flash...don't! It feels like someone took sand,put it on a frying pan then tossed it in your eyes. You cannot get the pain away except by going to the emergency room. It basically is the light frying your eye balls so bad that your eyes are blistering inside from the burn. yes painful and I lost count of the number of times that has happened. They say the eyes heal from this,but dozens of times? I am not sure.


I have also got a few eye injuries from logging; limbs springing back and raking me across the eyes, and sticks jabbing straight into my eyes.

At 43 years old I don't have to wear glasses yet, but I am close they say!

Poor vision afflicts people worldwide, limiting certain daily activities and leading to expensive prescription glasses and contacts.


Our eyes require a number of key nutrients to properly function.

Beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin protect the macula (a part of the eye that is near the center of the retina) from sun damage. Along with macular protection, foods rich in these nutrients also have been found to prevent age-related macular generation — a leading cause of blindness. Some of these foods include dark leafy greens, egg yolks, yellow peppers, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and carrots.

DHA is a fatty acid that can be found in coldwater fish like wild salmon, krill, and cod. The easiest way to consume DHA is through supplementation. A high-quality mercury-free fish oil supplement will provide structural support for the eyes through strengthening cell membranes.


If you want to know how to improve your eyesight, just think about how to stimulate muscle growth.  Believe it not, the muscles in your eyes need to be exercised too

Warm up the eyes: Rub your hands together to create warmth, and then put them over your eyes for 5 seconds. Repeat this process 3 times.

Roll your eyes: Starting by looking at the ceiling, slowly roll your eyes 10 clockwise and 10 times counter-clockwise.

Focus: Hold a pen an arm’s length away. Focus your vision on it, and then slowly bring the pen forward until it is about 6 inches away from your nose. Slowly move the pen back to its original position. Repeat this process 10 times.

Massage your temples: Using the knuckles of your thumbs, gently massage your temples in small circles. Perform the motion in one direction 20 times, and then 20 times once more in the opposite direction.


Many environmental factors contribute to poor vision. Fluorescent lights, computer screens, environmental allergens, chlorine in swimming pools, air conditioning and heating, reading in dim lighting, and constant rubbing of the eyes all play a role in diminishing your vision. In addition, cigarette use increase optic pressure, which can result in a number of damaging consequences.


Your eyes need rest. For every 50 minutes spent reading or sitting in front of a computer screen, give your eyes a rest for 10 minutes. Cupping your hands over your closed eyes ensuring that no light is reaching them is a great way to relax them. Be sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night for not only rested and recovered eyes, but a rested and recovered body as well.


http://naturalsociety.com/4-ways-to-improve-your-vision/

Good advice on eye protection, not knowledgable to weigh in on herbs, etc., but thought I would share the advice given me by an elderly eye doctor (published popular textbooks, etc) on eye health. Two things, wear good sunglasses always when out in the sun, and, put a damp cloth over your eyes to rest and moisturize them every day.

Thanks Anne, for the long foods list. Travis, my mate had to have a tiny piece of metal removed that infected his eye, the doctor remarked that his eye was scarred like the surface of the moon. And he's a builder, i mean not always busy with grinding and or drilling metal. But blistered from the inside, you're lucky to have retained your eye sight. I am a builder as well, my eyes are constantly at risk , i've recently bought a hard case containing goggles i have hanging from my toolbelt. Handy if i'm on a scaffold and am tempted not to go down to look for eye protection.
When i was an adventurous young man, i stayed in a nature reserve, wild camping for a week and noticed that after a week my eye sight had improved, my far sight was loads better and i had bettered my 3D awareness. Looking out i had a better idea of the distances between me and the shrubs closer to me and further and the hills in the back ground. I don't know if this makes any sense to anyone, but i know what i mean and i mean it.
Later in life my 3D awareness improved further because of technical drawings and building, which is such an important skill to have, that i am amazed it's not something they teach in school. It's got nothing to do with eyesight itself, but becoming 3D aware saves so much money/materials/time/energy, being able to repair almost anything it is something permies should pay attention too. I'm new here, maybe there is a whole forum about it. Old handyman complaining about 3D unaware youngsters. Would make my day.

Your eyes are burning, itchy, and tired. It’s a common condition but rarely serious called Eye Fatigue. You can take simple steps to prevent or ease this problem.

Anything that requires intense eye use can cause fatigue. Some of the most common are:  Reading, Writing or Driving.  If you look at bright light or spend time in a place that’s too dim or too bright, it can also tire your eyes.

Your eyes might get tired easily if you stare for long periods at a computer, smartphone, or game console. Some estimates say computer-related eye symptoms may be responsible for up to 10 million eye doctor visits a year.

You may not notice your vision is worse until the damage is done. Serious eye diseases that come with age, like glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration, often start in middle age. Get an eye exam every 1 to 2 years. That’s the best way to find vision problems and get them treated as early as possible.

Too much Computer screen time can make your eyes tired and dry and give you headaches. But there’s no proof it leads to permanent damage. Even so, it’s a good idea to take a break every so often. Follow the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, take your eyes off the screen. Focus on an object at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

You can’t control genetics and aging. So yeah, you may need reading glasses or have a trouble when you try to drive at night. But you can do things to stave off other problems:
   Eat well.
   Don’t smoke.
   Protect your eyes from sunlight.
   Get regular eye checkups.

Your work habits:
   Try the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
   Post a note that says "Blink" on your computer as a reminder.
   Take regular breaks from computer work.

Your eye-care routine:
   Apply a washcloth soaked in warm water to tired, dry eyes (keep your eyes closed).
   Use artificial tears to refresh your eyes when they feel dry.
   To help prevent dry eyes while indoors, use an air cleaner to filter dust and a humidifier to add moisture to the air.

Great post Anne, thank you. A herbologist was able to find the eyebright flower on my land, I never would've spotted it without her help. I've personally noticed more fatigue when reading the iPad in bed with a light in the evening. Looking forward to focusing more on the foods in your list for preventive/pro-active measures for good eye health.

Another resource is the Eyebody book, by Peter Grunwald--not all of it is very clearly written, but one basic idea is "take off your glasses."  If you wear glasses, you're reducing the exercise that your eyes can get.  The health of eyes is related to the health of the whole body, of how we move.

If you have strong glasses, try taking them off for a brief period of time each day, and accept the blur.  

Notice what you're up to when you are working at a close-up task, what are your habits of movement?

Maybe over time you can reduce dependency on glasses.  (Don't try it out while driving!)  The idea is analogous to "barefoot shoes" or "barefoot running."  Which when I was little we used to just call "running barefoot."

A few times last summer I gave myself blurry vision in the course of an hour, and then managed to regain my clear sight again.  I thought, Imagine if i didn't know that I was just working out of whack and went to an eye doctor and got a prescription and believed that my eyes were just getting weak.  I wasn't capable enough to get myself into better coordination when working, but I did at least not "solve" the problem and thereby create a new problem.

I think it's a little like

I like the quote, "The eyes are the lamp of the body.  If thine eyes are single then thy whole body shall be full of light. . ."  

Thanks, Joshua for this information.  

Somewhere here on permies I read about a doctor who "smashed glasses" as he didn't believe people needed to wear glasses.

I can't find that now though it might have been Dr Bates.  

The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses by William H. Bates

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_method


I really dislike the antiquated process that Optometrists use for prescribing glasses.  It seems to me after all this time someone would have come up with a way to use computers to generate eye glass prescriptions. Or at least some other process. The "which looks better - this one or this one" was fine for the early 1900's.  This process is an accident waiting to happen.



Here are a couple of other permies threads related to eyes:

https://permies.com/t/48956/kitchen/rid-eye-floaters-naturally

https://permies.com/t/67170/kitchen/Macular-degeneration


This is a helpful article:

https://wellnessmama.com/36927/improve-eyesight/

Here are some highlights:


We now all do these eye relaxation practices before starting school each day to help avoid eye fatigue and to help my daughter correct her vision:

   Warm palms by rubbing hands together for a few seconds and loosely place over eyes for 10-20 seconds to warm and relax eyes
   Stand with feet at shoulder width apart and rotate the upper body while swinging arms side to side (without moving the hips)
   Massage temples and back of neck to loosen neck muscles and relax forehead
   Trace the shape of an “8” on its side with the eyes while looking at a wall
   Roll the eyes in circles in each direction
   Place the eraser side of a pencil on the nose, point the pencil at an object across the room and trace the object with the point of the pencil while keeping the eyes on the tip of the pencil
   Hold the same pencil at arms length and focus on the eraser. Slowly bring it closer to the eyes until it is about 6 inches from the eyes and then slowly bring it back out to arms length- keep the focus on the eraser the entire time. Repeat 6-12 times per day.
   Wear an eye patch on the good eye for about an hour a day to encourage the bad eye to communicate with the brain more effectively (her trouble was on her left side and this seems to have helped her)

Though these exercises are not a replacement for modern eye care, they have helped our daughter to slowly work up to better vision without the need for increasingly strong glasses.


We focused on increasing omega-3 and DHA rich foods like fatty fish and fermented cod liver oil (which is also a great source of Vitamin A- another important vitamin for eye health). We also make sure to consume a lot of lutein rich foods like leafy greens as well as foods high in Vitamin C (we also supplement with Vitamin C).


Because vision exists in the brain, not the eyes, it is possible to improve and even rehabilitate our eyes instead of just correct them.

http://www.drsamberne.com/eye-exercises/

I'd like to stress the importance of getting regular professional eye tests. If you don't know what is wrong then any kind of action is going to be - at best - a stab in the dark.

I had my eyes tested recently for the first time as an adult. They diagnosed slight long-sightedness and increased intra-occular pressure (a common warning sign for glaucoma). I had no idea about either of these. The glasses have cured my regular headaches and the IOP is under regular monitoring. I've always had "excellent" vision and had no indications at all that I should be taking any particular steps to care for them.

Michael Cox wrote:I'd like to stress the importance of getting regular professional eye tests. If you don't know what is wrong then any kind of action is going to be - at best - a stab in the dark.

This thread is bringing up some excellent ideas and advice for eye health.

As Michael says though, don't neglect  regular professional eye tests.

...and if you know your family has a history of glaucoma don't hesitate to get regular pressure tests and the peripheral vision exam that can tell you if you are losing optic nerve function...

I let my exams go for a number of years...when I caught up I found I had a lot of optic nerve damage due to glaucoma along with way past due cataracts.

Cataract removal and lens implants gave me perfect straight ahead vision without glasses for the first time since third grade....amazing how sharp and colorful everything was and still is after those surgeries...the loss was so gradual over years I was becoming used to it.

On the down side glaucoma took away enough of my peripheral vision that I can't drive anymore (and we finally have a hybrid car that is a joy to drive).

I think all of the advice given in this thread is great, I would just add in an occasional visit to an ophthalmologist  

Thank you for sharing this information.  During the last year, the number of 'floaters' in my eyes has increased at least by ten times.  In addition, I've developed two blurry spots in my right eye, and one in my left eye.  The optometrist calls these P.V.D.'s.  The number of floaters and blurry spots has steadily increased to where they are now, and i'm not sure i have seen the end of this increase.  I've been to the optometrist twice, but he said there is nothing that can be done for these blurry spots or to prevent more of them.  

I started drinking bilberry tea, and making a saline eyewash in the tea as well to put drops in my eyes twice a day.  I wear blue light blocking glasses when using my work computer, and at home I use an app called "Iris" to remove most of the blue light.  I rest my eyes from the computer every 20 minutes if I'm on a for a long period of time.  I got rid of my cell phone plan to reduce my screen time and got a home line and home phone instead.  I take fermented cod liver oil.  my diet consists of daily gelatinous broths with cooked vegetables.  I heat up the soup and then add some freshly cut uncooked vegetables to the hot soup, then sometimes a few raw eggs and some miso.  I also eat a lot of animal fats, butter and coconut oil whenever possible, mostly when i fry something.  i recently added in raw milk and kefir - 2 quarts a day, and eliminated the wild rice i'd been eating a lot of, since it's clear that i'm not digesting the rice well anyway - even though i cook it one hour and twenty minutes to a very soft consistency!  i make sure i chew my food well.   i don't eat sugar anymore except what comes in fruit, although i don't eat a ton of fruit, especially in winter and spring, living in the midwest.  i eat dried fruit occasionally in kefir after lunch.  i also eat avocados, although they are not local!  i don't eat grains except very occasionally organic bread or something.  

i recently bought a juicer too.  i stubbornly resisted buying this for many years becuase i don't like buying lots of stuff or having lots of stuff or kitchen appliances, but i'm scared about what's happening to my eyes, and feeling somewhat desperate.  of course my eyes aren't the only thing deteriorating in my body, but it has scared me the most thus far because vision is....important?  critical!  to see the skies, and the sunset and the beautiful flowers!    i just got the juicer set up yesterday so we'll see how this progresses.  

if anyone has any further ideas for me, that would be great!   i'm working with a holistic dentist to address the TMJ / TMD issues i've had for a long time.  i know that the nerves from the trigeminal nerve go to the teeth and the eyes, so i'm wondering if this dysfunctoin is playing a large part in my eye degeneration.  i'm currently wearing orthotics, which fit over my back bottom molars on each side (just two little pieces of plastic that the dentist molded onto my teeth after making them soft with a blowtorch--- heheh, yes it was neato to watch him do it).  these orthotics allowed my mandible (lower jaw) to come forward for the first time (gradually, over time).  before, i couldn't move my mandible forward at all - it was very 'stuck' shall we say.  once my mandible came forward, my top and bottom front teeth were aligned, but this revealed the gap in between my top and bottom molars on both sides (this is called the bicuspid dropoff) ----


What Happens When you Breathe through your Mouth and not by the Nose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMr4p5SQe5s

From the beginning of the video, culminating in 1:24, the narrator describes the process which leads to a malformation of the lower jaw or arch during a child’s development.  This malformation is called: the bicuspid drop-off.


anyway!  i have this bicuspid dropoff, or gap between the molars, and the orthotics fill in those gaps.  i pop them off my bottom molars when eating, which of course is aggravating to my system but i can't effectively chew with them on.  i'm working with someone who directs me to do very silly-looking exercises to retrain some cranial nerve / reflexes, tongue positions, and swallow, and when i hit some milestones, i will get an ALF appliance to expand my mandible and maxilla bones, and then ???  not sure where treatment goes after that.  i've read in Chapter 9 of "Cure Tooth Decay" by Ramiel Nagel that sometimes dentists are able to convince people's molars to 'erupt' further (come out of the gums further) to eliminate the gaps that never should have been.  i think in some cases this doesn't work and then the dentists fills in the gap manually by building the bottom molars up (and the top molars 'down'?) with composite.


just wanted to share.  scared about the eyes...

Thanks for sharing about your situation, Peter.

I think it can't hurt to try the Eyebody exercises, the main ones take about five minutes to do.  I don't remember if the book addresses floaters specifically, but it helps eye health in general, worth a shot.

Taking breaks while working at the computer sounds wise.  I assume you look around at the world around you when you do that?  that's a helpful balance to focusing narrowly.  

Do you notice the floaters being more frequent at some times than at others?  any other clues about what started it?

"Most eye floaters are caused by age-related changes that occur as the jelly-like substance (vitreous) inside your eyes becomes more liquid. Microscopic fibers within the vitreous tend to clump and can cast tiny shadows on your retina." Jan 31, 2018  

--Grandmother Google/the Mayo Clinic


I would think therefore that exercising the eyes--or, better still, allowing hte eyes to get exercise--would help stir up the clumped fibers.  Anything that can keep the liquid mobile--changing eye shape.  By "allowing the eyes to get exercise" I mean not wearing glasses to make their job easy, at least for a few minutes a day.  Sort of analogous to barefoot shoes.  If you don't have glasses, then it may be that the way you tend to sit when working at your computer has you compressing your eyes, probably also your neck, excessively.  That's my guess without more info.  

Gazing at the distance sometimes is helpful; looking at things up close when not feeling pressured sometimes.  

https://permies.com/t/48956/kitchen/rid-eye-floaters-naturally  oh--probably you already saw this from the "related threads" but hey, just in case.  "how to get rid of floaters naturally"

thanks for all the suggestions.  When i take breaks I do look at the world all around me.  To be honest, there are so many floaters now, and with the blurry spots, it seriously impairs my enjoyment when hiking and being outside, as there is more open space and sky to notice everything blocking my view.  

I don't wear glasses.  

i had my first floater or two around age 20.  at age 27, i got the Hep B vaccine while i was in nursing school as they told me i needed that to shadow in the hospital and i knew nothing about its potential for adverse effect, nor did i knowthat i could decline.  within two weeks after the vaccine, i started having abdominal spasms - my nerves were hypersensitve.  i would spasm would i was startled by loud noises, when i didn't get enough sleep the night before, when i layed down after being up on my feet for a while or sitting for a while.  also when i experienced some intense emotions, including affection.  they also happened when i becmae more and more in pain from trudging through the day.  i've had back pain since age 11 but the pain got way worse in the two weeks after the vaccine.  at that same time, my digestion went haywire, and i stopped digesting and therefore i'm assuming, absorbing my food well.  my scalp suddenly became full of execessive dandruff.  it's seriosuly like winter all the time.  i got tons of acne.  i started losing even more hair.  sciatica.  the list goes on and on.  i dind't figure it out until i had already gotten three doses of it.  one yera after my last dose is the first time i felt some relief with the pain.

about one year after that, which means two years after the vaccine, i started getting more and more floaters.  then the blurry spots.  then more floaters.  i  think the number of floaters has steadily increased every week. i have another one i noticed yesterday.  instead of it being the usual dot, this one is a dot with a tail, like a comet.

i'll check out that thread you mentioned - i did not read that to date.

i'm on GAPS/WEston A Price diet, cod liver oil, etc, and lots of veg., take herbs/teas, etc.  i'm going to start juicing today.  i don't understand what's happening to my body, but it feels very old, very dry though i drink lots of water and eat lots of gelatinous broth every day.   i'm still in pain, but not as bad as it was the first year of the vaccines. like i said, still working through holistic dental treatment.  

some days i feel really scared about my eyes.  it feels like there is no one to turn to, as the optometrist has no answers.  people cure cancer with juicing, so i'm hoping it helps me!