It is important to take care of our eyes.  We live in such a visual world keeping our eyes healthy and seeing well should be part of our health care routine.  There are some everyday habits that you can add to your lifestyle to help you protect your eyes.  Let’s look at those plus understand what signs we should watch for that indicate something isn’t right with our vision.

Nearly 1/2 of all the people who struggle with vision issues are over the age of 65.  However, living to a nice old age does not mean you have to have vision problems.

 

Good Eye Health Tips

 

Good Nutrition

Eat a healthy well balanced diet.  Zinc, vitamin C , vitamin E and beta-carotene are important nutrients for your eyes.  Leafy greens like spinach kale and collard greens are good for your eyes.  Oranges, and citrus fruits can help provide vitamin C.  Tuna, salmon, halibut and/or oily fish are also good for your eyes.

Stay At A Healthy Weight

Obesity or being overweight can increase your health risk for diabetes.  Diabetics are at higher risk for vision problems.

Avoid Caffeine

Caffeine negatively impacts the system that the eyes use for focusing.  Caffeine can be found in chocolate as well as soda, tea and coffee.

Avoid Contact Contamination

It is important to wash your hands frequently to keep germs out of your eyes.  If you wear contact lenses be particularly careful about cleaning and sanitizing the lenses and use clean hands to put in and take out your contacts.

When swimming remove contact lenses.  Contacts can be easily lost in swimming pools.  You can also contract a cornea infection that is found in a water parasite if you wear soft contact lenses in the water.  Cornea infections are painful and can lead to vision loss.

Wear Eye Protection

When playing sports or working with tools. Wear safety goggles or safety glasses to keep your eyes free from injury.

Wear Sunglasses Outdoors

The UVA And UVB radiation from the sun can harm your eyesight.  Wearing a pair of sunglasses that protects from both UVA and UVB rays will help your eyes stay healthy.  You not only need sunglasses at the beach you need them in the snow to.  Light reflecting of the snow can be very bright and damaging.

Quit Smoking

Quit smoking or avoid smoking.  Smoking is bad for your eyes and increases your risk for vision issues.

Take Screen Breaks

We live in a digital world that uses screens and computers everyday and everywhere.  Your eyes need breaks from screens this includes; computers, tv’s and phones.  Rest your eyes frequently from staring at screens.  A good rule to put into practice is:  every 20 minutes look about 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Replace Eye Makeup Regularly

Mascara can harbor bacteria that you then swipe over your lashes.  This bacteria can cause vision issues.  Replacing mascara every 6 weeks can help keep bacteria under control.  If you have any eye makeup that you can’t remember when you bought it, probably time to throw it out and replace.

Regular Eye Check Ups

You need to make regular eye check ups part of your routine.  Even children with no vision issues can benefit from an overall eye health exam.  Regular check ups can catch trouble early which leads to better outcomes.  Early treatment can often save the health of your eyes.

If your eyes are healthy and you are not experiencing any issues an eye exam every 3 to 5 years is probably enough.  If you have vision issues follow your doctor’s recommendations for how often you should have an exam.

 

Warning Signs Of Possible Vision Problems

 

Floaters, Flashes and Blind Spots

As we age floaters or dark spots in our vision are more common.  But the floaters can also be a sign of a retinal tear.

A blurry or blind spot in the center of your vision can be a sign of macular degeneration.  Macular degeneration has treatment options but catching it early leads to better outcomes.

Dry Eyes

Dry eyes are worsened by watching screens.  If you notice your eyes are dry take a break from your computer.  Artificial tears can also help relieve dry eyes.

Physical Eye Pain

If you have physical eye pain it could indicate that there is an object in your eye.  You can try rinsing your eye with water or saline solution to see if you can remove it.  Be careful, you do not want to scratch your cornea trying to remove something.

Physical pain can also indicate an infection or an injury.

Trouble Reading

Many people in their 40’s start to notice a reduction in their ability to read fine print.  This is called Presbyopia; when the eye lens loses its flexibility to change shape for close-up vision.  A pair of readers from the drug store can often take care of this issue.

Night Vision Problems

If you are having trouble seeing at night it can mean you are nearsighted and need a new prescription.  Some people notice vision problems at night before they are aware that they have some vision loss.  Cataracts can also be the issue for reduced night vision.

Headlight glare when driving at night is a problem for people with perfect vision but it can also be an indicator that you have an issue.

Losing Peripheral Vision

If you see a decrease in your vision out the sides of your eyes you could have glaucoma.  Glaucoma is a condition where eye pressure is too high and the optic nerve is damaged.

 

Eye Health Professionals

 

There are 3 basic eye health professionals.  Understanding which professional you need is important.

Optician

This is the eye health professional with the least amount of schooling.  An optician can fill a glasses prescription, fit your glasses to your face and help you get proper contact lenses.

Optometrist

An optometrist has had 4 years of training after college.  An optometrist can help with visual difficulties and dry eye issues.  Look to an optometrist to provide general eye care and treat eye diseases.  This is who you normally see for an eye exam when your vision needs correction through eye glasses or contacts but your overall eye is in fairly good health.  This professional can not do eye surgeries.

Ophthalmologist

An ophthalmologist is the highest trained eye professional.  An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who specializes in eye care.  They can deal with physical eye issues like retina tears, glaucoma pressure issues, cataracts and vision issues.  If your eyes are not healthy, this is the level of care you should seek.  You will need an ophthalmologist if you need any kind of eye surgery.

Emergency Room

Go to the emergency room is you suddenly lose vision or have a physical eye injury.

 

Takeaway

Proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle can help keep your vision in good shape.  Following a few simple guidelines like regular eye exams, wearing eye protection and eating a diet rich in nutrients are important for good eye health.  Knowing your family history of eye disease can also help you watch for any diseases that you might be genetically predisposed for.  Seek help if you notice changes to your vision.  Early diagnosis can lead to early treatment which can help improve your odds for a more successful outcome.

 

Need help getting good eye nutrition?  Try Purium’s ZinC-ADE which contains vital nutrition for eye health.  Vitamin E is required for the proper function of many organs in the body. In addition to providing cell and eye protection, vitamin E supports an efficiently functioning immune system. 

 

 

Read More:  The Solution To Costly Eyewear Replacement


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