Healthy Vision Month

Articles

Jul 2

Eye health is sometimes an afterthought until something goes wrong. It can be difficult to know how healthy your eyes are without a comprehensive eye exam. While your eyes may feel perfectly healthy, problems could be occurring with no indication. Many eye diseases exist even with no symptoms or noticeable signs that something is wrong. As we age, it is important that we do everything we can to prevent eye disease and injury. One of the best ways to understand eye health is to maintain regular visits to your eye doctor or find an eye doctor you like to get started.

Eye Exams

If you have not had an eye exam in an extended period of time, it is important to make that a priority. Eye exams are a simple process and completely pain-free. It provides the best opportunity for you to find out any issues related to eye health or vision. Often the best option for a comprehensive understanding is a dilated eye exam. Dilating the eye causes the pupil to expand, which will allow your doctor to see further into the eye to examine areas such as the optic nerve and the retina. Upon examining these critical structures of the eye, your doctor will have a much clearer indication as to the risk you may face of developing vision loss or eye disease. The eye will stay dilated for a period of time ranging from about four hours to 24 hours depending on the dosage of eye drops. Whether or not you have had a dilated eye test recently, your eye doctor will let you know the best path of treatment plan and how often they should be performed.

Physical Activity

Although it may not seem like it would be related, your eye health is correlated to your physical activity. This means that getting regular physical exercise has a positive impact on your eye health as well as the rest of your body. A sedentary lifestyle often leads to unwanted disease such as diabetes, which can lead to severe vision loss. Your regular chores around the home are a great opportunity to add a little extra movement. Play music while you do the laundry or mop the floor and let yourself have some fun! Dance is a great exercise to get your heart rate up, promote positivity, and enjoy yourself all at the same time.

Diet & Nutrition

Just like any other system of the body, your eyes benefit from a healthy, balanced diet. As with physical exercise, diabetes can also be a result of a poor diet or nutrition. There are many foods which have a positive impact on your vision and eye health. Things like leafy greens such as kale or spinach along with omega-3 fatty acid foods like fish or nuts all promote eye health. The retina of the eye has a high level of fatty acids in it, so other sources of omega-3 fatty acids such as vitamin E can also improve eye health. Blindness can occur due to a deficiency in vitamin A, which is found in most animal products, primarily eggs, dairy, or liver. Another important enzyme for your eyes is zinc. Zinc is a part of the formation of visual pigments in the retina. Often, adults with a zinc deficiency will develop a form of night blindness. Making changes to your diet to better impact eye health will provide benefit for your body in numerous ways, so it is a great place to start.

Eye Protection

Particularly for individuals who work in high-risk environments for eye injury, such as a factory, metal or wood working, or anything outdoors during the day should take any measure possible to ensure they protect their eyes. Eyes are such a valuable asset to our bodies and minds, and simply wearing protective goggles could prevent an accident from happening. The same rule would apply to anyone who is enjoying time outdoors or traveling during the day. Wearing sunglasses while you are in the sunshine will lower your risk of developing problems like cataracts. Eye damage is still possible on a cloudy day, because UV rays are typically the culprit for damage. Before you leave your home, make it a habit to carry a pair of sunglasses along with you.

Lifestyle Changes

Today, most people are aware of the health risks associated with smoking. Your eyes are no different when it comes to the harmful effects of smoking. Those who smoke have a higher risk of developing eye problems such as macular degeneration or cataracts in life. In this case, the risk can be eliminated by simply choosing to stop smoking. Although it can be difficult, it is an important step to take control of your health and prevent future ailments.

As we age, our eyes change and often become worse. Taking steps to ensure you are tending to the health of your eyes in any way possible is the best way to prevent these drastic changes from happening sooner. Millions of individuals in the US suffer from low vision and macular degeneration later in life. Read our resource to learn more about these diseases and why they occur. Family history certainly plays a role in our overall health, so it is very helpful to have a clear and complete history of your family’s past medical ailments whenever possible. Talk to your eye doctor about eye health and continue improving your habits to promote better vision and eye health for yourself!

Looking for additional resources? We aim to promote awareness about many different health concerns and issues which can be positively affected by occupational, physical, or speech therapy.