Take Care of Your Eyes Today: Never Sleep with Contact Lense and Check Out Hydrogen Peroxide Solution

CCHi all!

I am so compelled to write this one because I just had a wonderful day out with my girls and two of my friends told me that they have red eyes because they slept with their contacts on. First of all, NEVER EVER sleep with your contacts on!! Your eyes need the oxygen to breath and depriving them of O2 can cause the veins to turn so red (I don't feel pretty with bloodshot eyes) and overtime, you will not have healthy-looking pearly white eyes anymore because the veins will start growing into your cornea to supply the oxygen to it. This condition is permanent and irreversible so please, don't wear your contacts to sleep if you want to avoid having ugly red veins creeping into your cornea permanently.


Secondly, never mix many pairs of lenses in a case. This was my mistake. Two months ago I suffered from conjunctivitis and also an allergy reaction due to poor care of my eyes. I mixed two lenses in a case because I have so many pairs and I was lazy to keep them separately and there were cross contamination that gave me a sty, conjunctivitis and also an allergy reaction to soft lenses. At one point, blood was oozing out from my tear duct! The doc told me I may have to give up on soft lenses, which sounded like the end of the world to me ( I am vain like that haha). The sty was annoying too because it left me with a bump (oil cyst) near my tear duct that took a month to go away. If it doesn't, it has to be surgically remove.

I was taking my eye for granted as I cincai cincai wash the lense and use expired lenses too. It was a costly mistake as I had to pay for RM600 in total for consulting an opthamologist. Learn from my mistakes, babes. Don't let your money go to waste (even if you can claim your medicals. Why go through all that suffering?).

Our eyes are the most tantalizing senses on our body. Being mute and deaf does not equal to being blind. Losing my sight will definitely take away my experience of life. I can't imagine not having my eyes. Plus, what other part of the body tells so much about a person? The eyes ARE the windows to the soul, cheesy I know, so let's practice good eye care from today onwards.

Anyway a friend was curious about my lense solution. Here I will share with you that I use AOsept

AOsept uses hydrogen peroxide (an antibacterial agent) that will sanitize your lenses. You'll get maximum comfort from it because it destroys all the bacteria and protein stuck on your lesnes. The metal at the bottom of the case will neutralize the hydrogen peroxide, turning it into water and oxygen. The bubbles formed will remove the proteins on lenses, which are the main cause of irritation and allergy. You have to wait 6 hours for the lense to neutralize. The price is around RM21.

If 6 hours is too long, there is Ever Clean which can get the job done in 2 hours (I am using this now). It uses a tablet that neutralizes the peroxide and the price is around RM30.

Oh, hydrogen peroxide can cause discoloration on colored lenses so please bear that in mind. Regardless, I still use it with my colored contacts and I can't really notice a big difference so I am sticking with this technology as it provides the BEST comfort to my eyes. If you have sensitive eyes, you can rinse the lense with Sensitive solution like Avizor's Unica on top of sanitizing with the hydrogen peroxide system (AoSept or EverClean)

I use this to rinse my lense before placing it onto my eyes.

If you feel lenses were uncomfortable after a week or so, chances are, you have protein build-up on your lenses. In this case, use a protein removal tablet to e soaked together with the lenses. I have to say I have never known eye comfort until I discover the peroxide solution (AoSept or EverClean). However, don't treat it like a normal solution as it will BURN your eyes if you did not neutralize it. I once dropped the solution in my eyes and it sent me screaming like no other. It feels like acid burn in my cornea and left me with red and dry eyes for 3 days. It got better after that so it was only temporary. Also, if you go to your friends' and wanted to rinse your lense, check the bottle first. If it has red ring on the top cap, it probably is peroxide-based which means don't rinse your lense with it. Only use the special case associated with it as it has the metal to neutralize the peroxide.


Okay, I sound like I work in the optical store now Haha. I feel strongly about eye care so I am writing this to share with you that taking off your lense tonight may save you from getting a conjuctivitis, sty, allergic reaction or even blindness. Love our eyes peeps. We only have a pair. Plus, pearly white eyes are healthy and beautiful.

Toodles,
Ferrarossa

Things I Learn Everyday: Every Negative Experience Will Attract A Positive One

Sometimes I write for you, sometimes I write for myself. Well, I guess this one has to be for me.


Lately there have been many turbulences in my life. A couple of testing and trying moments came by one after the other and I couldn't help but question the purpose of going through these trials. Little did I know, life has bigger plans for me. With every downturn, comes the cliche "light at the end of the tunnel". After each misfortune, a jewel of opportunity presents itself. Next time, before I start to lose hope and start complaining of how sucky life is, I will give myself a reality slap to remind me that this is just a small price to pay for a bigger reward.


Someone close to me shared this theory: 


"Every Negative Event Will Attract Positive One(s). "- Anonymous


These are a list of things that happened to prove that.


1) The Ill Drama
The Negative: Since my return to this beautiful homeland, I've been suffering from allergies, post-nasal drip, insomnia, GI and tonsil problems. I was living on a poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle. The stress and medication were no help to me.


The Positive: After getting tired of being tired and  falling ill, I took an interest in my own health. It triggered a series of change in my lifestyle and diet. I keep the stress at a minimum and now I feel healthier and am able to be more proactive. I find that I am more passionate about life and I enjoy cooking again, which may be a legit parameter of my happiness. The more I cook, the happier I am. And vice versa. 

Above: Enjoying life to the Max!!! Haha I'm too lazy to find a fitting image so this one shall suffice to prove that I am enjoying every tidbits of life again. 

2) The Love Drama
The Negative: I have qualms about sharing this, but I must remember that this happened. After a big outburst of two people who misunderstood and lack respect for each other, we went through a lot of  pain, heartache, doubts and uncertainty.  




The Positive: We learned a thing or two about what it takes for a relationship to work and realized we needed to slow down. I learned to not wear my heart on my sleeve,to  reserve my excitement for future, not to over-analyze and idealize people and to not keep all my eggs in one basket. I hope he learned to be more sensitive and attune to the needs of  others, carefully string his words before he speaks and reserve his judgement if he lacks the information. We both learned a great deal about each other and we grow from this experience, as hurtful as it may be.

Above: My absolute favorite :delicate hydrangeas, aromatic stargazer lilies and romantic red roses. As cheesy as it is, flowers do make an effective sorry gift. I can say it softens me up by hmmmm....ALOT. I wish that I can get them during happy moments too.

3) The Neighbor Drama
Before I start, it is necessary to put up these pictures for your better understanding

Above: I have a very territorial neighbor who likes to put potted-plants relatively far from the curb to prevent others to park in this parking-scarce neighborhood. They used to have FOUR pots on the road but somehow it was reduced to only one pot. I guess that's an improvement.

Above: For aesthetic purpose, this out-of place potted plant was placed between my house (right) and their house to mark the division of our property and also to prevent any parked car to invade their precious compound, regardless of their HUGE ASS GATE ,big enough to fit a trash pickup.

Above: You see the gate that can fit this one or two persons? Note that it can't fit a car. No one is allowed to block this holy gate to heavens. Apparently, when the gate is blocked, the poor soul who needs to transition lacks the ability to walk around the blockage and onto the grassy area to make it through the sacred door. 

To make this story longer than necessary, I parked my car where this car is one night as I was concerned of my safety. The neighborhood gets freakishly dark and  has poor lighting at night. Though I am aware of their territorial attitude, I thought they would have enough discretion to let a scared and weak single woman who may be in danger to park in front of the holy sacred gate. But no.....

Above: The deathly reminder I received on my car the morning after I blocked the gate of Nirvana. I felt a little threatened by the choice of color and the fact that the writing covers the whole paper. A little note would do, really. 

Anyway it is pointless to go on and on about this. I know law enforcement may have their hands too full to do anything about this and I think I will be the bigger person and not let petty people get to me. 

The Negative: An embarrassing confrontation gone down ala Jerry Springer. Believe me it's so ghetto I can't even start to explain how low these people behaved. Yelling and screaming and intruding personal space with threatening body gestures. Gosh, I am not proud of myself either for breaking into tears and saying hurtful things but this ugly event needed to happen.

The Positive: Seeing how horrific things were, my father who was at the scene is now scared for my life. Haha. I think he may be too protective of me and now we're going to buy a house together! (Any property advice?Anyone?) It is such a big deal for me! Now I don't hate my neighbor anymore. Next time I see her I will kiss her stinky toe and thank her for getting me a new crib! Thanks territorial neighbor!

Now, suck that! Ha!

4) The Drama Mama 


Well this last one is a little too personal for me to share, but ah well I shall do it anyway.
The Negative: The loss of a mother who I dearly need, love and miss everyday.

The Positive: The strength that I get from the fact that she is in me, half of me is made of her and her spirit that goes on even when she is not physically present. She became my conscience and guidance, as I always think of what she'd do or feel whenever I am in a dilemma. I became more independent, nurturing and selfless, just like her. My love for her deepens and I never let self-pity take over my life. Her positivity carries on in me and the lives she left behind (Akak and Apit).

Above: "There are ups and downs but I believe in being always optimistic. It's pointless to live a life of fear and regrets"- 

Mama after her cancer diagnosis written in her last journal.

Vaccination against Hurtful or Unintended Comments?

I still remember the first few days I arrived in the dorms at Davis. I tried talking to people around me and I was a scared little puppy. When I started to communicate, people didn't understand my Malaysian accent and I was asked to repeat what I was saying many many times. After a couple of failed attempts, people stopped asking and I stopped talking.

That was when I met a special person who took me under his wings. He nurtured me, taught me how to speak like them plus other fancy vocabularies, and scolded me when I didn't stand up for myself. All his mentoring changed me: my confidence was brimming and I was no longer afraid to speak up. I am forever indebted to this wonderful and lovely person.

In the pursuit to better my communication skills, I took this class called Interpersonal Communication and boy, it changed my life. I realized that I took for granted the importance of communications in my daily life, and I was practicing some damaging communications skills. Quoting from the textbook that I still keep today,

"We spend our lives communicating. From the moment we're born we interact in meaningful ways with other humans beings... Eventually, we discover that communication enables us to connect with and understand the unique inner worlds of others....Communications is transformed from a vehicle for self-expression to a means for building relationships"- Reflect and Relate by Steven McCornack.

This definition is universal to all human, no matter how introverted you are. The point of all my rambling is that, through communications (verbal or not), we exchange meaning, feelings, thoughts, expressions. It is a pretty darn powerful way to interact!

Never in any circumstances shall we undermine the power of words. Words are NOT just words. "The words we exchange profoundly affect not only our interpersonal communications and relationships but also others" (Steven McCornack). I remember my lecturer's childhood anecdote that she shared during the mentioned class. My lecturer was often bullied by her sister when she was a little girl and when she cried running to her mom, her mom would comfort her by saying that "words are words, nothing more than that". However, if this was true, why didn't she feel better? She was still hurt and emotionally scarred by her sister's teasing and verbal abuse.

The truth is, whether we do mean or not the words we utter, we must take responsibility of the things we say. We must be aware that when we say things, it is like throwing an imaginary ball encapsulating a message to someone. We say words, people will take it as a verbal manifestation of your intention (regardless of your REAL intention, if any) and your words have the ability to excite, humiliate, elevate, or hurt others. Words can make a person reach the highest point of elation (eg: "I love you" , "Marry me?" , "You made me the luckiest person alive") or cause irreversible damage (eg: "I don't love you anymore" , personal attacks, hurtful and insincere comments).

Sometimes we say things we don't mean to say. Sometimes we're driven by emotions. Sometimes we don't realize that the words we say actually matter. They do! They matter alot. Especially the words of people we love and admire.

There's no way we can be "immune" to hurtful utterance. There's no way to delete our memory of a negative comment. There's no way we can just disregard the words that were not "meant" to be said, the accidental remarks. We are humans with feeling, not robots. Hurtful and negative words cause irreversible damage to people and relationships. It can take months to get over and sometimes it'll stick around in our permanent memory for eternity. Do we want this to happen to our loved ones?

So the point of all these is a mental reminder for myself and for sharing purposes, because I have been awakened by the power of hurtful and damaging words. Let's be careful and wary of the things we say to others as in Think Before We Speak. Spend a couple of seconds to decide how the words we choose are going to affect others. Because I still can't find the Vaccination against Hurtful Comments or the spell to Turn the Clock.

When we hurt people, people will leave us.

Footnote: THREE (3) of my girlfriends I talked to has bought the communications bibles I recommended below. Men are From Mars and Women are from Venus is the best-seller that covers the quintessential of cross-gender communications while Mars and Venus Together Forever reiterates the same concept, but in the context of a relationship or marriage. You and your man will find it useful. It definitely made a difference in my relationship(s).

Above:Take home msg from this piece: W0men need empathy, not solutions, while men need to be appreciated and express themselves through actions.

Above: My current read..

P/s: I immensely enjoyed Shrek 3 (I know I am late :P).

Healthnote: Jogged 3 laps, 1 breakfast shake, normal lunch, fruit salad and dinner was rice, mixed vegs, fish and egg.