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Why is Eye Care Important?
Maintaining good eye health and eye care is imperative to the longevity of your vision. A healthy lifestyle equates to a decreased risk of long-term eye issues, but there are also steps you can take in the short-term to ensure your eyes stay in the best condition possible.
Even if you don’t require vision correction, maintaining good eye health is equally as important, reducing the risk of eye infections, irritation and other conditions. Ignoring any potential symptoms such as itchiness, swelling, soreness and headaches could lead to more significant long-term issues with your vision.
How to Look After Your Eyes
Professional eye tests and check-ups are vital to maintaining good eye health. You should ideally visit your optician for an eye test every one to two years whether you wear glasses, contact lenses, or have perfect vision.
Opticians aren’t just about vision checks and prescriptions — regular eye tests also check the overall health of your eye. During an eye test, your optician will be able to pick up on any unnoticed underlying conditions caused by poor eye health before life-changing symptoms arise, preventing the potentially devastating effects that come with untreated eye conditions and diseases.
Exercise and eyesight are intrinsically linked, and the effects are most noticeable if you’re over 60 years old. Narrowed or hardened arteries, high blood pressure and diabetes can all increase the risk of sight loss. Exercise and healthy eating can greatly reduce your long-term risk of sight loss caused by unhealthy lifestyle patterns. Various nutrients, vitamins and supplements such as lutein, zeaxanthin and Vitamins A, C and E can help maintain the general wellbeing of your eyes, keeping them in the best condition possible.
Smoking and alcohol may also increase your risk of eye degradation, each leading to serious health conditions, some of which will impact your eye health.
If you wear contact lenses, it’s important that you follow the correct contact lens cleaning and care routine to prevent the risk of eye infection caused by bacteria and other residue.
Always wash your hands before touching your eyes, in any circumstances. If needed, you can also clean your eyelids with eye wipes, washes and sprays to remove any build-up of debris which might also lead to infection.
Symptoms of Worsening Eye Health
The most obvious symptom of decreasing eye health people notice is blurry, clouded vision, or a change in how near or far they can comfortably see. These symptoms usually require vision correction; the automatic first-thought when it comes to eye health. But there are also other symptoms which reveal when something might not be right.
Unexplained headaches can indicate an underlying problem with your eyes. Changes in the appearance of the eye itself, such as red or bloodshot eyes, prolonged twitching and swelling can indicate issues which need to be looked at. While these symptoms may pass without intervention, it’s always best to get them checked out to ensure you’re not facing any serious, long-term issues with your eye health.
Physical sensations such as itchiness, grittiness or the persistent feeling that something is in your eye are also tell-tale signs that something might be wrong. Floating, black dots in your vision, flashing lights or other visual hallucinations can also indicate that an eye check-up is needed.