Blinking spreads the tears across one side of our eye to the other. This helps in protecting our eyes as it acts to keep them moist and therefore, preventing them from drying out.

Despite the sun being over 93 million miles away, its rays can pose important health and ocular damages. The main danger caused by the sun is ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Many people are aware of the health risks to our skin from UV radiation but oblivious to the harm it can cause our eyes.

If your eyes are exposed to large amounts of UV radiation for a short period of time, you may experience symptoms such as gritty feeling in the eyes, sensitivity to light, red eyes, excessive tearing and a foreign body sensation. This is caused by 'sunburn of the eye', a condition known as photokeratitis. This generally doesn't cause any long term damage.

If you are exposed to longer or more excessive forms of UV radiation, more serious conditions can arise. For example, prolonged exposure can result in the formation of cataracts, skin cancer, pterigia (tissue growth on the surface of the eye) or damage to retina. Most which are irreversible. 

Sunglasses are therefore recommended as they help to protect the eye ultraviolet light and also any other natural radiation the eyes may encounter.

 The medical term for the twitching of the eye is myokymia. This is a common phenomenon which is almost always completely harmless. It is often associated with fatigue, with other factors including increased stress level and too much caffeine. Gentle massaging of the eye seems to relieve the twitching sensation and catching up on lost sleep will usually cause its disappearance.

Every body’s eye colour is determined by the levels of melanin in the cells of the outside layer of the iris. Although we all contain on average, the same number of these cells, the amount of melanin varies. Melanin, which is also present in the skin and hair, absorbs light and it is this which gives the eye its colour.

If there is a large amount of melanin present in your iris, your eye colour is brown. However, if you have relatively low levels of melanin, you appear to have blue eyes. The reason why this occurs is because low levels of melanin actually give you yellow colouring. However, the collagen present in the iris reflects all colours except blue and grey, which is why your eyes appear blue.

An ophthalmologist is a physician who has undergone four years of medical school, training in all aspects of medicine. They have then gone on to complete an internship and residency program lasting at least another four years. This qualifies them to specialize in the diagnosis and treatment (including surgery) of all eye disorders. They can then go in to more depth in one field of their studies i.e. the lens or cornea, to become even more specialized.

It is now a common phenomenon to hear of eye fatigue and discomfort whilst using computers due to their increased use throughout work and at home. However, research has shown that there is little or no harmful radiation for example, x rays or ultraviolet radiation, released from computer screens.

Although no damaging agents released from computers have been found, computer users often complain of headaches, eye strains, fatigue, dry eyes etc. These are not caused by the computer itself, rather the environment surrounding the user. For example, poor lighting or unsuitable arrangement of computer furniture or equipment causes these symptoms.