When should you start seeing Dr. Sloan – Sarasota Optometrist? Studies show that healthy adults who do not exhibit vision problems should undergo a complete eye exam by the time they turn forty years old. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, people start exhibiting symptoms of vision problems at forty. Optometrists are your eye health care providers that prescribe medications to help improve your vision, offer low vision rehabilitation, dispense contact and spectacle lenses, and are also trained to perform surgical procedures of the eye.
Are you taking good care of your eyesight? Believe it or not but most people don’t. Many of them take their eyes for granted without realizing that they will not be able to function optimally without their eyesight. Imagine if you have blurred vision while driving on the freeway? Or when getting to the office requires you to take a flight of stairs every day? If your vision is impaired, your risk of getting into an accident while on the road or obtaining an injury due to falls is high. Luckily, there are ways to protect your eyes. Here are some helpful tips that are guaranteed to help maintain your eye health.
#1 Balanced Diet
Are you aware that the food you eat can affect your eyesight? Eye doctors recommend you incorporate foods rich in vitamins A and C and antioxidants such as fish and green, leafy vegetables. Salmon is a good choice because it’s a fatty fish, and it contains loads of omega-3 fatty acids that will help nourish your macula. It’s the part of the eye that controls central vision.
If your diet doesn’t contain enough antioxidants and if you regularly consume foods that have high amounts of saturated fats, your macula can deteriorate. Diets high in fats can also produce fatty deposits that impede blood flow towards your arteries. Keep in mind that the arteries in your eyes are small, so they too can get affected easily.
#2 Workout
What does exercise have to do with your eyes? Well, exercise keeps your heart pumping, thereby improving blood flow and sending oxygenated blood to your eyes. It also helps remove toxins.
#3 Get Enough Sleep
How many hours of sleep a day are you getting? When you sleep, the cells in your eyes are restored, making them healthier. This allows you to function better visually. Unfortunately, people with poor sleeping patterns often exhibit dry eye syndrome and eye spasms.
#4 Keep Your Hands Clean
What do clean hands have to do with your eyesight? Well, this is especially useful for people who are wearing contact lenses. Before putting your contacts in or removing them, make sure your hands are clean. Eye doctors strongly encourage you to wash your hands with mild soap and water and dry them with a lint-free towel. Your hands are dirty, and it’s teeming with bacteria. If you touch your eyes without washing them, you introduce all kinds of bacteria into your eyes, leading to infections. The most common eye infection is conjunctivitis or commonly known as pink eye.
#5 Quit Smoking
Everyone knows smoking is bad for your lungs but did you know that it also affects your eye health? When you smoke, your eyes are exposed to oxidative stress. Although the relationship between the two hasn’t been clearly established, many eye doctors say that smoking will increase your risk of health problems that will affect your eye health. We understand that quitting this nasty habit can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. If you need help, you may want to check out the smoking cessation program by the American Lung Association to help you overcome this addiction.
#6 Protective Eyewear
You’ve got sunglasses in your dresser, but you’re not wearing them. Well, eye doctors say you should, especially if you’re out on a sunny day. Eyeglasses help protect your eyes against the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. So when choosing a pair of eyeglasses, don’t just look at the design or the color; the essential feature you need to look for is if it can protect you against UVA and UVB rays.
#7 Limit Device Use
The gadgets you use every day emit harmful blue light that can hurt your eyes. You should distance your eyes from the screen around 20 to 24 inches away to protect your eyesight. Keep your computer screen a bit lower than your eye level. Don’t forget to blink and then take a break after every 20 minutes of using the computer.
Takeaway
Besides following all these, you should also be mindful of changes to your eyesight. If there are any abnormal changes, make sure you let your eye doctor know about them.
