Sometimes we tend to forget how much we depend on our vision. Maintaining good health includes protection of our eyes. Even though vision problems are often caused by age-related eye conditions, it does not mean that we can neglect to care for our sight, even when we are young. Checking up on our vision and caring for our eyesight becomes more important the older we get.

Here are eight practical tips:

Pay attention to changes in your vision

Signs and symptoms to look out for are sudden blurry, hazy, or double vision occurrences in one or both eyes; sudden or gradual loss of central vision; narrowing or sudden reduction in your field of view; blind, dark, or red spots in your field of view; difficulty seeing in low-light; seeing flashes of light, floaters, or eye pain. If you notice any of these, contact your nearest eye care professional immediately.

Note your family history.

Be aware of your family's eye health and health history in general. Do you know if anyone in your family suffers from diabetes or has a history of age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, or high blood pressure? Ask your family members about their eye health and general health history. It’s important to know if anyone has been diagnosed with these diseases or conditions since some are hereditary. These traits can increase your risk for eye diseases or conditions.

Use protective eyewear                                            

Wear protective glasses whenever damage to the eyes is possible, such as when doing home improvement work like gardening or using cutting or grinding machines. Even when exercising outdoors, you should consider wearing protective glasses.
There’s an interesting story here about a Kent-based farrier.

Protection from UV rays

Wear polarised prescription glasses or sunglasses that block 100% of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays outdoors during the day and even on cloudy days.

Blue light emission

Artificial lamps and digital screens generate some blue light, which some studies have implicated as harmful. In any case, it is important to take regular breaks from your computer screen and, if appropriate, use protective lens coatings that reduce the amount of blue light emitted by modern lamps and digital devices.

Keep healthy

Your diet matters. Antioxidants can reduce the risk of cataracts. Eating fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids may also reduce the risk of macular degeneration. Drink water regularly; we need it to produce tears. If you have dry eyes, consider using artificial teardrops.

Avoid smoking

It increases the risk of developing age-related eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

Exercise regularly

What is good for your general health is usually good for your eye health.

Some of these tips seem obvious, but those are usually the ones that are easiest to forget. I hope this blog post has been of interest, and I look forward to welcoming you back to practice soon.

Lucinda

*The information presented here reflects general information about eye health and eye protection, but there are always exceptions to these.