HOW EYELASH LENGTH KEEPS YOUR EYES HEALTHY

It started with a trip to the basement of the American Museum of Natural History in New York to inspect preserved animal hides. Later, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers built a wind tunnel about 2 feet tall, complete with a makeshift eye. By putting both steps together, the team discovered that 22 species of mammals -- from humans, to hedgehogs, to giraffes -- are the same: their eyelash length is one-third the width of their eye. Anything shorter or longer, including the fake eyelashes that are popular in Hollywood and make-up aisles, increases airflow around the eye and leads to more dust hitting the surface.

 Eyelashes form a barrier to control airflow and the rate of evaporation on the surface of the cornea," said Guillermo Amador, a Georgia Tech Ph.D. candidate in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering who authored the study. "When eyelashes are shorter than the one-third ratio, they have only a slight effect on the flow. Their effect is more pronounced as they lengthen up until one-third. After that, they start funneling air and dust particles into the eye."

The study is currently published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Amador and the research team, which is led by Assistant Professor David Hu, sent a student to the museum in 2012 to measure eyes and eyelashes of various animals. Aside from an elephant, which has extremely long eyelashes, every species studied had evolved to the same ratio of lash length to eye width.

The team then built the wind tunnel to re-create air flows on a mimic of an adult, human eye. A 4-millimeter deep, 20-millimeter diameter aluminum dish served as the cornea. It sat on top of an acrylic plate, which imitated the rest of the face. Mesh surrounded the dish to replicate the eyelashes.

They discovered the ideal ratio while varying the mesh length during evaporation and particle deposition studies.

"As short lashes grew longer, they reduced air flow, creating a layer of slow-moving air above the cornea," said Hu. "This kept the eye moist for a longer time and kept particles away. The majority of air essentially hit the eyelashes and rolled away from the eye."

The opposite process occurred with longer eyelashes. The lashes extended further into the airflow and created a cylinder. The air and its molecules channeled toward the eye and led to faster evaporation.

"This is why long, elegant, fake eyelashes aren't ideal," said Amador. "They may look good, but they're not the best thing for the health of your eyes."

There are exceptions, though. The research team notes that people who can't grow eyelashes could wear fake ones, if they're the correct length, for extra protection and to reduce dry eye.

"Even if they're not the correct length, more eyelashes are always better than less," said Alexander Alexeev, an associate professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering. "If fake eyelashes are dense enough, they may give the same overall effect in protecting the eye even if they are longer than one-third."

The team also says the findings could be used to create eyelash-inspired filaments to protect solar panels, photographic sensors or autonomous robots in dusty environments.

HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES FOR DARK CIRCLES UNDER EYES

If you get plenty of sleep and still have dark circles under your eyes, that's not unusual. Fatigue isn't the only reason for dark circles under your eyes. What appear to be dark circles under your eyes are sometimes just shadows cast by puffy eyelids or hollows under your eyes that develop as a normal part of ageing.

Causes

Fatigue is the most common cause of dark circles under your eyes. Sometimes, what appear to be dark circles under your eyes may merely be shadows cast by puffy eyelids or hollows under your eyes that develop as a normal part of aging.

Some of the most common causes of true under-eye circles are:

·         Allergies

·         Eczema

·         Contact dematitis

·         Fatigue

·         Allergic rhinitis

·         Heredity — dark under-eye circles can run in families

·         Pigmentation irregularities — these are a particular concern for people of color, especially blacks and Asians

·         Rubbing or scratching your eyes

·         Sun exposure, which prompts your body to produce more melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color

·         Thinning skin and loss of fat and collagen — common as you age — can make the reddish-blue blood vessels under your eyes more obvious

HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES

Homoeopathic remedies are very effective for treating dark circles around the eyes. Some of the important remedies are given below--

PHOSPHORIC ACID 30-Phosphoric Acid is an excellent   remedy for dark circles around or below eyes due to fatigue. The eyes are surrounded with bluish rings. The person needing Phosphoric Acid is very weak. If the weakness shows in both the physical and mental planes, Phosphoric Acid is the remedy. The face of such a person appears pale and the eyes are surrounded by bluish rings. The person also looks very tired and fatigued. Weakness arising out of sexual excesses is also included as a causative factor. A history of mental grief associated with Dark Circles often suggests the use of  Phosphoric Acid. The person shows a marked weariness and is exhausted either mentally or physically or both. The combination of two hallmark symptoms suggesting the use of  Phosphoric Acid is marked weakness and dark circles around eyes. 

FERRUM MET 30-Ferrum Met is  linked to anemia. The face appears pale in anemic conditions and the veins under the eyes stand dominantly with a bluish appearance.  The dark circles around eyes is best solved with the use of Ferrum Met and this remedy can be safely used when dark circlesare linked to anemia. The face gives a pale appearance with prominent dark circles around the eyes. General weakness due to decreased blood is also noted in most persons requiring Ferrum Met.

CINA 30-Cina is the best remedy for dark circles around ayes.  Majority of children needing this  medicine show a marked irritability in their nature. They are very cross and obstinate. They desire various kinds of things and will not rest and let others rest till their demands are met. This marked irritability and obstinacy reaches the utmost levels along with the appearance of dark circles. Another complaint that can be present in children with dark rings is worm infestation. In children with worms, weakness and anemic condition are common. Such children remain weak in spite of having a good appetite. The food taken by them serves as meals for the worms, which do not allow the children to gain weight and make them weak. The weakness is also reflected in the face with its pale appearance and dark circles. Homeopathic medicine Cina should always be considered as a first line of treatment in cases of dark circles in children.

BERBERIS VULGARIS 30-Berberis Vulgaris is of great help for treatment of blue rings around eyes when the cheeks are sunken and the face also gives a pale tint. The face appears sick.

ACETIC ACID 30-Acetic Acid is a good  remedy when the face shows marks of weakness with a wax-like coating and eyes are surrounded with bluish circles. The eyes also appear sunken.

LYCOPODIUM 200-Lycopodium is an excellent  medicine if the face appears greyish yellow with bluish circles surrounding the eyes. Otherwise, Lycopodium is a commonly used remedy for gastric ailments.

NATRUM CARB 30- Natrum Carb is a good Homeopathic cure when the eyes show swelling along with blue rings around eyes.

PHOSPHORUS 30- Phosphorus is of great help to treat dark circles under the eyes with a pale face. The rings under eyes appear bluish with a sickly appearance of the face.

SEPIA 30-- Sepia is usually prescribed for women who have dark rings under the eyes. Such women usually have some sort of history regarding irregularity in their menstrual cycle. They may also have black discoloration on cheeks and nose (Chloasma) in addition to dark circles below the eyes.

CHINA 30-  China is used when dark rings around eyes have appeared due to anemia arising out of sudden blood loss. The blood loss may be from any part of body, either traumatic or due to some underlying tissue pathology in the body.

NATRUM MUR 30- Natrum Mur is the best  remedy when the face appears greasy and shiny with dominant dark rings around the eyes. The eyelids may also show swelling. Craving for salty things if noted should be considered a top rank symptom to select Natrum Mur over other remedies.

KALI PHOS 30-Kali Phos is the best  remedy for dark circles due to stress. The person needing  Kali Phos is constantly in a worried state and is under depression with appearance of dark circles. Kali Phos is the top  medicine that acts as a proper supplement for persons who are exhausted and stressed with dark rings.