Cataracts & Charcoal?

When the doctor handed me my new eye prescription, she said that in about ten years, or possibly sooner, I would need cataract surgery because I had the beginning of cataracts. But I was thinking, no way. I know what I can do to prevent this.

I had gotten lazy about doing eye exercises and wearing my eye pad at night, but I got right back into it.

Eye Exercises

For the exercises, I would squeeze my eyes as tight as possible and hold it as long as I could. When I became tired, I would open my eyes wide and then look hard to the left, hard to the right, up, and down, and do crazy eights with my eyes. I would rest for a minute and then do it a few more times.

I did these exercises throughout the day whenever it was convenient to do so.

Nighttime Eye Pad

At night, I would place a very warm, moist eye pad pressed firmly against my closed eyes and wear it all night as I slept, or at least try to. Sometime during the night, I usually unknowingly yanked it off, but it would be against my eyes for at least four or more hours a night.

Two Years Later

A good two years later, I was back in the optometrist’s office getting my eyes checked for a new prescription. My eyes did not get weaker. However, I wanted new glasses, and they will not fill the order with a prescription older than two years.

The doctor handed me my new prescription and said all was good. I asked her about the cataracts. She gave me a quizzical look, started thumbing through my history, and then waved me off with a, “You’re fine, just fine!”