The eye is one of the most vital organs of the human body.

Healthy eyes are an important aspect of your health. Majority of us rely on our eyesight to see and make the sense of the world we are living in and things surrounding us. Our vision gives us the sense of where we are at, directions and the feel of the place. These days we all familiar with the Google maps, its importance and its usefulness it is very similar and more important where our eyes are concerned.

As it does not only indicates and determines where to go but also gives us feels of things whether its good or bad. But not taking care of such vital and sensitive organ it can lead to some eye diseases and can even cause vision loss, so it is important to identify and treat eye diseases as early as possible. You should get your eyes checked at least once a year, or if you have any new vision problems be sure to get your eyesight checked regularly or a per doctors direction.

Taking care of your vision is just as it is important as to keep your body healthy, you also need to keep your eyes healthy as it is a blessing that cannot be and I repeat cannot be taken for granted. People suffer from vision problems due to overlooking and not understanding the necessity of eye care.

But in today’s world where many of our professional and personal lives revolve around screens, this is especially true. It’s essential to rest our eyes from time to time. After working for long hours in front of a computer, they should ideally get some rest respite along with us, but instead, they’re often put to work again on a game console, TV, or digital books etc. Although some of these activities are avoidable and others cannot be avoided much, they’re a part of the modern lifestyle, and to help care for your eyes, you don’t necessarily need to get rid of them completely.

Not taking care of such sensitive importance organ can lead to short and long term effects on your eyesight and even makes the vision loss process faster as you age. Since you are going through this article you are on the right path and have taken the first step in the direction of taking care of eyes and a step to avoid vision/sight loss.

Eye Care Tips

There are things you can do to help keep your eyes healthy and make sure you are seeing your best

Eat a healthy, balanced diet

your diet should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially deep yellow and green leafy vegetables. Eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, and other fishes and crustaceans can also help your eyes. Carrots are well known for improving the eyesight. They’re packed with beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene. Lutein and lycopene are phytonutrients that protect the eyes from sun damage and UVB radiation.

Some fruits which have vitamin C like oranges and lemons provide you with high resistance against infections and multiple eye diseases. Others fruits and eatables grapes, dark berries and eggs are rich sources of zinc and other important minerals that help in maintaining healthy vision.

Maintain a healthy weight

One thing to remember is that high weight and obesity can lead to diabetes which has an active chance to lead it to high risk of getting diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma both can affect your vision adversely.

That can adversely affect your eyes and sometimes the damage can be irreparable and irreversible.

Get regular exercise

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle may help to prevent in the first place and control diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure. All this disease can lead to some problem with your vision. So if you induct exercise into the routine and do it regularly you definitely reduce the chances of getting these diseases and vision problems.

Also, make sure to wear sunglasses when you are exposed to the sun as excessive exposure to the sun could damage your eyes and increase the risk of getting cataracts and age-related muscular degeneration. Wearing the right quality and protective sun-glasses can block out 99-100% of both UV-A and UV-B radiation of sun from reaching the eyes.

Wear protective eyewear

Also take precautionary measures to protect eye injuries while playing sports, working in jobs where manual labour is also required such as construction jobs or while undertaking repair projects at home. or even using computers use an eye protectant or shield if the use is regular and prolonged.

Avoid smoking

Smoking increases the risk of developing age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts and can damage the optic nerve, the damage can cause bleeding in eye and stress on eye muscle leading to permanent damage.

Know your family medical history

There are also some eye-diseases and vision-related issues which are inherited from parents to children and their children etc. so knowing the medical history is very important to see if anyone of them has had it. This will enable you to determine whether you are a high risk of acquiring any such disease or not.  You should always be informed against the risk of developing any disease that may be in your genes, as the older you get the more risk and chance of you developing that disease.

Some inherited diseases are also age-related conditions, so it is important to know your risk factors as that would make you aware of the things that should be controlled and prevented to lower such risks which can be done by bringing change in behaviours and habits.

If you like wearing contact lenses you need to be sure that your hands are washed every time you wear or take off your contact lenses, it would help you prevent various eye infections. Also, follow the instructions on how to properly clean them, and replace them when needed.

Give your eyes a rest

If you spend a lot of time using a computer, you can forget to blink your eyes and your eyes can get tired. To reduce eyestrain, try the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look away about 20 feet in front of you for 20 seconds. Also, practice some eye exercise to relief your eye of stress and strain due to these gadgets and devices as in the long run it may weaken your eyesight or some other problem if not taken care off.

If you find it’s a real problem, you can also wear properly graded eyeglasses to protect your eyes from the glare and/or use a glare filter for your screen. To safeguard against it, observe proper posture when working and keep your computer monitor below eye level and at least 20 to 26 inches away from your eyes.

Eye Tests and Exams

Everyone should have their eyesight tested to check for vision and eye problems regularly. Children usually have vision screening in school or at their health care provider’s office during a checkup. Adults may also get vision screenings during their checkups. But many adults need more than a vision screening.

They need a comprehensive dilated eye exam as eyes being a very sensitive organ over time may get weak and you may need spectacles, a regular visit to an ophthalmologist is a must while growing old you need to be extra cautious as your health at an old age is more fragile as when your body is young.

Use proper lighting when working

Lighting is an often-overlooked factor in eye care. The fluorescent light which is used is an artificial source of the UV (ultra-violet) light which if and when exposed frequently can lead to vision loss. While working on tasks that are vision incentive and require lots of concentration.

Make sure the overhead lights are not too bright or not to dim.  If and when working on a computer always adjust your screen brightness, text size and contrast in a way that suits your vision and soothes your eyes and make it comfortable for you to work.

Avoid rubbing your eyes

A lot of bacteria, dust and dirt are on your hands as you use them to get the majority of your work done, all of these germs and specks of dust could be transferred to your eyes each time you touch or rub your eyes. So avoid unnecessary touching your eyes or rubbing them to prevent irritation and infection.

Some people have this habit really ingrained to constantly touch their eyes, make a conscious effort to get rid of it as soon as possible. One thing that needs to be brought into your routine is frequent hand washing, this habit of practising frequent hand wash will help in keeping the bacteria’s at bay and prevent them from reaching your eyes.

Also, make sure to have comprehensive dilated eye exams at regular intervals, it is important to do so because many eye diseases don’t have the warning signs to raise alarms. These exams are the only way to detect these diseases at an infant stage so it is easier to get them treated.

If you are a woman use the right kind of eye make-up

If you are a makeup person, make sure to choose quality make-up and also for the makeup a brand that works well for you and does not cause any irritation.

Mascaras, eye-shadows and eye-liners that an allergic reaction or irritation steer clear of them. Always use a makeup removal so that there is no residual bacterial buildup from the residual makeup left in the eye area. Also, clean your makeup brushes regularly and especially the ones that are used for the eye-makeup application.

Blink 20 successive times to prevent eye dryness

While working continuously on computer 20 steps after working of 20mins on the screens, adopting this habit is not only good for your vision but also helps in promoting good posture and active blood circulation throughout the body.

Get enough sleep

Yes, it keeps you from being sedentary too. One thing that needs to be remembered is that like the rest of the body the eyes also need to be rested and recharged, this happens when you sleep, so make sure you are getting enough eye-shut time to keep your eyes and body healthy and revitalized.

Use Sunglasses when exposed to Sunlight

Always use sunglasses when exposed to sunlight as it doesn’t cause stress on your eyes and you can see properly which means without squinting in the sunlight, also ensure that your sunglasses are UV protected another important thing to remember is to buy good quality sunglasses always and never compromise on the quality as its matter of your eyes, it is one of the most sensitive organs of your body.

Few tips to avoid any kind of infection and irritation is to keep your work station clutter-free and change your linens and towels regularly.

Keep your surroundings clean

Few tips to avoid any kind of infection and irritation is to keep your work station clutter-free and change your linens and towels regularly.

After a certain age or if you suffer from any problem get your eyes examined. The exam includes several tests:

A visual field test to measure your side (peripheral) vision, a loss of peripheral vision may be a sign of glaucoma.

A visual acuity test, where you read an eye chart about 20 feet away, to check on how well you see at various distances.

Tonometry, which measures your eye’s interior pressure, it helps to detect glaucoma.

Dilation, which involves getting eye drops that dilate (widen) your pupils, this allows more light to enter the eye. Your eye care provider examines your eyes using a special magnifying lens. This provides a clear view of important tissues at the back of your eye, including 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 vision. (Source: Health online)

Conclusion

Making these steps a regular part of your routine shows that you value your eyes, now why not take an extra step to make them even happier and upgrade to better vision? Eye problems can be easily prevented if you practice essential eye care habits every day. Surprisingly, they are very practical and easy to accomplish yet they tend to be the most neglected.

No matter what you do, make sure that your eyes are protected. If you’re going swimming, wear goggles to avoid exposing your eyes to chlorine. Meanwhile, if you’re gardening or attending to a DIY project at home, put on safety glasses to protect your eyes from dust particles, bacteria, and injuries.

Always get insurance….remember it as a mantra to good health and saving money !!
If there is an emergency for instance cataract you can get it operated all covered by your insurance provider in your annual health insurance plan!