How to take care of my eyes

Most of the time, little attention is paid to our eyes.  And that’s a shame, given how much we depend on our vision in our everyday lives. Just think about how much your eyes work from the moment you wake up until you close your eyes at bedtime. That’s why taking care of our eyes is so important.

Although taking care of your eyes might seem pointless if you don’t have any vision problems, adopting a few easy habits will not only preserve your vision, but will also decrease your odds of developing eye problems in the future.

Eye problems can be easily prevented if you practice essential eye care habits everyday. Surprisingly, they are very practical and easy to accomplish yet they tend to be the most neglected.

Eat a balanced diet

Eat right to protect your sight. Keep your eyes healthy by eating a well-balanced diet. Load up on different types of fruits and veggies, especially leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collard greens. Fish like salmon, tuna, and halibut have been shown to help your eyes, too.

Stay hydrated. Sufficient fluid intake is essential to your body’s overall wellbeing, including the eyes. If you’re hydrated enough, you prevent your eyes from getting dry and irritated.

Beta-carotene, Lutein, Omega-3, Lycopene, and Vitamins C, A, and E are essential for maintaining your eye health.

Get regular exercise

Maintaining a healthy weight is very important. Being overweight or having obesity increases your risk of developing diabetes. Having diabetes puts you at higher risk of getting diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma .

To maintain healthy weight, get regular exercise. Exercise may help to prevent or control diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. These diseases can lead to some eye or vision problems. So if you exercise regularly, you can lower your risk of getting these eye and vision problems.

Rest your eyes regularly 20-20-20 rule

For every 20 minutes, look away from your computer monitor or phone screen and fix your gaze on an object that’s 20 feet away from you for about 20 seconds. Blink 20 successive times to prevent eye dryness.

Another way of doing it is, for every 20 minutes, get out of your seat and take 20 steps. This is not just good for your vision, but also promotes proper posture and blood circulation throughout the body. Yes, it keeps you from being sedentary too

Also, keeping your computer screen 20 to 24 inches away from your eyes and adjusting lighting to minimize glare will help. Because we blink less when looking at screens, it’s important to make a conscious effort to blink often.

Wash your hands before touching your eyes

The hands are exposed to a lot of dirt, dust and bacteria, and all of these can be easily transferred to your eyes, each time you touch or rub them. So avoid putting your fingers or hands to your eyes before washing your hands.

Get a dilated eye exam every two years

Getting comprehensive dilated eye exams is especially important because some eye diseases may not have warning signs. Your eye care professional places drops in your eyes to dilate, or widen, this allows the pupil to have more light entering the eye—the same way an open door lets more light into a dark room.

This process enables your eye care professional to get a good look at the back of the eyes and examine the eye parts, such as the retina , macula, and optic nerve. If you have a refractive error and are going to need glasses or contacts , then you will also have a refraction test. When you have this test, you look through a device that has lenses of different strengths to help your eye care professional figure out which lenses will give you the clearest and sharpest vision.

The exams are the only way to detect these diseases in their early stages, when they are easier to treat. The exam includes several tests:many common eye diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration,

It’s important to see your eye care provider regularly to help prevent or reduce vision problems. Common eye problems include blurred vision, halos, blind spots, and floaters. Including glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration.

The American Optometric Association recommends that all adults between the ages of 18 and 60 visit their eye doctor to get a comprehensive eye exam at least every 2 years.

Don’t assume that vision loss is an inevitable part of getting older! It’s not. Many eye problems begin without any symptoms. Regular eye exams can help you catch problems before it’s too late.

Wear sunglasses Protect your eyes from the sun

Choose sunglasses that block 75% to 90% of visible light. Sun exposure can damage your eyes and raise your risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.Protect your eyes by using sunglasses that block out 99 to 100% of both UV-A and UV-B radiation. Please wear them even on cloudy days. And remember, you should never look directly at the sun.

Remove your contacts before showering, swimming or wetting your face

While most contact lens wearers know that they shouldn’t sleep with contacts, many don’t know that they shouldn’t get their lenses wet. That’s because your contacts act like a sponge that absorbs bacteria and parasites that may be in pools, lakes or shower water which can cause eye irritation and even severe sight-threatening infections.

Your eyes need regular supplies of oxygen, and contact lenses block the flow of oxygen to the eyes, especially during sleep, so doctors recommend a break from wearing contact lenses for your eyes during the night. Ideally, your contact lenses wearing schedule should be 3 days lens wearing, 1 day back to spectacle. This allows your eyes to recover from extensive contact lens wear.

Wear safety glasses for even the simplest tasks

To prevent eye injuries , you need eye protection when playing certain sports, working in jobs such as factory work and construction, and doing repairs or projects in your own backyard.

When protective eyewear is required as a part of your job, make a habit of wearing the appropriate type of protective eyewear at all times, and encourage your coworkers to do the same.

Wear the appropriate eye safety gear for different activities

Playing your favorite sport? Using chemicals during science class? Mowing the lawn? Wear the right protection to keep your eyes safe. Many eye injuries can be prevented with better safety habits, such as using protective eyewear.

Sports like ice hockey, racquetball, and Ski can also lead to eye injury. Wearing eye protection is strongly recommended. Helmets with protective face masks or sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses will shield your eyes from impact.

Stop smoking

Among the many ways that smoking harms your health, it also damages the blood vessels that supply blood and nutrients to your optic nerve. Smoking also increases your chance of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

Tobacco smoke, including second-hand smoke, also makes your eyes dry and raises the risk for cardiovascular diseases which can indirectly influence your eye health.

Right eye make-up

Use the right kind of eye make-up. If you wear make-up, choose the brands that work well for you. Steer clear of eye shadows, mascara, and eyeliners that cause an allergic reaction to your eyes.

Don’t forget to use a make-up remover before going to bed to avoid bacterial build-up from residual make-up left in the eye area. Likewise, clean your make-up brushes regularly, especially those that you use for eye make-up application.

Get Enough sleep

Just like the rest of your body, your eyes need to recharge too, and this happens while you sleep. So make sure that you get sufficient shut-eye each day to keep your eyes revitalized and healthy.

Symptoms of eye fatigue include eye irritation, difficulty focusing, dryness or excessive tears, blurred or double vision, light sensitivity, or pain in the neck, shoulders, or back. Make sure that you get enough sleep every night to help prevent eye fatigue. Adults require about 7-8 hours of sleep per night.