7 Steps to Eye Care

Eye Care: 7 Essential Steps to Looking after Your Eyes

Looking after your eyes is crucial in maintaining strong vision in the long-term. There are many ways in which you can take care of your eyes, and all of these strategies are very simple. Here are 7 essential steps to looking after your eyes.

1. The Importance of a Healthy Lifestyle

Keeping your body healthy in general has a positive influence on your eye health. If your immune system is strong, the chances of developing an eye infection are much slimmer. Even if you do develop an eye condition, the recovery time is much quicker and the odds of contracting another eye infection are less likely.

There are a few components to a healthy lifestyle. These include proper diet, regular exercise, vitamin intake, and getting adequate sleep.

A diet that has a positive effect on your eye health is one low in cholesterol and trans-fatty acids. It also helps to eat a well-balanced diet with the proper vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, vegetables, and fruit. You can also take vitamins and nutritional supplements to further enhance your health. Vitamins have proven benefits due to the high amount of antioxidants.

If you get at least 30 minutes of exercise three times during the week, this is a tremendous step in assisting eye health. It can prevent diabetes, which can lead to eye conditions, as well as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Improper sleep can lead to eye fatigue, which causes irritated eyes, trouble concentrating, and many other eye issues. Adults need approximately 7-8 hours of sleep every night, so do your best to get in enough sleep time.

2. Keep Your Eyes Safe

Being mindful of eye safety will protect your eyes. Eye damage can be caused by physical, chemical, or radiation injury. Always wear protective eye gear and pay attention to your surroundings.

3. Get in Your Eye Care Exercises

If you engage in regular eye exercises, this can improve your eyesight and prevent eye issues like nearsightedness and farsightedness. They can also improve your focus, strengthen your eye muscles, and maintain your current level of eyesight. Talk to your optometrist about eye exercises you can practice to help enhance your vision.

4. Don’t Forget Your Eye Checkups

To keep on top of your eye health, it is crucial to get in your regular eye checkups. Even if you have perfect vision, it’s always good to err on the side of caution and get a comprehensive exam by an eye care professional. This will help prevent or treat potential future eye conditions like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Make sure to follow up on your eye exam every 2 years.

5. Practice Good Habits

If you’re a regular wearer of contact lenses, you’ll want to take the proper steps in practicing good eye care habits. Here are some tips that you’ll want to follow:

  • Never wear contacts longer than 19 hours
  • Never sleep with your contacts in
  • Do not swim while wearing contacts (unless you are wearing goggles)
  • Always follow the instructions on wearing contacts
  • Wash your hands before inserting your contact lenses or handling them in general

Another useful eye care tip is to remove your makeup at the end of the day. It is essential to never go to bed with eye makeup still on as it will cause irritation and even sometimes an infection. Sleeping with eye makeup can also clog your pores around the eyes which can lead to further eye issues. If you have trouble remembering to take off your makeup or are too tired, keep some eye makeup remover pads or toilettes near your bed.

6. Find the Right Pair of Sunglasses

It is important not only to wear sunglasses, but to wear sunglasses with the proper UV protection. When buying a pair of sunglasses, make sure it says that the lens blocks 99% to 100% of UVB and UVA rays.

If your eyes are exposed to the sun for too long, this can do irreversible damage to your eyesight. UV ray exposure to your eyes has also been known to lead to conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, pinguecula and pterygium. What you may not also know is that it’s important to wear sunglasses while you are in the shade. You are still exposed to the UV rays in shade that is reflected off buildings, so it’s best to wear those shades even if you think you are more protected out of the sun.

Even if you are sporting shades, never look directly at the sun. The sun’s rays are so powerful that they can harm areas of the retina that are more sensitive.

7. Cut Down on Technology Time

Screens from technology can strain your eyes. If you make it a habit of looking at your computer, tablet and phone screens constantly, it may be good to take a break. Staring at screens for too long can cause eye fatigue and dry eyes. Giving your eyes a rest is, overall, beneficial to your health, so cutting down the time used on technology will have a positive impact on your lifestyle.

We hope these tips will give you some ideas on how you can best protect your vision. If you’re concerned you may have some eye health issues or just think it’s time for a checkup, get in contact with the friendly staff at Advanced Eye Medical.