How To Take Care Of Your Eyes: Importance And Tips

The luscious lands of green, the blues of the ocean, the golden sunset, and the fascinating colors of the rainbow are all so enjoyable to us because of our eyes. They are like the windows to our bodies, letting us see this glorious world around us. The more we think about it, the more we're convinced of the importance of our vision and eyes.

As crucial as they are, we don't pay much attention to our eye health. We see our physician, dentist, and gynecologist regularly. But what about seeing your eye doctor or ophthalmologist?

Eye health and vision are important for our overall health. Getting your eyes checked and vision examined at every stage of your life can help you address vision correction and eye diseases before it's too late. 

Here's how starting early can do wonders for your eye health:

How to take care of your eyes? Why start early?

Early treatment is critically important to prevent some common eye diseases from causing permanent vision loss or blindness:

Eye care tips to follow:
 

• Cataracts (clouding of the lens), are the leading cause of vision loss.
• Diabetic retinopathy (which causes damage to blood vessels in the back of the eye), is the leading cause of blindness in adults.
• Glaucoma (a group of diseases that damages the optic nerve)
• Age-related macular degeneration (gradual breakdown of light-sensitive tissue in the eye)
• Vision problems tend to increase as they get older, and children need eye exams to ensure healthy vision.
• Preschool children should get their vision tested as it is necessary for the diagnosis of eye diseases.
• Amblyopia (reduced vision because the eye and brain aren't working together properly) is the most common cause of vision loss in children (2 to 3 out of 100 children). Prompt treatment of amblyopia is essential to avoid vision loss.

To up your eye health, start by taking care of your eyes. To do so you can follow these eye care tips:

• Limit screen time
• Use sunglasses/safety eyewear
• Be mindful of makeup 
• Perform eye exercises

Things to keep in mind for eye care

1. Be mindful of your screentime

• Increased screen time can cause dry eyes, red eyes, and eye strain. 
• While working at a screen for long hours, keep in mind the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes of screen time, divert your eyes 20 feet far away for 20 seconds. This can relieve your eyes of the strain. 
• Make sure you wear your glasses or contacts while attending to your screen. Don't forget to take a 15-minute break once in a while for your eye health.

2. Throw on the shades

We know that the sun's rays can burn our skin, but did you know they can also harm our eyes? The sun's rays can be damaging to your eye health. 

• Using sunglasses that block 90% to 100% UVA and UVB rays can protect your eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration. 
• Wearing contact lenses that offer protection from UV rays is a great way of keeping the harmful rays out of your eyes is primary eye care. 

3. Beware of your makeup

• Using eye makeup for more than 3 months of opening can harm your eye health. 
• Liquid and creamy eye makeup can harbor bacteria that can cause an eye infection. If you are allergic, choose allergen-free makeup. 
• Avoid sharing your eye makeup with others. If you get an eye infection after using makeup, immediately discard the product and see your doctor.

4. Wearing safety eye-wear

• If you are a person working around hazardous chemicals, airborne particles, or any allergen-causing substances at work or home, it is important to wear protective safety eyewear. 
• This can help keep the hazardous substance out of your eyes. Taking the right preventive measures can avoid the risk of eye injury, eye infection, or an allergic reaction.

5. Perform eye exercises

• Performing eye exercises every half an hour while working at a screen or studying from a book can help prevent tiredness in the eyes. 
• Working your eye muscles up and down, sideways, and in a rotatory manner can help exercise them. 
• Staring far away for 20 seconds every once in a while help with the same. So, start including healthy eye-health exercises in your daily study or work schedule for improved eye health. 

6. Pay regular visits to your eye doctor

• Everyone from children to senior citizens must regularly get their eyes checked.  An ophthalmologist and an optometrist are eye-care professionals that can help you with your eye health. 
• Regular eye examinations can help you stay up-to-date with your vision correction whereas they can also help in the early detection of eye disorders like glaucoma, night blindness, and macular degeneration.

Now that we are all caught up on tips for improving our eye health. Let us know more about eye tests and exams that can help in detecting various eye problems.

Lifestyle changes that you need to be mindful of for your eye health

1. Watch what you eat

• Good eye health starts with nutritious food. Including fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, and other food groups in your diet can ensure optimum nutrition. 
• Balanced nutrition can help keep vision problems such as macular degeneration, night blindness, and cataracts at bay. 
• To get these nutrients include ingredients like spinach, kale, salmon, cod, tuna, eggs, nuts, beans, oranges, lemons, etc. in your daily diet. 

1. Practice regular exercise

• Exercising regularly can ensure one's overall fitness. 
• With regular exercise, obesity and other-related diseases like diabetes and hypertension can be prevented. 
• Being obese and diabetic can increase the chances of eye disorders like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

2. Stay hydrated

• Keeping your body hydrated is essential for your good health, but did you know that hydration is equally important for your eyes? 
• Without adequate moisture, the eyes can become dry and uncomfortable. Understanding the importance of hydration can help us in preventing dry eye, one of the most common types of eye problems.
• Staying hydrated can also help with tired eyes and concentration.

3. Say NO to smoking

It is a known fact that smoking is degrading to overall health. However, does smoking impact eye health? The answer is yes. 

• Smoking cigarettes increases your chances of getting cataracts and macular degeneration. It can also be damaging to the optic nerve. 
• Quitting smoking can be tough, but to keep trying is the only way to reach the ultimate goal. Avoiding smoking can help in the betterment of your overall health and keep eye problems at bay.

4. Diabetes and other ailments

• Complications of diabetes and blood pressure can affect the blood flow in your eyes increasing your chances of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. 
• Other diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Graves disease, etc can also affect eye health.
• Getting regular health checkups done and getting screened for such diseases is a precaution worth taking. 

Supplements for eye care

Eye health and vision can be improved with nutritional supplements. Diet is the main component of attaining nutrients, if that is compromised your eye health could be in peril. 

Nutrients that play an important role in eye health:

• Omega-3 fatty acids 
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B complex
• Vitamin C 
• Vitamin E 
• Lutein
• Zeaxanthin
• Copper
• Zinc
• Riboflavin
• Niacin
• Thiamin 
• Fish oil supplements and multivitamin tables can help you attain these essential nutrients. 

With your nutritional needs fulfilled, your eye health and immunity are bound to flourish.

Eye Tests and Exams

Everyone needs to have their eyesight tested to check for vision and eye problems. Getting a comprehensive dilated eye exam is important as some eye diseases may not have warning signs. 

These tests are the only way to detect these eye disorders and diseases in their early stages. This early stage is when they are easiest to treat.

The exam includes several tests:

• A visual field test: This test measures your peripheral vision (side vision). This test is essential if a loss of peripheral vision may be a sign of glaucoma.
• A visual acuity test: This test is when you read an eye chart about 20 feet away and check on how well you see at various distances.
• Tonometry: This is a test to measure your eye's interior pressure. It can be helpful in the detection of glaucoma.
• Dilation: This involves getting eye drops that dilate your pupils. This facilitates more light to enter the eye. After this, the eye care provider examines your eye using a special magnifying lens providing a clear view of important tissues in your eye. These include sensitive eye organs like the retina, macula, and optic nerve.
• Vision correction: If there is a refractive error you might need glasses or contacts. In such a scenario, you will have to take a refraction test. 

When you take this test, the optometrist will ask you to look through a device that has lenses of different strengths to help you with clear vision. 

These vision tests help to see if you're nearsighted, farsighted, have astigmatism (a curved cornea that blurs vision), or presbyopia (age-related vision changes).

Getting these exams and how often they need to be performed depends on many factors like age, race, and overall health. For example, if you are at a higher risk of glaucoma, you need to start getting the exams earlier. 

Those with diabetes, get an exam every year. Check with your health care provider about if and when you need to take these exams.

Conclusion

Our eyes let us see the world and explore our surroundings. Taking care of your eyes can help in maintaining your eye health. Understanding and knowing the various vision disorders can help you take prompt action toward your eye health.

Taking care of your eyes by limiting your screen time, wearing shades, performing eye exercises, maintaining a healthy diet and exercising, staying hydrated, and avoiding smoking are some tips to take care of your eye health. 

Visiting your eye care professional regularly is essential for the early detection of eye disorders. With these regular eye check-ups getting clear vision is possible.

So take care of your eyes, follow tips for eye care, and do not forget to visit your eye doctor regularly!