Posted by Are you knowledgeable enough on eye care to make sure they stay healthy? When did you last see an optometrist? If you haven’t seen an eye care professional in a while or are not performing proper eye care, this should be your wake-up call.
The best advice in eye care is to have regular eye exams. Especially if you’ve reached the age of 40, your eyes need more attention than ever before. Various diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, can have a very negative impact on vision. Regular examinations will ensure eye health is protected.
When selecting an eye care professional, do not skimp when it comes to doing your homework on each prospective doctor’s qualifications. Check their educational background, certifications and licensure to ensure that everything is as represented. Doing these things will help you feel confident when it comes to entrusting the health of your eyes to someone new.
Are you a smoker? If so, stop. Smoking increases the chance that you will have problems with your eyes, like cataracts and macular degeneration. It can be hard to quit, but never stop trying. Even if you’ve failed in the past, you still have a good chance of being able to quit in the future.
It is very important to protect your eyes from direct sunlight, so make sure to wear sunglasses when you are outdoors or driving. The polarized sunglasses are best since they protect your sight by filtering out the UVA rays of the sun that can cause glaucoma and some other eye diseases.
People who wear contacts need to take particularly good care of their eyes. While contacts are very useful for vision, if the materials are not properly cleaned and maintained, it can be potentially damaging to eyes. Make sure your contacts are the right prescription and that you follow all instructions provided by your health care professional.
Wear protective eye gear. Sunglasses are great when it comes to protecting your eyes from the sun, but when you’re on the job and need to protect your eyes from sawdust, debris, or sand make sure you wear tougher eye gear than just a pare of goggles. Goggles are a must-have for anyone working in these kinds of environments.
Don’t stare at the computer screen too long. You can end up with issues like eyestrain, blurriness, headaches, dry eyes, and decreased distance focus. Try taking breaks every 20 minutes or so by looking 20 feet away from the screen for about 20 seconds. This can help you rest and re-focus your eyes to reduce or prevent those eye issues.
Keep your eyes protected from the sun. Wearing the proper sunglasses will keep your eyes protected from harmful ultraviolet rays. Over exposure from UV rays leads to cataracts or macular degeneration. For optimal protection, use sunglasses that fully back out harmful rays. Wraparound shades will keep your peripheral vision protected too.
Do you play sports? Certain contact sports, like lacrosse and ice hockey, can be dangerous for your eyes. Make sure you wear either sports goggles or a face mask to limit your risk. While it may seem strange to wear them at first, you will quickly get used to them.
Make sure you have good light when you are reading, especially if the book you are reading has fine print. Although your eyes will not be damaged by reading in dim light, the eye strain it causes will make your eyes feel tired. You should take a break occasionally while reading, especially if your eyes begin to feel tired.
Keep in mind that having eye issues may be inevitable for some. Many eye conditions are hereditary. You can take great care of your eyes and still have major issues. If you have family member with eye problems, you may want to talk to them about which issues run in the family. You can bring up these conditions to your optometrist so that they can watch for the early signs.
Stay active. You may not associate exercise with eye health, but the truth is, it increases circulation. That means there is often less pressure in the eyes. Plus, if you are in tune with your body, you will often know when something does not feel right. Get yourself checked out if you have any concerns.
Take several breaks during the day while working. Your eyes will need an extended break. Walk around the office or go outside and get a bit of fresh air to get an energy boost.
Address vision problems right away. If you start noticing that your vision becomes blurry at certain parts of the day, or that you see double every now and then, see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. It is important that if there is a problem, you take care of it right away so it doesn’t become worse.
Eat a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese puts you at a heightened risk of developing diabetes. There are two primary eye conditions associated with this devastating disease. They are glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. Fortunately, these conditions are completely preventable by maintaining a healthy weight and eating a nutritious diet.
To maintain quality vision over time, keep a pair of sunglasses you. Choosing shades that provide protection from ultraviolet rays is an important step for maintaining healthy eyes. Choose frames that give you protection of 99 to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB rays from the sun. When choosing contact lenses, ask for UV protection to make your eyes even safer.
One good tip to protect your eyes is to maintain a healthy weight. Research shows that being obese or overweight increases your chances of getting diabetes and other conditions that can lead to losing your sight such as glaucoma or diabetic eye disease. Consult a doctor, if you have problems with your weight.
There are many things that can cause poor eye health. You must understand what proper eye care entails. This information should be applied in your life as soon as possible.