Eye Tips for the Harmattan

How are we all doing? It's been a while, we are in the month of love and we are all pretty much excited about it, the memes and the videos and all others have already started circulating and my personal favorite from an interesting choir, the Valentine's song is all over the place.

This month really promises to be exciting, full of emotions both positive and negative, and on the flipside, the month seems to also be passing by quite quickly which is something we all should be happy about and be looking forward to since January kinda took forever.

Anyway, one thing that February brought was the harmattan which we all thought was over, it came like the coming of Christ as many describe, very much unexpected and in a surprising way however since it is already here and we cannot do much about what mother nature decides, here are some few tips you can make use of to make things easier for you;

• Wear Glasses

This is not for only individuals who may have prescriptive glasses, it is for us all, if you do not have one the time to visit your Optometrist is now. The weather is very dry and the dust in the atmosphere seems severe, we must protect our eyes to prevent infection and other reactions so as not to put us in an uncomfortable situation.

If your work has an occupational hazard that demands that you wear googles, now is the best not to skip on it, you can put them on your prescriptive glasses if you have one and if you do not have one, this can give you the shade or cover you need for your eyes against the harmattan.

• Stay Hydrated

The essence of fluids in these times cannot be overemphasized. Staying hydrated against this harsh weather condition will ensure that your throats and sinuses stay in good health. It will also help you stay active as you go about your daily activities.

Staying hydrated will aid your digestion as well as facilitate your eating habits. The benefits of hydration are numerous and we can really go on and on but most of us already know how good it is to stay hydrated so drink a lot of water, eat healthy, and stay healthy.

Further Reading

_{Lawande RV, Onyemelukwe GC. Airborne fungi during harmattan in Zaria, Nigeria. Ann Allergy. 1984 Jan;52(1):47-9. PMID: 6696294..}

_{Bannor TT, Ogunsan EA. Harmattan--a predisposing factor in the spread of viral diseases in domestic animals. Trop Anim Health Prod. 1988 Nov;20(4):211. doi: 10.1007/BF02239984. PMID: 3238768.}

_{Abiye OE, Matthew OJ, Rabiu AB, Ezeh GC, Akinola OE, Gerelmaa G, Ugwumadu CE, Latif MB. Chemical footprints of harmattan dust and traffic corridor particulates monitored at two environmentally distinct geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Nov;27(31):39317-39329. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-10004-x. Epub 2020 Jul 9. PMID: 32642902..}

_{Renneville M. Le propre de l'ordre. Hygienisme et biopolitique en republique. [Review of: L. Murard and P. Zylberman, L'Hygiene dans la Republique. Fayard, 1996; J.B. Wojciechowski, Hygiene mentale et hygiene sociale. L'Harmattan, 1997] [The proper order. Hygienism and biopolitics in the Republic. [Review of L. Murard and P. Zylberman, l'Hygiene dans la Republique. Fayard, 1996; J.B. Wojciechowski, Hygiene mentale et hygiene sociale. l'Harmattan, 1997.]]. Rev Synth. 1999 Oct-Dec;120(4):621-35. French. doi: 10.1007/BF03182172. PMID: 11625653..}