Your eyes are an important part of your overall health. There are many things you can do to keep them healthy and make sure you see well for many years to come.
Here are some simple guidelines you can easily follow to help keep your eyes healthy.
➣ Maintain a healthy weight
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other systemic conditions that can lead to vision problems such as diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma, and others.
➣ Eat properly to protect your vision
Nutrition is important both for your overall health and for your eyesight. It has been established that some foods support eye health in general, while others reduce the risk of specific eye diseases.
Vitamin A, the most well-known nutrient beneficial for the eyes, can be obtained from carrots. Other rich sources include sweet potatoes, apricots, and melon. Vitamin C, an important antioxidant for eye health, is found in citrus fruits, peaches, tomatoes, strawberries, and red peppers. Including avocado, almonds, and sunflower seeds in your diet provides another important antioxidant—vitamin E.
According to many studies, the risk of eye diseases is reduced by regular consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in oily fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, halibut, and tuna.
Studies conducted over the past few years have also confirmed the benefits of certain omega-6 fatty acids, especially gamma-linolenic acid, which is found in evening primrose oil, blackcurrant, and borage. On its own, or in combination with certain omega-3 fatty acids, it has proven benefits for the prevention of dry eye or for reducing its symptoms.
Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, cabbage, lettuce, and others also help keep your eyes healthy. Their benefits are linked to their content of lutein and zeaxanthin. Other sources of these substances include peas and broccoli. Eggs are also beneficial.
Zinc, which is important for maintaining the retina, is found in legumes, lean red meat, oysters, and poultry.
➣ Include regular physical activity in your daily routine
Any form of daily exercise—such as brisk walking, dancing, cycling, running, swimming, yoga, and others—is beneficial both for your overall health and for your eye health, and it significantly reduces the risk of eye and vision problems. Regular physical activity increases blood flow to the eyes, which is essential for their health. Studies have shown that moderate-intensity exercise can significantly improve ocular blood flow. Researchers also note that regular daily exercise lowers intraocular pressure and reduces the risk of developing glaucoma, as well as the risk of age-related macular degeneration.
Manage and maintain your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure according to the advice of your healthcare professionals
When poorly controlled, diabetes can damage the eyes over time and cause vision loss, even blindness. People with diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, cataracts, and glaucoma. Controlling diabetes and having regular eye examinations can prevent vision problems or stop them from worsening. Keeping glycated hemoglobin below 7% is recommended for many people, although depending on your risk factors, your doctor may set a different target for you.
Untreated high blood pressure, in addition to causing problems in vital organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys, can also lead to eye problems due to damage to the blood vessels of the retina—hypertensive retinopathy. Mild to moderate changes may have no clinical symptoms and may only be detected during a routine eye examination. Blood pressure values below 140/90 mmHg are generally recommended, although if you have additional risk factors, your doctor may set a lower goal for you.
LDL cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, builds up and blocks your blood vessels, including those in the eyes. Warning signs include yellowish deposits around the cornea, blurred vision, and xanthelasma. More serious conditions may also develop, such as macular degeneration, retinal artery occlusion, and corneal arcus. Ask your doctor what your cholesterol levels should be, and maintain them with diet and medication if needed.
➣ Learn about your family’s health history
It is important to know whether anyone in your family has been diagnosed with an eye disease, since many of them are hereditary. This information will help determine whether you are at higher risk of developing an eye condition. Hereditary eye diseases can be triggered by a number of external factors such as lifestyle and harmful environmental influences. Inform your eye doctor about your predisposition to eye disease and follow their advice to reduce the impact of factors that may trigger it.
➣ Wear protective eyewear
Wearing protective glasses or other appropriate eye protection provides maximum protection in various high-risk work environments such as construction, metalworking, woodworking, welding, painting, healthcare facilities, and others, as well as during sports or certain household activities that may harm your eyes. When protective eyewear is necessary as part of your work, make it a habit to wear the correct type at all times and encourage your colleagues to do the same. There is a wide range of options available, from standard to specialized solutions for proper eye protection.
➣ Wear sunglasses
Their main purpose is to protect your eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. When buying sunglasses, look for ones that block 99 to 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B radiation.
➣ Avoid smoking or quit completely
Smoking is just as harmful to your eyes as it is to the rest of your body. Tobacco smoke contains more than 5,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and potentially damaging to the eyes. Research links smoking to an increased risk of age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and optic nerve damage. Any one of these can lead to blindness. The toxins in cigarette smoke damage your health and irritate your eyes, but they have also been shown to cause damage in the area of the brain that processes vision. If you smoke or have smoked in the past, regular eye examinations are essential.
➣ Give your eyes a break
If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer or focusing on one thing, your eyes can become tired. Try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look away and focus on objects about 20 feet (6 meters) away for 20 seconds. This brief exercise can help reduce eye strain.
➣ Clean your hands and contact lenses properly
To avoid the risk of infection, always wash your hands thoroughly before putting in or taking out your contact lenses. Make sure you disinfect your contact lenses according to the instructions and replace them as required. It is also recommended to replace your lens case every 3 months.
➣ Have a regular comprehensive eye examination
Even if you do not have any visual discomfort, visiting your eye specialist for a full examination is the surest way to make sure your eyes are healthy. Many common eye diseases have no warning signs, and an examination by an ophthalmologist is the only way to detect them at an early stage, when treatment is easier. Failure to diagnose them in time because of delayed ophthalmic examination can seriously complicate treatment and worsen the prognosis.
Regular visits to an ophthalmologist are strongly recommended, and in some cases mandatory, if you take medications daily for a long period of time that may have adverse effects on the eyes.