We never forget to wear our contact lenses or glasses, mostly because we need it to see. This is one of the things that you commonly do to protect your eyes, but is it enough? Even if you are wearing your glasses, even if it has a protective lens; our eyes tend to go on autopilot throughout the day. It becomes strained and prone to infections. Even if you have near perfect vision, it doesn’t not mean that you will not be susceptible to eye problems. There are more eye problems than vision issues. There are more than a thousand jobs related eye traumas that happen every day. One of the major eye issues that people face is keratitis. This is an infection often caused by the improper contact lens use and care. There are also age related macular degeneration that affects millions of people and can permanently affect your eyesight. Fortunately, there are a lot of things we can do every day to help increase our eye health. We’ve asked eye doctors some of the best habits to have to help with short and long term eye health. These are what they advise to keep your eye sharp.
Wear Sunglasses Outdoors
Sunglasses are more than just a fashion trend. It was designed to protect our eyes from sun damage. You might not think much about it, but our eyes can get sunburned. Tanning is bad for you since the sun damage can accumulate on your skin. This also occurs in your eyes. Prolonged exposure to UV rays can make you more prone to cataracts, skin cancer around the eyes and thickening of the eye tissue. Always carry sunglasses with you. Ones that contain UVB and UVA coating are best for reducing risk of eye damage. Wear one when you are driving or planning to spend time on the beach.
Be Safe with Your Contact Lenses
If you wear contact lenses, even ones that are for aesthetic proposes should be cared for and used properly. We often make a lot of mistakes when it comes to putting on our contact lenses, especially when we are in a hurry. Do you wash your hands every time you put it in or even try to move it? Do you make sure that your eyes are disinfected when you remove them? Do you know how to properly put in and remove your contact lenses? Most wearers do not correctly clean, store and use their contact lenses. This often results in eye infection and keratitis. This is a treatable inflammation of the cornea. However, if this constantly occurs; you are more prone to eye damage. Eye damages that can even become irreversible. A few tips you can do to prevent this is to make sure that you wash your hand before you put on and take off your lenses. Make sure to cleanse the lenses before you put it in the case. Wash the case with hot water at least once a week. If possible, wear your eyeglasses when you are at home or when you really don’t need to wear it.
Flush the Irritant Out
Often our reaction when we get irritant in our eyes is to blink as much as possible to increase tears to flush it out. However, this is not really ideal since it can only spread the irritant and prolong the exposure. The ideal thing to do is to wash it out with water. You have to remove irritant as quickly as you can, especially if it’s an alkaline solution such as toothpaste.
Look Away
Staring at any bright light is never a good idea. Direct sunlight and laser pointers can permanently damage your eyes. Even if you are wearing sunglasses. Limit your time staring into direct sunlight or any bright lights.
Lighting
Lighting is such an important aspect of your eye health. The perfect lighting when you are reading or working is that it should not be too dark or too bright. Fluorescent lights are better for working. Even when it comes to your computer or cell phones. The back light should never too bright that it irritates your eyes and too dark that reading becomes too hard.
Take Breaks
When you are reading, studying or using the computer, follow the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes look 20 feet away and let your eyes rest for 20 seconds. This reduces eye strain, dryness and irritation.
These are only some of the habits you can do to help keep your eyes healthy. One of the best things you can do is to get annual checkups, especially if you have a family history of macular degeneration or eye problems. Another important thing you can do is to eat a healthy diet that contains foods that are rich in Vitamin C, Lutein, Lycopene and Vitamin A. These vitamins and minerals are known to improve eye health and improve eyesight. Some foods that are good for the eyesight are tomatoes, carrots, berries and green leafy vegetables.
