The eyes are the windows to the soul, but they are also the window to the outside world. With your eyes, you perceive the world, enjoy entertainment and find your place in the world from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. So keeping your peepers healthy is crucial for a fulfiled life. So how can you ensure great eye health for a lifetime?
Protect your eyes
Start with proper eye protection. There’s no easier and faster way to damage your vision forever than to leave your eyes exposed during certain dangerous activities, so always sport your eye protection. While at work, don’t play around and wear your protective goggles–these can keep you safe from dust, gases, and various debris pieces that can seriously damage your eye. Next, whenever there’s a lot of sun outside, make sure to wear sunglasses with proper UVA and UVB protection (even during winter). Prolonged UV exposure can cause cataracts and even cancer of the eye, so ensure proper ultraviolet blockage. When playing contact sports, ball sports, or swimming, appropriate eye protection is also a must.
Keep your eyes clean
Your eyes need to be kept clean just like any other body part. In case something gets into your eye, it can cause not only irritation but also infections and lasting damage to the cornea. If you wear contacts, make sure to follow the user manual and change them regularly. Also, keep contacts clean and sterile and avoid long-term wear which allows time for bacteria to develop and multiply. When you notice debris or dust in your eye, grab artificial tears and protective eye drops to wash out the eye and prevent further damage.
Get regular exams
Every year, try to visit your eye specialist and ask for a thorough eye exam. This way, your doctor can adjust your prescription and prescribe any treatment if needed. If you want to remove your prescription or at least minimize it, you can ask your doctor about iLasik surgery procedure which is the most modern and highly customizable procedure that brings the best vision correction results. Together with your doctor, you will see whether this procedure is suitable for you.
Know your family history
Many eye diseases are highly hereditary, and by knowing your family history, you can inform your doctor about various important things to keep an eye on. For instance, if one of your relatives had macular degeneration, you also have a higher chance of developing such a condition. The same is with glaucoma (you have several times higher possibility of developing it if it runs in your family).
Be proactive
Watch out for any signs of eye damage or vision loss and be swift in your reaction to it. Do you see some dark specks of lines floating in your eye? Well, these are not dangerous and they usually go away on their own. However, if these floaters start appearing more regularly and when they are followed by light or shadow flashes, you should visit your doctor so you can rule out any issues. Changes to the color of your eyeball are also something that might need professional attention. If the white of the eye is starting to go red or if you notice any uncomfortable discharge, it might be pink eye. This virus is easy to treat, especially if you’re proactive.
Allow your eyes plenty of rest
We all spend too much time looking at phones, TV and computers. While there’s no proof that this activity is super harmful to the vision, it does cause eye dryness, temporary blurriness and headaches. To prevent these uncomfortable symptoms, practice plenty of eye relaxation exercises such as 20-20-20.
Eat well and exercise
According to various studies, a healthy and diverse diet and exercise have a great effect on eye health. Fruits and veggies can prevent blinding diseases like macular degeneration and glaucoma, so try to invest more time into preparing foods rich in plants and low in saturated fat. And, of course, drink plenty of water! Also, 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise can also prevent similar eye conditions.
Ditch smoking
Smoking is a horrible habit that brings nothing good to your life. Among many issues it can cause, smoking can also boost the risk of eye disease, as well as dry your eyes and cause discomfort. By increasing the risk of heart and lung diseases, smoking can also indirectly affect your vision and eye health.
Hopefully, you will adopt some of these healthy eye habits and award yourself a lifetime of sharp vision.
