Keeping healthy is an important part of life. From your heart to your bones, it’s essential that you can function and have a happy life. One of the most important features of your health is your eyes. They provide you with sight and are sensitive and shouldn’t be strained too much. There are a lot of things that you can do to maintain the health of your eyes and make sure your sight is at its best. Booking an appointment at The Medical Eye Clinic in Exeter is your first step. They are an ophthalmic clinic comprising a group of experienced ophthalmologists and optometrists who have decided to join together to improve eye care. But for a simple start, follow these basic steps for healthy eyes.
Eye Exam
A good place to start is to know where your eyes are health-wise. Having an eye exam will let you know if your vision is great and your eyes are healthy by allowing a professional to have a look at them. Common sight issues are not usually realised by people until they are examined by a professional. They can then wear glasses or contacts in order to better their vision. Many eye diseases, like glaucoma and macular degeneration, usually do not have any warning signs. An eye exam will detect any problems and catch them, hopefully, in the early stage. The professional who is looking at your eyes is the only one able to diagnose you and determine if you have the best vision you can have.
Family’s Health History
Knowing your family’s health history is beneficial for all types of health, whether it be strokes, heart disease or mental illness. Talk to your family and get to know the health of their eyes. It’s important that you’re aware of any diseases related to your eyes that any relatives have been diagnosed with. Knowing this kind of information will allow a professional to determine if you are at a higher risk of developing an eye condition or disease.
Healthy Diet
Eating healthy can impact your health a lot. It can also help your eyesight. Eating a diet packed with fruits and vegetables, in particular, spinach and collared greens will positively impact on your eye health. Eating fish such as salmon and halibut can help you maintain healthy eyes.
Healthy Weight
Keeping your weight at a healthy level is great for all aspects of your health. Being very overweight or obese can increase the risk of developing diseases such as diabetes which can lead to losing your eyesight. Losing weight can be difficult, make sure to talk to your doctor if you need help.
Protective Eyewear
Wearing protective eyewear is a good idea if you’re playing extensive sports or doing certain things at home. This includes things such as safety glasses and eye guards which function as shielding your eyes from injury if you’re doing DIY for example. Many of these protective eyewear objects are made of polycarbonate which is a lot more efficient that other basic plastics. You can get a lot of eyewear protective gear from eye care professionals and a number of sports stores.
Quit Smoking
Quitting smoking can do wonders for your health and increase your life expectancy, it can also improve your eye health. Smoking is as bad for your eyes as it is for the rest of you. Smoking has been connected to macular degeneration and damage of the optic nerves which can ultimately lead to blindness.
Wear Sunglasses
Sunglasses are a fun accessory to complete any outfit and they’re also excellent for protecting your eyes from the dangerous UV rays pumped out by the sun. During the summer, when buying your sunglasses, make sure to grab some that block out either 99 or 100% of UV rays.
Rest your Eyes
Resting your eyes can be difficult if your work is focused around a computer screen. However, staring at a screen or focusing on one thing for a large duration of time can really hurt your eyes. Sometimes, because you’re focused, you forget to blink as much and your eyes get tired. If you’re struggling with eye fatigue, try the 20-minute rule. Every 20 minutes, look away as far as 20 feet for as long as 20 seconds. This can help get rid of eye strain.
Good Hygiene
Cleaning your hands is important after you’ve gone to the toilet, taken out the trash and blown your nose. It is also important to clean your contacts properly. In order to avoid eye infections, which can be very annoying and painful, make sure to wash your hands before putting your contacts in and taking them out. It’s important that you disinfect your contacts following the instructions provided by the seller and replace them when they’ve fulfilled their use.
Eye Safety in the Workplace
In a workplace where you are using equipment that may spit up debris, it’s important that employers provide safe work equipment to protect the eyes of their employees. It is also important that the workplace environment is safe in general. Make sure to wear this protective equipment at all times and insist your coworkers do the same so everyone is safe.