Your eyes are invaluable to you, yet many people simply aren’t giving them the due care and attention that they require to stay healthy. While many people experience some sort of deterioration in vision over the years, this can be held at bay with proper care and attention. The regular steps that you take can make all the difference, as well as adjustments to your lifestyle. The following blog post will check out just a few of the main steps that you can take. This way, you can be fully prepared and give your eyes the best chance of staying healthier for longer.
Book in Regular Eye Appointments
While you may be able to tell that some changes to your vision are happening yourself, it is much more likely to be the case if you go to a specialist on a regular basis. They are in the best place – with professional equipment and years of experience behind them – to make recommendations based on any changes or deterioration that they see. They may spot that you need reading glasses in certain situations before you have even realised yourself. By stepping in with this early intervention, you can prevent any additional strain on your eyes. Even if they spot that nothing needs to be done, it gives you peace of mind that you are in the best possible position. If you need to enlist the help of a specialist in a more extensive way, you should check out a guide to choosing the best LASIK surgeon. This way, when you are making such a huge decision, you will feel like you have all the right facts and figures backing up and supporting what you had thought initially.
Protect Them From The Sun
The UV rays of the sun have the potential to be harmful, which is why it is certainly worth reducing this glare with good sunglasses that block them. You should also avoid looking directly at the sun as this can cause additional strain on your eyes or even damage the retinas entirely. Even on bright cloudy days, the UV rays can still get through, so it is certainly worth wearing sunglasses even at times when you aren’t sure. The more protective and preventive steps you take, the better it is likely to be for your eyes.
Wear Glasses When Needed
If you have been told that you need to wear glasses at certain times such as when you are reading or when you are driving, you should pay attention to the experts and make sure you are doing so. If you continue to persist without, this can lead to a situation of blurred vision that could have otherwise been avoided. Ultimately, the glasses are there to provide that extra support to your eyes, and you don’t want to accelerate any decline in your vision if it could have otherwise been easily avoided.
Eat A Better Balanced Diet
What you put into your body can also have a big impact on how well your vision is working, so pay close attention to this and make any adjustments as and when needed. A big part of this comes down to a better sense of balance in your diet, but there are also specific food groups that are generally good for your eye health. You should certainly focus on eating plenty of fruits and vegetables – with a particular focus on green and leafy ones. Also, focus on the food that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as fresh fish as this can have a positive impact on your eyesight.
Stop Smoking
Among the myriad other conditions that can be caused by smoking, a range of eye diseases can occur. If you need yet another reason to stop smoking, protecting your eye health should be added to the list. The earlier you stop smoking, the better it is likely to be in the long run.
Take Regular Breaks When Working
Many people spend a great deal of their working day staring at screens, but you need to aim to build in some breaks here to ensure that you are not straining your eyes unnecessarily. Ideally, you should be getting away from your screen for a few minutes every hour. You can give your eyes a workout by looking in the distance as you will have been using your short vision by staring at a screen. Even if you aren’t able to physically get away from the screen, you should aim to turn it to black so you are not tempted to look back again. Taking regular breaks has been shown to make us all more productive, so there is this additional advantage that is worth taking into account.
Use Contact Lenses Correctly
If you wear contact lenses on a regular basis, you need to make sure that you are using these properly. To begin with, this means giving your hands a thorough washing before you put them in. You should also check the specific type that you have to ensure that you are following a proper cleaning routine with them. If they are disposable, you should follow the correct advice and get rid of them rather than attempting to wear them again for any reason.
Use Protective Eyewear When Needed
There are times that you are going to need to use protective eyewear. It may be in a working environment where there is the potential for sparks or other items of debris to fly in to them. In this case, you should be provided with safety goggles. If you are not, you need to make sure that you don’t carry out anything that has the potential to be damaging without getting some. You are never going to regret taking these preventative steps, and there is no point in being complacent when it is about something as important as your vision. Sometimes, you may also be taking part in activities that require protective eyewear such as paintballing. There is no point in taking any unnecessary risks, so make sure to follow all advice and the briefings that you are given.
Keep Exercising On A Regular Basis
Among all the other advantages of exercise, preventing disease that causes eye issues should be on the list here. If you are overweight or obese, you are more likely to develop a condition such as diabetes, which can then lead to vision problems. Many people wouldn’t naturally associate exercise with helping your eyes, but it is yet another plus point and reason why you should build it into your regular routine.
Better looking after your eyes should certainly be on your list of priorities, and these are just a few of the ways to do so. Some of this advice means making positive changes to your regular routine. For example, eating more fruit and vegetables and getting enough exercise on a regular basis. Some of it is about the preventative measures that you can take such as wearing all the proper eyewear. However, you certainly shouldn’t overlook the importance of seeing a specialist on an annual basis or more often if they think that it is needed.
Sometimes, an investment in some better equipment can be useful. For example, if you have been persisting with poor quality sunglasses, it is certainly worth making an upgrade here and switching to some that provide proper UV protection. You may also want to upgrade your reading glasses or contact lenses to some that offer a higher level of protection than you would otherwise get.
