Posted by We have hands to feel, a nose to smell, ears to hear, but our eyes are one of our most important parts. Without vision, life becomes dark and difficult. That means eye care should be on the top of your priority list, so check out all the great expert advice below.
Avoid touching your eyes with your hand during the day if you had not washed your hands. When you are on the job or in school, your hands are in contact with surfaces that are full of bacteria. If you touch your eyes, you will transfer the bacteria to your eyes and raise the risk if an eye infection.
Make sure you always have adequate lighting when you work or read. Your eyes will be straining all the time if you’re trying to see things without sufficient illumination in the room. Over time, this can cause serious damage. Increase your wattage or the number of lighting fixtures in any given room to solve the problem.
Eat a healthy diet to help take care of your eyes. Certain foods, particularly those high in vitamins C and E, zinc and omega-3 fatty acids can help protect your eyes as you age. Aim for green leafy vegetables, “oily” fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and citrus foods for best results.
Keep your eyes protected from the sun. You should wear quality sunglasses to protect them from UV rays. If your eyes are frequently exposed to UVB rays, your risks for macular degeneration and cataracts increase. Try picking a pair of sunglasses that block between 99 and 100 percent of UVB and UVA rays.
Eat foods that are known to promote good eye health. This includes a variety of leafy green vegetables, such as collards, kale and spinach. Citrus fruits provide vitamin C, which can help to maintain your eyesight. In addition, protein sources such as beans, eggs, and lentils can prove beneficial to your eyes.
Some foods can prevent eye problems. Your eyes can stay healthy over time when your diet is rich in vitamins like C and E, as well as zinc and omega-3 fats. Some good choices are oranges, beans, nuts, tuna, salmon and spinach.
Pay attention to the heating or air conditioning in your home. Arid air in your house can lead to dry eyes. Run a humidifier in conjunction with your heating system to keep the air moist and comfortable. When the air is moist it prevents dry and irritated eyes.
Using the computer too often can actually cause eye damage. Blink often to keep your eyes from drying out. Be sure to reduce your screen’s glare. You can get a special anti-glare screen, if need be. Lastly, position your computer so that your eyes are level with the very top of your monitor. You should look down slightly at the screen.
Position your computer monitor at the ideal distance from your eyes. If your monitor is positioned too high or too close, it can cause you eye strain. Eyes that are stressed are prone to develop more problems down the road. The computer screen should be positioned at eye level and at least at an arm’s distance.
Make sure to consume copious amounts of Vitamin A during the course of the day. Vitamin A is great for helping to reduce the inflammation and irritation that you may feel, which can cause dryness. Foods that have high sources of this vitamin include carrots, chicken, potatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.
Rest your eyes. If you spend long periods of time looking at your computer or focusing on one thing, it can be easy to forget to blink. This causes your eyes to fatigue. Reduce eye strain by looking away every 20 minutes for about twenty seconds. This can help your eyes.
Always wear proper eye protection. Every year, thousands of people end up blinded due to improper protection gear at work. Whenever you are working with chemicals or machinery that can cause small debris to fly, protect your eyes. A simple set of protective glasses can mean the difference between seeing and being blind.
Keep water or a cool, damp cloth handy while working on your computer. As you focus on the computer, strain sets in easily. If you dab your eyes with water or a cool cloth, you can relieve the strain and help cool the eyes. This will help when spending long periods at work on the computer.
You should really stop smoking if you’re concerned about your eye health. Smokers suffer an increased chance of diseases, including optic nerve damage and cataracts. If you have been unsuccessful when you tried to quit smoking, try again. The more often you try to stop smoking, the better your chances of success.
If you use contact lenses, be sure to wash your hands before touching them. There are all sorts of germs and viruses which can enter your body through your eye. The last thing you want is an eye infection, or even a cold or the flu, so wash up first!
Sunglasses may be fashionable, but they also offer benefits to your eyes. Sunglasses can help maintain the health of your eyes. If you wear glasses, you can even get prescription shades or Transitions lenses to make things easier.
If you want to maintain your eyes healthy and you are a smoker, quit smoking. Smokers are more prone to getting optic nerve damage, macular degeneration and cataracts. If you have attempted to quit smoking before and have failed, keep trying. If you need extra motivation, think about the damage smoking can do to your eyes.
See an optometrist. As you get older, your eyes do not work as well as they once did. You may not have needed glasses your entire life, but its a good idea to see an optometrist every year, the same as you see a dentist every few months. An optometrist will be able to tell you how your eyes are doing, and you can get glasses if necessary.
With so much advice here on caring for your eyes, you know that you have a great knowledge of the topic now. While knowing a lot is great, using that knowledge is key. Be sure to start implementing these ideas one by one so that you can keep your eyes healthy and happy.