Free Article Database

June 30, 2008

8 Best Home Based Business Ideas For Email Marketing Campaign

Filed under: Network Marketing — runner @ 12:00 am

The answer is closer than you can imagine, it is the email marketing campaign. Many of us try to drive more and more visitors to our sites but forget that the warm market, our fans, we already have reached. They are on our optin list.

1.20 % Of The Customers Respond 80 % Of The Sales.
The stats and researches tell also that around 20 % of those, who have bought from you once will buy more, if you follow up with them! If you think another way round, one fifth of your earlier customers are just waiting that you will offer something new.

2.If You Do Not Follow Up The Customers, You Lose A Lot From The Results Of Your Best Home Based Business Ideas.

Yes, that is a simple fact. So it is a high time to think how to use email marketing campaign to put more power into your marketing.

An old customer is around five times likely to buy from your offer vs. a new customer. Despite of the fact that this group of people is smaller, the quality is so good that you should carefully customize the marketing for them.

3.Autoresponder Does The Email Marketing Campaign Work.
You can market your best home based business ideas automatically by using autoresponder, which you can load once for a long period of time and it will do the email marketing campaign job for you, day and night.

An autoresponder sends pre-written emails to the optin email list during the time, which you have selected.

4. Use A Confirmation Email.
When a person has done something, ordered or subscibed, it is polite and effective to send a confirmation email, because it is all about communication.

5. Send A Tank You Message After The Purchase.
This is also one way to start the longterm communications. It is useful to note, that the question is not about selling but about relationships.

6. After Some Days Contact Again.
Now you can ask, whether your customer is happy with the product and what kind of experiences they have.

7. Send A Short Inquiry About The Customer Experiences.
You can say that the target is to improve the marketing of the best home based business ideas according to the customer response.

8. Ask Politely That A Customer Will Bookmark Your Site.
The reason can be, that a customer will get your regular updates, new products or your new blog posts.
Email marketing campaign is an excellent way to follow up and to generate a nice amount of extra income. Actually you can get an immediate increase in sales of around 30 procent. Not so bad!

Juhani Tontti, B.Sc., Marketing. I Have Excellent Experience About Email Marketing Campaign! Visit My Information Site And Get More Information About Best Home Based Business Ideas

The Worst Airport Hotel In The World And How To Avoid It

Filed under: Air Travel — enrico @ 12:00 am

There are many reasons to pre-book an airport hotel. If you are flying out very early in the morning and can’t face a long drive at that time of day, you can book a hotel stay for the night before and make your departure day easier and less-stressful. Alternatively, when you return from your holiday or business trip and you want to just grab a shower and a good night’s sleep then book into a nearby hotel for a relaxing evening.

These are just two of the reasons to indulge yourself with what used to be an expensive addition to your holiday, now a lot cheaper and often with a parking package included. You can grab a delicious meal in the hotel restaurant or work off your excess energy in the gym, every hotel will have something different to suit your needs.

There are simple rules to abide by when you are looking at an airport hotel stopover.
1) Don’t leave it to the last minute. Pre-book and give yourself the best chance of getting the perfect hotel for you.
2) Book with a name you can trust. There are loads of companies out there that will promise the world - go with a reliable name and you will rarely be disappointed.
3) Shop around. With plenty of hotels to choose from, don’t settle for the first one you see. You could find a cheaper option with all of the facilities you want.

A decent airport hotel can get your holiday off to the perfect start and when you book with the right company it can be a great value, relaxing stopover. So, what could go wrong with your airport hotel if you don’t follow these three simple rules? So much more than you could ever know if you don’t book with a respectable company…

You arrive at this hypothetical hotel and are greeted by an unappealing, dark building that looks like it could’ve been the set for a Boris Karloff movie. Lightning strikes as you realise that this may be a mistake, but much like those annoying teenagers in cheesy horror movies, you tell yourself that it can’t be as bad as it looks. And so you enter the worst airport hotel in the world.

As you approach what you believe to be the reception desk, the smell of urine becomes almost unbearable and you begin to feel light-headed. The part-man, part-beast owner watches a tiny black and white TV while muttering profanities to himself, blissfully unaware or perhaps deliberately ignorant to your arrival. After a few minutes of suggestive coughs and loud sighs, he turns to face you.

“What do you want?” Well, you’ve entered a hotel and approached the reception desk so it would be the obvious assumption that you require a room for the night. You part with your cash and he hands over the key, nodding towards the stairs. Grabbing the handle of your suitcase you make your way up the stairs. Tired and exhausted, you look forward to a lush, comfortable bed with silk sheets and goose-feather pillows.

So, now you approach the door to your oasis of calm in the hustle and bustle of a busy airport. The key slides into the keyhole a little uneasily and the the door struggles to open. You give it a push and the extent of the situation begins to dawn on you. This isn’t a hotel room, you have just entered a portal to your own personal hell - and you are paying a pretty hefty price for the pleasure.

There used to be a curtain on the window, because there is a curtain rail - you wonder what happened to it briefly before examining the rest of the room. The carpet seems nice if a bit retro, brown used to be fashionable so maybe they haven’t replaced it for a while. You take a look at the unusual pattern and discover the horrible truth - the carpet is meant to be beige and it isn’t patterned. The bed is the place to rest your head and relax in your home from home - it can’t be that bad can it…

There is one word to describe the initial reaction to the bed - stained. All colours, shapes and sizes are welcome here. It is probably for the best that you don’t think about all the different cocktails of fluids that have made their mark here. So you head towards the ensuite and prepare for a reenergising shower.

Mildew on the shower curtain won’t deter you now, you’ve come this far and refuse to be put off by such a minor problem. Turning the tap, you back away from the shower head for fear of being sprayed by hot burst of clean water. You hardly notice the smell of the swamp-water that dribbles out as you are greeted by the room’s resident cockroach. He seems pretty happy with the room so you leave him to it and head for the door. Grabbing your suitcase you say to yourself that ‘enough is enough’ and head for the reception. As you look back at the room to say your final goodbyes, overcome with emotion you notice the moving sheets on the bed - you have avoided an itchy night’s sleep.

Back at reception, you are denied a refund but it doesn’t bother you. You head for the bright lights of the outside world and realise that this is a lucky escape. You drag your suitcase along the road and find a lovely, clean and accommodating hotel with the most crisp bed-sheets imaginable. The end of the nightmare and a lesson learned for the future - make the right choice when booking an airport hotel. Go for a name you can trust and book in advance and you will avoid all of these problems.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Heathrow Parking, Heathrow Hotels and I have a travel blog site.

5 Low Cost Ways To Generate Website Traffic

Filed under: Site Promotion — Tradepla @ 12:00 am

Ever wondered how big websites drive traffic to their sites? Most of them are spending tons of money to drive the traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing schemes and gimmicks. This is all worthwhile because, well, they are what they are now, high earning, big hitting websites.

So do you have to beg grandma for the family inheritance if you do not have the financial resources to promote your online business? There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high cost methods and have ended up losing their shirts over it.

Written below are the Top 5 low cost ways to generate traffic for your website.Even if you only get a small percentage of successful visitors to your website, the benefit far outweight the cost.Over time, you will see increase in your traffic as you build credibility amongst your peers or customers through the articles,newletters and forums.So start applying the methods below

1.Exchange Links - This is a sure and proven method. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site. Many webmasters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming in to your site from other sites.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having the same niche or content as the other site. They should share a common subject so that there is continuity in the providing of service and information to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic in your website without the high costs.

2.Exchange Traffic - This is like exchanging links but on a different higher level. This may cost a bit more than exchanging or trading links but could be made cheaper because you get to earn credits. You can use those credits when viewing others traffic, while you earn credits when someone views yours.

Traffic exchange services are the viewing of another’s site or page. This is done vice versa where a site can use your sites contents and so can you to his or her site. You both benefit from each others efforts to generate traffic. The other sites visitors can go to your pages and know more about your site as well as theirs. Once again the public awareness of your sites existence is boosted.

3. Write and Submit Articles - There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias in the internet which provides free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can do the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee, but to save money, it is wise to do those articles yourself.

Write articles that are themed along with the niche of your site. Write something that you have expertise on so that when they read it, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site. Write articles that produce tips and guidelines to the subject or niche your site has.

Include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Write a little about yourself and your site. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more.

4. Make a Newsletter - This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter but on the contrary, this is not so. There are many writers and sites that are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in on your newsletter. This will also provide free advertising for them as well.

As your newsletter gets pass around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list that can regularly visit your site.

5.Join Online Communities and Forums - This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site.

Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

Paul Hata is active in various social and community programs aimed at providing equal access to education,health and jobs to all.Paul has over 10 years experience in managing a multi-million dollar advertising company.Paul can be reached at - TradePlanets.com

Why Opt For a Wireless Home Security System?

Filed under: Home Security — piusvic @ 12:00 am

Having an alarm system in your home is not a bad idea. Crime rates are rising in virtually everywhere, including in so-called “good” or “nice” neighborhoods. Many families are becoming increasingly aware of their need for added security, and a good option for many is a wireless home security system. Especially if you have children home alone after school or own a lot of expensive household items will you want to consider installing such a system.

Why do we say this; what advantages does a wireless home security system have over a hardwired system? Here are some things to consider:

Most alarm systems work in virtually the same way. There are sensors that are attached to the area you want to secure, such as a door or window, and usually to the wall next to it. Those two sensors usually have a signal running through them in a continuous loop; when that loop is broken from someone opening the door or window, the sensor sends a signal to the mechanism that sounds the alarm.

In a wireless home security system, that signal is sent through the air. If you opt for a hardwired system, you need to run a wire or cable from every sensor you hook up to the keypad. Obviously this would be cumbersome, more difficult to install for a do-it-your self, and rather unsightly. A wireless home security system is typically much more subtle and can usually blend in with any decor or home design. And because there are no lines or cables, you don’t need to make holes in the walls, tear up any carpeting, or fuss with trying to get the wires to run flush along a wall or door frame. They’re also a great consideration for home with young children, as you don’t want them to ever get their hands on the wires or cables of the alarm system.

A wireless home security system is usually much easier to install than a hardwired system. You typically just plug in the keypad, mount the security sensors where you want them to be, and program it rather quickly. There usually isn’t much more involved than that.

If you want to install your own wireless home security system, there are some things to consider. You can usually get one with a sensor that is connected to a key fob so that you don’t even need to remember and enter a pass code to deactivate the alarm. A hardwired system runs on electricity to operate whereas wireless systems run on a lithium battery. Many times the wireless home security system needs to be tested to be sure the battery is running at optimal levels.

Many wireless home security systems can also be monitored alarms, meaning that an outside company can be monitoring your alarm system at their office. If the alarm is tripped, the company will alert police and rescue personnel immediately. This can be a great asset for children who are home alone or those who may get easily flustered in an emergency situation.

Victor writes regularly about home security related topics. I hope you enjoy this article. Visit homesecuritysystemstips.com for more on wireless home security systems and home security products

Saving Money With VoIP Phones

Filed under: Technology — AnnaStenning @ 12:00 am

One method of trying to save on your mobile phone or landline bills is to use an alternative method to communicate with people. The internet is a great way of contacting people quickly, provided you have installed the right programs and you use broadband internet, and the other party you are trying to contact have exactly the same setup as you on their computer. VoIP phones (Voce over Internet Protocol) have been around for many years, providing a very cheap alternative to using normal telephones.

Using VoIP phones can be free if you are calling from PC to PC; as long as both parties have added you on their profile account. It is as simple as downloading it onto your PC, setting up an account and adding people onto your profile - much like using MSN messenger. Internet bandwidths have improved massively, making the connection between the calls quicker and the sound quality much clearer - this is why it is now comparable to normal telephoning methods.

In the past when more people had narrow band (dial-up internet connection) internet connectivity there were more problems in sound quality, with the connection timing out and making it near impossible to call people via the internet. Sending messages across using messenger programs were much slower and often not received by the other party. With broadband connection, you are instantly connected to the internet as soon as you turn your PC or laptop on.

VoIP phones help making calls across the globe much cheaper too. Normal telephony services charge a great deal of money to make a call outside of the local area. This becomes even more expensive when using a mobile phone, making it difficult for people to make regular calls to family or friends abroad, without having to worry about breaking the bank! VoIP phones are much more reliable, affordable and normally have good sound quality.

The VoIP software service providers are available to download from the internet, with the biggest programs being Skype, Google Talk and Babble. These are relatively new on many desktop computers; however, they are far from being a new piece of technology and have been in development since 1973 since the very early stages of the internet. Transmitting conversations over the internet have been available for end-users since the early 1980s.

In 1993, a shrink wrapped software by VoiceTec was released with features such as voice mail and caller ID, however, this did not take off as well as only VoiceTec users were able to contact other VoiceTec users. It would not be until 1997 that a softswitch was developed, opening more gateways between telephones, making it possible to call up other landline phones from the PC.

Calling up across the globe using VoIP phones is an extremely cheap way of sending information across, without having to rack up the price of your bill at the end of the month. It is important that the user has a broadband connection; otherwise, their internet telephony will not provide good sound quality.

Anna Stenning is an expert on VoIP phones having installed a program on her computer to make cheap calls abroad.

How To Use Social Sites Correctly And Win Social Marketing War

Filed under: Internet Marketing — johnzx @ 12:00 am

Social sites refer to a broad class of websites and services that allow you to connect with friends, family and colleagues online as well as meet people with similar interests or hobbies, etc. They are all about this idea of forming a network, going out and finding friends virtually online, making connections with them, and networking actually online.

Nowadays people use them not only to meet friends and colleagues online, but to get free traffic from them. You know how important traffic is to the life of your website? Of course you do. But it is not the same approach as you would adopt on your own websites or your own blogs.

It is an entirely different mindset. It is a different way of thinking and it is a different way of getting traffic. It is all about a user-centric or user-focused experience. It is all about the actual individual or you as a visitor rather than the website itself preaching to people. It is about information being pulled rather than pushing information which is what used to happen.

How? It is called as Social Marketing!

People call it social marketing, web 2.0 or new age marketing but the fact of the matter is this - you need to be using the social marketing websites to your advantage because there are tons of free traffic to be had from them.

The big names like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the rest are not only dominating news stories and people minds now but starting to play a really big part in driving traffic to marketers pages online. The problem is those social sites do not like marketers! It is true! You have to be careful when you are using them that you do not get banned or caught out. The key is to adopt this simple 4 Hs approach:

Humor
Honesty
Have fun
Help people

As long as you can inject a little piece of humor into your social marketing profile or even just a little piece of who you really are then you will start attracting lots of friends and widening your network.

You also need to maintain an honest approach throughout. No point uploading photos to your profile of P Diddy or Pamela Anderson pretending they are. People want to get to know you so be honest.

Have fun! That is one of the great things about social marketing is that you can have lots of fun doing it. Meeting new people, learning new stuff and making money from the traffic that you get from it all at the same time.

Also remember to help people. The more you can help people the more they will help you in return. So add useful links and recommendations to your profiles. Point people in the right direction and answer any questions people post on your profile or contact you with.

John Zhang is very interested in learning new technologies and meeting friends with similar interests or hobbies. He would like to share with you what he has learnt from the common interesting subjects. Find out more at http://www.socialtrafficfuse.com.

Why a Laundry Service Will Always be Needed & How to Start Your Own

Filed under: Business — Musa @ 12:00 am

Well we all basically know that washing machines and any other laundry equipment are a must for any household, this being said are they really needed in every home? The reason I say this is because of the fact that people just do not have the time to take out of there busy schedule and wait by there washing machine at home, and keep on unloading and loading washing which could take hours. Instead they go to the launderette and either hand there clothes in and pay a lump sum for someone to wash it for them, or they just use the big commercial washing machines and dryers that are available. This not only saves time but could work out a lot cheaper.

If you are looking to set up your own launderette then it has never been easier with suppliers locally that can come and service your machines at any time. We all know that businesses can be a risky game but setting up a launderette can be one of the safest means of opening a business. The reason this is said is because you just do not need the staff, you can open a laundry business which can run itself leaving you the time to work somewhere else and earn a bit more money. As for any business it is recommended to have a strong business plan decide which direction you want to go, for example do you want to open up a whole chain or just keep one and offer cleaning and ironing services aswell? Once you have decided this you will have to consider how much you are willing to spend and how much you expect to get back. You will then have to sort out all the smaller problems such as obtaining a licence and thinking of what sort of opening times you have will it be 9-5 or will you open for 24 hours.

A major part of opening a laundrette is to get the word out, if no one knows about the place they will not visit. So like any other business you should plan which way you are going to promote. Will it be via leaflets or will you advertise in the local newspaper. If you are thinking of opening a whole chain then you may want to do a TV commercial or a radio broadcast. Whichever way you decide you should plan and execute the business correctly as it will otherwise fail.

For all your Commercial Dishwashers and Commercial Laundry Equipment needs

The Importance Of The Nut And The Fret Board

Filed under: Music — vgevge @ 12:00 am

A guitar can be considered a work of art, with every single aspect of its design being carefully crafted and designed to aid the overall performance and tone of the music. Guitars have a long and established history, and through the hundreds of years, possibly thousands of years, that they have been developed from earlier instruments and models, the modern guitar now has every single aspect of its design honed to help the expression and tone of the music be as perfectly optimised as possible.

Today, this is helped by an increased understanding of, availability of and availability of materials which help to improve the overall quality of sound, and modern materials or manufacturing techniques help to create an accuracy and quality of sound which can be considered unrivalled. Two of the significant aspects of the design of the guitar which can be overlooked as far as their importance is concerned are the nut and the fret board.

The nut in particular may well be ignored altogether by the beginner, and many people unfamiliar with guitars would not know where to look to find the nut of a guitar. The nut is positioned at the joint section where the headstock of the guitar of the part at the top where all the strings end and can be tuned, and the fret board, which is the long neck of the guitar that the strings run down towards the body.

The purpose of the nut is to guide the strings individually from the headstock onto the fret board, making sure that they are placed consistently far apart, and held firmly in place. Effectively a nut is a small, hard strip with a number of fine grooves cut into it into which each of the guitar strings is placed, and these strings are then held firmly in place by the nut so that they run smoothly from the headstock all the way down the fret board to the body of the guitar. Any movement or sloppiness of the nut would result in the strings either not being the correct distance apart, or moving around. Even a very slight movement or slackness in the string affects the pitch and quality of sound enormously, and a loose or flexible string will generate a dull, poorly resonating sound which affects the overall tone and colour of the music terribly.

Because of the importance of this nut therefore, a lot of investigation into suitable materials and manufacturing techniques has taken place, and today it is possible to find them created using a very wide range of materials. Guitars with nuts made from bone are possible, as well as plastic, although these tend to be the cheaper models. Brass nuts are very popular because of the fact that the brass can be very rigid, and helps to hold the strings extremely firmly without any cutting or wearing away of the material. Cheaper and very effective materials that are used widely today are graphite and stainless steel, with both materials having the twin advantages of being very cost effective, and very cheap, both as a substance and to manufacture.

The other aspect of a guitar which can easily be overlooked as far as its importance is concerned is the fret board itself, which is also called the fingerboard. On acoustic guitars and classic guitars the fret board or fingerboard is flat, but on electric guitars it is more usual to find it slightly curved. By pinching a string of the guitar with a finger against the fret board, effectively the length of the string, or at least the part of the string which is allowed to vibrate, is shortened, and this in turn affects the frequency of the vibration. It is the frequency of vibration which creates the individual note, and so it is important that the fret board is comfortable hold, is clearly marked for accuracy, and is made of a material which does not allow too much slippage of the string when pressed, so that a firm grip or pinch is produced, ensuring the string does not buzz, and the note is accurate.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, electric guitars, classic guitars. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio.

A Brief History Of The Modern Guitar

Filed under: Music — vgevge @ 12:00 am

The modern electric guitar is a distant product compared to its humbler origins, and prior to such modern developments and trends, and the increased use of synthetic materials, a guitar was simply defined as any instrument which had a long neck which was fretted, at the base of which was a soundboard with curved sides, and importantly, had a flat back. This was in contrast to the lute and other similar stringed instruments of early musical development.

Although it may seem that guitars are fairly new, similar instruments which fit the definition have been around, and been very popular, for at least five thousand years. The classical guitar we know today, with its six strings, was developed in Spain originally, although it has a long and diverse history itself, and like many instruments, has a mixed heritage, borrowing as it does from various similar musical trends in instrumentation.

Much of the origin of the Spanish six stringed guitar can be traced back to the Middle East, and in particular central Asia and India, where the sitar and other similar stringed instruments were very popular. In addition to the sitar, which is still popular today and has a very distinctive sound which almost immediately conjured up images of India, the guitar has a heritage which can be traced back to such instruments as the tanbur and the setar which both originate from Iran.

However, these historical origins can be predated still further, and we can take the history of the development of the guitar back to a record which is well over three thousand years old. There is a carving of a Hittite bard holding a stringed instrument which cannot be mistaken for anything other than an early form of a guitar like instrument, which shows that the instrument had already gained a popular role within society. The word sitar and guitar seem very similar, and this is because they both share the same ancestry.

The word guitar comes from the Latin word cithara meaning stringed instrument, and this word in turn comes from Greek heritage. The Greek word, kithara is thought to come from the Persian word sitar, which is where the words guitar and sitar share a lexical ancestor.

The word cithara, the Latin word from which guitar is derived, refers to an ancestor of the modern six string guitar, and was a popular instrument in Roman times, although rather than strummed, it appears to have been plucked, generating a fairly distinctive sound, and one fairly dissimilar to the traditional sound we associate today. In fact, the sound was more likely to be more similar to the Indian or Persian sitar sound quality than the European sound we hear today. The Romans brought their cithara with them to Spain, or Hispania as it was called, sometime in the first century AD, and was later adapted to incorporate some of the style and developments of another stringed instrument, the oud, which was brought by the Moors over six hundred years later. It was at this same time that the lute, popular in Scandinavian countries, was becoming very popular.

The lute has more in common with the six stringed guitar, as it too had the same six strings, although the back of the lute was curved, generating a different acoustic sound. The very well known Viking hero, Gunther, is depicted with a lute, as the Vikings took to the Scandinavian instrument very well, and it has been depicted in many carvings of that era. The oud and the cathira both developed into two guitar like instruments, but with different sounds, resulting in the Moorish guitar which was popular in around the 13th century, and the Latin guitar, which is the one which most closely resembles the guitar we think of today.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio. You can find the best marketplace at these sites for guitars, drums, keyboards, sheet music, guitar tab, and home theater audio.

Looking Back To Chinese Methods Of Eye Care

Filed under: Health — sparta @ 12:00 am

There are lots of ways to look after our eyesight. Maintaining a healthy diet and wearing sunglasses are a good start. Regular eye checks are also essential to make sure our eyesight is corrected when necessary and also to pick up any of a number of ailments that our optician is privy to.

For those who need their vision correcting, trends have come on a long way in the last few years. From those ugly national health cheapies that we were subject to a few years ago, we now have the endless choice of designer frames as well as frameless glasses, glasses with bendy frames for the accident prone, designer sunglasses and contact lenses.

Contact lenses have, themselves, come on leaps and bounds with the new technology that is available. The more advanced they become, the more people are able to use them. At first, there were only the hard type and not many people could wear them comfortably. Then there were softer types, short term lenses and long term options. However, it has always been a rule of thumb that if you wear contact lenses, you should take them out at night to reduce the risk of a nasty eye infection.

The latest development in the arena of eye care is the innovative contact lenses that are to be worn at night which promise to correct your eyesight for the following day. The idea is that the lenses gently press on the eyeball to restore the natural shape that is missing in a person who is short sighted, something that affects around 12 million people in the UK.

When the eyeball is too long or the cornea is too curved, light rays from distant objects focus in front of the retina as opposed to directly on it which bakes the vision fuzzy. Hard lenses are usually too uncomfortable to wear all day but worn overnight, they should put enough pressure on the eyeball to temporarily change the shape of the eye, thus restoring normal vision.

Corneal topography, where the curvature of the eye is measured, is used to determine the right amount of pressure needed. A little more pressure than is necessary will be added to prevent the cornea springing straight back into shape therefore allowing the corrected vision to last all day. In some cases, the effects will last more than one day and so it wouldn’t hurt if you missed a night or two, although the vision would gradually deteriorate.

Weighting the eyeballs into a more natural shape is not a new thing. It is believed that for centuries, the Chinese have slept with small weights on their eyelids to counteract short-sightedness. However, their technique was always a little hit and miss given that each person has a slightly different curve to their lens. With today’s technology, the results are much more marked with up to 70 per cent vision correction after one night and full vision restored within a week.

If short-sightedness is caught in early childhood it is thought that this method might lead to permanent correction. If nothing else, it will slow the degeneration process. However, the method is not suitable for diabetics, for those with eye diseases or for long-sightedness.

The new developments in eye care are good news for the millions of sufferers of short-sightedness. It means they can spend all night in their corrective lenses, then spend all day wearing sunglasses, whether designer or other, and not have to worry about wearing corrective glasses.

Optical expert Catherine Harvey looks at the use of diet, sunglasses and weights to keep eyes healthy.

Next Page »

Index  Blog  Forum  Shop  Advertise  Newsletter  PrivacyPolicy  Contact  SiteMap Powered by WordPress