What do you know about the world of eye care? People often take their eyesight for granted until an issue arises. It’s important that you take good care of your eyes and know what to do when it comes to appointments with an optometrist. Consider the following advice as you look more into the field of eye care.
Always wash your hands before you touch your eyes. Your fingers are covered with bacteria because your hands touch surfaces that other people have touched. If you touch your eyes without washing your hands, you will transfer bacteria to your eyes and cause irritation or even an infection. Therefore, before touching your eyes, wash your hands with soap and water.
Make sure you always have adequate lighting when you work or read. Your eyes will be straining all the time if you’re trying to see things without sufficient illumination in the room. Over time, this can cause serious damage. Increase your wattage or the number of lighting fixtures in any given room to solve the problem.
Keep your eyes protected when dealing with hazardous situations. In certain types of unclean or hazardous environments, you should keep your eyes protected by wearing safety goggles. These also include certain sports. Activities like lacrosse, ice hockey, or racquetball can cause eye injuries, which is why you should wear helmets that have built-in face masks or sports goggles.
Consume oily fish several times each week. These are high in omega3 fatty acids. These acids are incredibly beneficial to eye health in addition to other parts of your body. Vary your selection from wild salmon, tuna and mackerel. The more you eat, the healthier your vision will be from it.
If you are a smoker, stop now. Although you probably are aware of the lung damage you are causing, your poor eyes are being affected too. Most smokers have an increased proclivity for eye disease. If you stop smoking, you’re less likely to develop optic nerve damage and cataracts.
Remember to replace your contact lenses at least once every three months. Two months is actually a much better target, or even one month. Many people forget to replace their contacts as frequently as they should, which later leads to more serious problems in the eyes, such as irritation, ulcers, or infections.
If you are a smoker, butt out! Of course, smoking will lead your eyes to yellow and the skin around them to wrinkle and thin. On top of that, smoking is linked to a high risk of macular degeneration, cataracts and even damage to the optic nerve, all of which can lead to blindness.
Keep water or a cool, damp cloth handy while working on your computer. As you focus on the computer, strain sets in easily. If you dab your eyes with water or a cool cloth, you can relieve the strain and help cool the eyes. This will help when spending long periods at work on the computer.
Know your history. If your parents or grandparents had trouble with their eyes, chances are you will too. Make an effort to get checkups at the eye doctor more often, to ensure that no problems have developed. And, if you are diagnosed with anything, make sure your family members know about it.
It is very possible to have an eye condition and not even know it; some conditions do not even produce any symptoms. This is why it is important to see an eye doctor each year, something most people neglect to do. An eye doctor can take a thorough look at your eyes and investigate any problems he or she may find.
Stay active. You may not associate exercise with eye health, but the truth is, it increases circulation. That means there is often less pressure in the eyes. Plus, if you are in tune with your body, you will often know when something does not feel right. Get yourself checked out if you have any concerns.
If you work at a computer, take short breaks. When you take breaks and walk around, you feel better, and it increases the blood flow in your body. This will help your eyes as they get more blood and oxygen and diminish the strain they are enduring.
Be careful with computer use. If you use a computer a lot, you could be damaging your eyes. Make sure that you take a break from looking at the screen every half-hour. You can also be sure to position yourself so that you are looking down to see the monitor. These simple steps will help preserve your eyes.
Try to get eight hours of sleep at night. Sleep helps to restore your body and keeps you feeling fresh and energetic, which will reduce the redness in your eyes and keep you healthy. Staying awake will also strain your eyes, which will constrict the blood vessels too often, causing inflammation.
Get a yearly physical. There are a number of diseases, like diabetes, that can affect the eyes down the road. Therefore, an early diagnosis is crucial, so that you receive the care you need from the very beginning. Also, watch your cholesterol and blood pressure. They can also affect your eyes.
Eye care is extremely important. Think about all the ways we use our eyes. Imagine not having the eyesight you need to accomplish your daily tasks. It’s imperative that you know about the world of eye care so that you can stay on top of having good eyesight as you age.
