For most of us, good vision is vital to every waking moment of our lives. We would not know what to do without it yet we take it for granted. Henry David Thoreau said, “The eye is the jewel of the body.” Let’s take a few moments to cherish our vision like the jewel that it is. QUIZ: How Much Do You Know About Protecting Your Eyes
Vision becomes more vulnerable with age. The most important thing we can do to protect our vision is to get regular eye check ups. Truly, some treatable problems cannot be treated if we wait too long.
How Often Should I Get an Eye Exam
- Younger than 40 – every 5 to 10 years
- Age 40 to 54 – every 2 to 4 years
- Age 55 to 64 – every 1 to 3 years
- If you have a family history of eye disease, especially glaucoma or macular degeneration, you should get an eye exam once a year.
Whom Do I See?
Different professionals treat specific issues. The AARP has an excellent summary to help you determine who the right professional is for your need:
Go to the optician if …
- You have a prescription for new glasses
Go to the optometrist if …
- You have difficulty reading close up
- You’re experiencing changes in visual acuity
- You tear up more than usual
- You’re suffering from dry eye
Go to the ophthalmologist if …
- Your vision is blurry
- You notice a dark spot in the middle of your field of vision
- You’re seeing flashes or new floaters
- You have difficulty seeing far distances
- There is a sharp pain in one eye, along with vision changes
- You have trouble driving because of glare
Go to your primary care physician if …
- You have regular headaches
Go to the emergency room if …
- You suddenly lose peripheral vision on one side
- You experience any sudden loss of vision
- You have double vision that disappears when you cover one eye
Common Eye Diseases
Cataracts: The normally clear lens in the eye becomes cloudy which affects focusing. Vision can be blurry even with glasses and driving at night can be difficult. Everyone develops a cataract in time.
Presbyopia: The lens of the eye becomes less flexible, it can no longer change shape to focus on close-up images. As a result, these images appear out of focus. This loss of near vision is inevitable with age.
Macular Degeneration: The cells of the macula, which is responsible for capturing detailed information from the center of our visual field, deteriorate and images are not received correctly. Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in adults over 60, affecting nearly 20 million Americans.
Three Warning Signs of Macular Degeneration
- Blurriness
- Straight lines appear wavy
- Blank areas in your central vision
Glaucoma: In glaucoma, Optic Nerve is damaged because of high pressure in the eye. This nerve is crucial because it sends messages from the eye to the brain. Most types of glaucoma do not cause pain, so there is no indicator it is developing until a visit to the eye doctor.
What Can I Do to Keep My Eyes Healthy?
Ten Everyday Things You Can Do to Protect Your Sight
1. Wear sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) protection and wear a hat with a visor
Look for sunglasses with a label that says “100 percent protection against both UVA and UVB” or “100 percent protection against UV 400.”
2. Eat right
See more about this below. It’s not just carrots anymore.
3. Exercise
To achieve vision-boosting effects, you don’t have to break much of a sweat: Intraocular pressure can be lowered with a brisk, 20-minute walk a minimum of four times a week.
4. Get the right amount of sleep
Sleep is the time when fluids circulate and hydrate your eyes, refreshing them for the next day.
5. Give your eyes a break
Try the 20-20-20 rule: Look away from the screen every 20 minutes, focusing on something 20 feet in the distance for at least 20 seconds. If you spend significant time on the computer or screen of any kind add a “blue light” blocker when you purchase prescription glasses. If you don’t wear glasses, get clear “blue light” blocking glasses for when you use the computer.
6. Practice good hygiene
Remove makeup before bed; makeup can clog your oil glands that produce oils to hydrate your eyes. Don’t let your makeup hang around for too long. Preservatives can break down, allowing bacteria to grow.
Even if you don’t wear makeup, clean and gently massage your eyelids at the base of the lashes with a warm washcloth and baby shampoo (or a mild cleanser like Cetaphil), diluted with warm water, to loosen any debris that’s collected around the lids during the day.
7. Get regular eye exams
This should probably be #1!
8. Keep eyes well moisturized
If you have dry eyes, simply drinking more water may keep your eyes better lubricated. Other ways to relieve dry eyes are: Omega-3 fish oil supplements and warm compresses.
9. Watch your glucose levels
People with diabetes are at risk for a disease called diabetic retinopathy, in which consistently elevated blood-sugar levels damage the blood vessels in the retina, the thin layer of tissue at the back of your eye. In its early stages, you may not even know you have it. But as it worsens, your vision takes a hit.
10. Don’t smoke
Smokers are two to three times more likely to develop cataracts and twice as likely to develop macular degeneration as nonsmokers.
I Love to Eat! What Foods are Healthy for My Eyes?
The Top 10 Best Superfoods for Your Eyes
The following are foods packed with the vitamins and minerals you need to help protect your eyes.
- Blueberries and other purple, blue, and dark red foods like red or purple grapes, blackberries, pomegranates, and cranberries are rich in eye protecting antioxidants.
- Dark Chocolate: The flavonoids found in dark chocolate may help improve vision in people with glaucoma as well as reduce the risk for macular degeneration.
- Eggs: egg yolks are loaded with the same powerful eye-protecting antioxidants that are found in leafy green vegetables.
- Oysters: Shellfish are among the best sources of the mineral zinc, which protects the eyes against the damaging effects of sunlight. You also can get plenty of zinc from lean red meat, poultry, beans, legumes and fortified cereals.
- Oranges: Vitamin C like other antioxidants, helps protect against free-radical damage and helps build collagen, which provides structure for your cornea. You can also get ample doses of vitamin C from other citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwi, red bell pepper, cantaloupe and broccoli.
- Carrots: Carrots are a rich source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant carotenoid that your body converts to vitamin A, which is essential for good vision. You can get beta-carotene from yellow, orange and red fruits and veggies like sweet potatoes and cantaloupes as well as dark leafy greens like kale and broccoli.
- Almonds: Almonds are great sources of vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects the eyes from free-radical damage. Other good sources of vitamin E include sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, vegetable oils, peanuts and peanut butter.
- Salmon: Omega-3 fatty acids are important for maintaining healthy eyes. Aim for two to three servings a week of cold-water fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, herring, mackerel or halibut.
- Kale: Kale, spinach and other dark leafy greens like collard greens and turnip greens are packed with antioxidants.
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes contain 4 different nutrients that protect eye health: lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene. Lycopene may play a role in preventing age-related macular degeneration: Other good sources of lycopene include watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya and dried apricots.
RESOURCES
Did you find this topic interesting? Below are some more in depth articles.
How To Treat the Top 10 Vision Problems, AARP
Five Truths About Protecting Your Eyes, Harvard Health Publishing
Adult Vision: 19 to 40 Years of Age, American Optometric Association
Joanne Bedwell, PT is the Resident Blogger at Be Active Be Well. She lives and works in San Francisco with her husband and two (almost) grown daughters. Having over 25 years of experience as a PT, she sees clients in their homes and teaches fitness classes in person and virtually.
DISCLAIMER: This article contains information that is intended to help the readers be better informed regarding exercise and health care. It is presented as general advice on health care. Always consult your doctor for your individual needs. Before beginning any new exercise program it is recommended that you seek medical advice from your personal physician. This article is not intended to be a substitute for the medical advice of a licensed physician. The reader should consult with their doctor in any matters relating to his/her health.
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