The doctor is in: Love your eyes
The nagging questions:
• Is sleeping with wet hair bad for your eyes?
• Is reading under poor lighting bad for your eyes?
• Will peeping on someone give you stye (kuliti)?
No to all the above.
“To answer the first two questions, there are no scientific bases that those practices are bad for the eyes,” explained Dr. Reginald Robert “Reggie” Tan,” an ophthalmologist who specializes in cornea transplant. “And you don’t get stye from peeping (naninilip) on someone.” (Stye is an inflammation of the eyelid associated with a small collection of pus.).
But there are practices that can cause eye strain or fatigue, especially during the pandemic when people spend too much time watching TV, working on the computer and using their celfones. Symptoms: eyes becoming teary, feeling of heaviness, fluctuating of vision and blurriness. Wait a minute, don’t panic! “After watching TV,” advised Reggie, “you just have to give your eyes a rest by looking far for 20 seconds or simply closing them. No need to do anything special. You may also use a lubricant to replenish the tears and to avoid dryness. One drop on each eye four times a day (every six hours). You can get all kinds of eyedrops over the counter.”
And avoid rubbing your eyes, especially when a foreign object gets into them.
“Just blink several times or gently wash your eyes,” repeated Reggie, “but never, never rub them to avoid trauma.”
The third of Seiko Films Robbie Tan’s four children, Reggie, 35, graduated with a degree in Medicine from the University of Santo Tomas and St. Luke’s Medical Center specializing in eye transplant, and then took up cornea specialization in Ottawa, Canada.
Why didn’t he follow in the footsteps of his father and help run Seiko Films (the company that discovered several actors like Rita Avila, Gardo Versoza, Jestoni Alarcon, Diana Zubiri and Rosanna Roces)? “My interest is in science,” said Reggie (whose showbiz patients include Laurice Guillen). “As a kid, I liked using the microscope. In school, I got associated with eye specialists and that’s the field that caught my eyes.”
Reggie is among the doctors involved in cornea transplant under the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines headed by Dr. Minguita Padilla.
“Sana more people will apply as eye donor,” said Reggie. (Ali Sotto donated the eyes of her son Mico. The corneas were transplanted in a girl who now sees the world through Mico’s eyes.).
Incidentally, asked to name actresses who he thinks have beautiful eyes, Reggie begged off.
“I am not familiar with showbiz.”
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