Maintaining Healthy Eyes in Winter
Near the end of each year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions. For many, this resolution can be to become healthier by exercising, losing weight, or developing better habits. If you’re looking for a simple resolution that can have a big impact on your health and quality of life, it may help to focus on your sight.
To make sure your eyes are healthy into the New Year and beyond, consider taking the following actions:
Schedule Regular Eye Exams
If you’ve visited our blog more than a few times, you know how we feel about regular eye exams! These annual exams are important for us throughout our lifetime, starting at 6 months and continuing through adulthood. These comprehensive eye health and vision exams provide complete eye care for children and adults. During these evaluations, your eyes will be checked for potential eye diseases or disorders. In addition, your visual abilities are evaluated carefully; appropriate treatment is prescribed, which can include lenses, medication, and/or vision therapy.
Share Your Medical History
Once you’ve scheduled your appointment, make sure you share your medical history with your eye care professionals. Often, issues within the body may be connected with vision or eye health issues. Blood pressure, diabetes, and hypertension are all able to be detected with an eye exam, so through discussion with your eye doctor, you may be able to further a course of action for your overall health. It can also be useful to share your lifestyle and habits with your eye doctor to ensure your plans for vision correction are tailored best to fit your needs.
Stop Smoking
We know that smoking negatively affects the overall health of the body in numerous ways, but did you know that smoking can make your more susceptible to macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and optic nerve damage? All powerful reasons to quit.
Keep It Clean
To prevent corneal abrasions (scratches of the eye) or eye irritation from debris, it’s important to regularly clean eyewear and replace contact lens cases. If you wear contact lenses, eye doctors suggest replacing your lens case every few months to help avoid infection and possible complications. To further reduce the maintenance of contact lenses, you could also ask your eye doctor about daily disposable contact lenses to see if they would be a good fit for you and your lifestyle.
Step Away from the Screen
As we spend more and more time on our phones or the computer, many of us have begun feeling the effects of Computer Vision Syndrome. Prolonged screen time can produce negative effects such as eye strain, neck and back pain, headaches, and blurry vision. To avoid this, use the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, rest the eyes by looking at something 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds.
Wear UV-Protection Sunglasses
UV rays are harmful to the eyes as well as the skin: too much exposure to the sun’s rays can increase likelihood of cataracts or macular degeneration. To protect the eyes, wear sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rays.
For more information on how you can protect your eye health and vision, schedule an appointment with us today.
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