Eye Color and Pain Tolerance

What would you think if I said your eye color can tell me how well you can handle pain? You might be a little skeptical. But, hold on, because preliminary research suggests it could be the case.

As pain management specialists, we strive to understand why some of our patients tolerate pain better than others, as well as the factors that influence which pain management therapies are most appropriate to the individual.

Eye color may soon become another biomarker we can use. Already, we know that people with red hair are resistant to anesthesia and require more of it during dental procedures.

In the new study of eye color, researchers compared pain tolerance and the effect of an epidural during childbirth among a group of 58 white pregnant women—24 with dark-colored eyes (brown or hazel) and 34 with light-colored eyes (blue or green).

The women with light-colored eyes:

Tolerated pain better during childbirth

Had less post-partum anxiety and depression

The women with dark-colored eyes:

Had a greater reduction in pain with an epidural, suggesting higher sensitivity to pain

Experienced a 60% reduction in pain at rest with the epidural and a 55% reduction during movement; it was 45% and 40% among the women with light-colored eyes, respectively

While these early results are fascinating, we must be cautious about drawing definitive conclusions. The results showed a trend in pain reduction, but were not statistically or clinically significant. Further studies are needed to explore the potential link between pain and eye color among women who are not pregnant, men and children.

If eye color is shown to be a genetic biomarker, it would offer a practical approach to assessing a patient’s pain sensitivity. Clinicians can recognize biomarkers instantly and can use them to tailor their approach to pain management to the individual. Patients ultimately would benefit, as they may experience greater pain relief and improved quality of life.

No matter what level of pain tolerance you may have, learn how to manage your pain effectively.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Cataract Surgery?

Cataract surgeries are commonly practiced in people who are 65 or older; approximately 3 million Americans undergo cataract surgeries each year.

Are cataract surgeries necessary? When do they become necessary?

Cataract surgeries are performed on people whose lenses have become blurred or cloudy due to mainly aging. As a deterioration of the lenses, vision has become considerably compromised. So whether cataract surgeries are necessary or not depends on the individual.

If your work requires detailed vision, then a cataract surgery may become necessary. If you have problems driving at night or worries about road safety, then a cataract surgery may be an option. On the other hand, if you think that taking off your glasses while reading a book or a newspaper, then it may only be a nuisance that you can live with, then you may have second thoughts about taking a cataract surgery. In other words, it all depends on how bad your vision has become an interference with your daily activities.

A cataract surgery is no more than a procedure to remove a cloudy eye lens with an artificial one, and that's all there is to it. Just like any other aging process, you have to deal with it or to live with it. My book Your Golden Years and Santa Claus explains in detail the importance of living a life of meaning and purpose despite your aging, which is an inevitable as your demise. It is important to have the mental capability to cope with you physical incapacity.

As for when you need to opt for a cataract surgery, it is your decision: nobody can make it for you, not even your doctor.

Remember, taking vitamins, herbs, and eye drops may delay or slow down the aging process of your eyes, but they may never cure your cataracts. There is another myth: you need to wait until your cataracts become "ripen" before surgeries can be performed. Nothing is further from the truth. Life is full of choices, and taking or not taking a cataract surgery is one of those choices.

All in all, make your eyes healthy, and taking care of your vision is wisdom in living if you wish to 100 and beyond.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Heal Your Vision

Vision is a matter of the mind, not just the eye.

Vision self-healing, like any other healing, begins with the mind first, and not the body or the eye for that matter.

The intention to heal comes from within, specifically, the mind. With intention, comes concentration and then focus to empower yourself with the knowledge to heal your eyes of any vision problem you may have. The manifestation of the mind is reflected throughout the healing process.

Healing begins with the mind, and mind healing is always mind over matter.

Changing for the Better

The mind can either heal or harm. Your mind can help you improve your vision because vision healing is all in the mind, but it can also increase your subconscious internal resistance to following new patterns requisite for self-healing.

All vision begins with thoughts. Seeing is a matter of the mind. To see better, you need to change not only the way you “think” about seeing but also the way you “go about” seeing. It is all in the mind—your thinking mind!

Changing your vision habits, most of which may be incorrect or even damaging to your vision health, is not an easy task. Once these visual patterns are deeply ingrained in your mind, they have become your long-term memories, and to change them or to eradicate them becomes a new challenge. But you can and you must overcome that challenge through your mind power.

Harness your mind power to do two things for you:

To restore your memories of clear, sharp visual images

To visualize familiar images of clear vision, such as imagining total darkness in order to totally relax your optic nerve (total relaxation occurring only in total darkness) connected to your brain.

Memory and imagination are powerful tools for you to improve your vision, because your mind has a deep connection with your eyes. Effectively using your mind can successfully stimulate clearer and better vision. It is always mind over matter.

Changing vision habits

How do you change your bad vision habits? There is a saying: “It is difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.” The conscious mind is often reluctant and resistant to any change. Believe it or not, most of us are stubborn creatures—more like an old dog—who do not want to get out of own comfort zones. The only way to overcome this obstacle is through changing the subconscious mind.

Basically, your mind is made up of your conscious mind and your subconscious mind. Your conscious mind makes decisions and you act accordingly, but it is your subconscious mind that directs your conscious mind. That is to say, in your conscious mind, you are fully aware of your actions and their respective consequences; in your subconscious mind, where you store your emotions and memories, you only respond spontaneously to repetitions of words and images in the form of affirmations and visualization. In other words, if you keep on repeating positive self-suggestions or visualizing positive images in your mind’s eye, you can effectively change the thoughts in your conscious mind through your subconscious mind.

 Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

2 FREE Books for You

These two books are FREE for download on AMAZON from May 29 to June 2, 2018.

The Happiness Wisdom

By Stephen Lau

Many are unhappy not because of what they have experienced throughout their life journeys, but because they don't have the human wisdom to perceive and process what they've experienced.

Happiness is a state of mind, due to the the perceptions of the human mind. Change your perceptions to change your so-called realities. Empower your mind with human wisdom -- ancient wisdom from the East and the West, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom -- to think differently to have totally different perspectives of what may have made you happy or unhappy.

To get your FREE digital copy, click here.

TAO The Way to Biblical Wisdom

by Stephen Lau

A complete translation of Lao Tzu's immortal classic Tao Te Ching with respect to the Holy Bible.

Learn and understand the ancient human wisdom from China in order to attain Biblical wisdom.

To get your FREE digital copy, click here.

Coping with Nearsightedness

Nearsightedness

Nearsightedness (also known as myopia) is the inability to see distant objects clearly. This eye condition tends to develop in younger people, especially young children.

Nearsightedness in children may be due to the following:

Initial fascination with wearing eyeglasses

Boredom with learning (a blurry mind leading to blurry vision—an example of how the mind can affect vision)

Too many near-focusing tasks or activities (e.g. computer vision syndrome or video games)

Formation of bad vision habits

Nearsightedness may have many adverse complications. Once myopia (nearsightedness) worsens, more serious eye problems and disorders can potentially develop, including the following:

Cataracts (cloudy lenses)

Detached retina (loosening of the light receptive layer at the back of the eye)

Glaucoma (increased pressure stressing the optic nerve)

Macular degeneration (impaired central vision due to disease or aging)

Farsightedness

Farsightedness (also known as hyperopia) is the inability to see close objects clearly. This condition tends to develop in older people in their forties and fifties due to the following:

Mental stress (divorces, relationship problems, financial stress, retirement etc.)

Years of lifestyle abuse (e.g. drugs, drinking, and smoking)

Accumulation of bad vision habits over the years

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Vision in Your Golden Years

Vision in Your Golden Years

Human vision is more than just seeing. The human eye is more than a mechanical tool for vision; it is hardwired into your brain, and therefore is an extension of your brain, which affects your perception and vision of the outside world, as well as reflects what and how you think. As such, it is the most important human organ, and is your greatest asset in your golden years.

Unfortunately, as you get into your golden years (that is, age 65 and beyond)), you will have noticed the deterioration of your vision. As a matter of fact, vision loss begins as early as in the 30s, and its deterioration accelerates in the 40s and 50s. By now, in your golden years, you may have considerable vision loss that affects the quality of your everyday life. Getting older has taken its toll on your body in many ways and your eyesight deterioration is just one of them.

Your vision loss is indicated by your difficulty in focusing when you look at near of distant objects (nearsightedness or farsightedness) or your predisposition to focusing more slowly and less accurately (presbyopia). These debilitating eye conditions are caused by the hardening of the eyes’ lenses; resulting in inflexibility of eye muscles and hence difficulty in focusing.

Presbyopia makes it increasingly difficulty for you to read or do close-up work, while nearsightedness or farsightedness requires you to wear bifocals or different pairs of eyeglasses.

By now, in your golden years, is there anything you can do to retard your vision loss?

 Absolutely! It is never too late to do something to stop your aging process. Using medications, eye drops, prescription lenses, and even surgeries may not have long-term side effects on your overall vision health. There are other natural ways to promote natural healing of your eyes at any age.

In your golden years, take extra care of your vision health and eyesight issues to reduce the risk of eyesight deterioration or even blindness further down the road. Check your health, especially your eye health, on a regular basis. This may play a pivotal role in your vision self-healing. Prevention is always better than a cure. Make sure that you have eye tests done at least once a year and if you start to notice a steady decline in your ability to focus or see clearly.

To correct your vision problems, your eye doctors and opticians may be too ready to prescribe corrective lenses or even talk you into the possibility of having surgery to fix any vision problem. Remember, natural healing holds the key to reversal of any disorder, including your problematic eye conditions.

You can use of eye exercises to help you correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and presbyopia. Eye exercises are easy and simple to do and you can even do them in the comfort of your own home. A few eye exercises each day can really help you improve your vision significantly. But you must be consistent and persistent in pursuing your eye exercise regimen-- just like any type of physical exercise to have any benefit, you must be diligent; healing your vision loss is not an overnight endeavor.

Most vision problems, whether nearsightedness, farsightedness, or presbyopia, have to do with eye stress and strain affecting the shape of the eyes, and hence their capability to focus images correctly on the retina. But the eyes cannot be relaxed if the body and mind are not. Therefore, it is important to have a holistic approach to vision improvement. Self-healing is always holistic. 

Your Golden Years and Santa Claus: a 252-page book on how to live well in your golden years, including how to overcome your vision loss as well as other health issues and challenges encountered as you continue to age.

Stephen Lau

Copyright ©Stephen Lau

Healthy Liver Healthy Vision

The liver is called “liver” because it is a reflection of how well you have lived—essentially, your lifestyle. The liver is your main body organ responsible for distributing and maintaining your body’s “fuel” supply, which is the raw material for your overall health, especially your vision health.

According to Chinese medicine, the eyes are “the windows” of your internal health, especially that of your liver: constant redness in the white of the eyes (dysfunctional circulatory and respiratory system); yellowish skin under the eyes (overactive liver and gallbladder); water-containing bags under the lower eyelids (congested digestive and excretory systems); and lack of luster (congested liver).

Therefore, the liver plays a pivotal role in your healthy vision. The liver serves several important functions in your body that may directly or indirectly affect your vision health:

The liver turns glucose (blood sugar) into glycogen (energy) for storage in your liver. Your glycogen controls the amount of glucose released into your bloodstream, thereby maintaining your blood sugar level. A healthy blood sugar levels prevents the development of diabetes, which may ultimately impair vision.

Your liver regulates your carbohydrate metabolism, which plays an important role in weight control. The liver is a fat-burning organ: it not only burns fat but also pumps excess fat out of your body system. Your liver controls your body weight. Too much fat in the abdominal area may impair your fat metabolism, turning your liver into a “fatty liver” which then becomes a fat-storing organ. A “fatty liver” is an obstacle to any attempt at weight loss, which begins at the liver. If you are obese, you have a much higher risk of losing your eyesight, according to the Royal National Institute for the Blind. For example, too much body fat is one of the causes of diabetes; too much fat may cause oxidative damage to the eye 

The liver detoxifies your body by filtering out excessive waste and toxins in your body through the bile into the gut. For example, it deactivates alcohol, hormones, and medicinal drugs for better assimilation. Alcohol and certain pharmaceutical drugs have been implicated in vision loss

The liver stores glycogen, vitamins A and D, the B complex vitamins, iron and copper.

Apart from the brain, the liver is the most important body organ that affects your vision.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau