Tired eyes

Tired eyes from long looking were known to the scribe and the seamstress; the tradition met them with a lukewarm chamomile compress, a moment with closed eyes and a look into the distance. The herb here is a compress for the lids — the tradition never dripped anything into the eye itself, and it should not be done today either.

The catalogue lists six native species: German chamomile, both plantains, wild pansy, lemon balm and bilberry. The chamomile compress on the lids is a classic; bilberry is in the set for its modern reputation 'for eyesight', which comes from anecdotes about pilots, not from tradition.

Eye strain at a screen is largely drying: when concentrating, people blink less. What is documented is a rule of breaks, blinking, air humidity, artificial tears from the pharmacy and correctly fitted glasses. A lukewarm compress on closed lids is pleasant and safe; that is all the data say about it.

Bilberry and eyesight: the story about British pilots is a legend, and trials with bilberry extracts in healthy eyes found no improvement. Never drip a chamomile compress into the eye — a home infusion is not sterile, and in people allergic to the daisy family it can irritate.

Sudden loss or blurring of vision, flashes and a 'curtain' in part of the visual field, double vision or severe eye pain with nausea are conditions for emergency care — the same day, not after the weekend.

A red eye with a pus-like discharge, pain in light or after an injury belongs with an eye doctor; a foreign body in the eye is rinsed out with water, not an infusion. Vision worsening over months, trouble reading or driving in the dark is a reason for an examination, and in people with diabetes for regular retinal checks.