Our eyes allow us to visualize the beauty and colors of nature. Due to factors such as age, diet, smoking and environmental factors, people usually fall victim to compromised vision. Since our vision is one of our most important senses, its crucial to protect our eyes in order to prevent low or blurry vision problems. There are various ocular and physical conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes and hypertension which can deteriorate your eyesight over time and in order to prevent these conditions from arising its important that you eat a healthy diet and protect your eyes from UV rays, smoke and dust.
Some things to remember to maintain healthy vision are:
- Eat Healthy: Like good health, good eyesight can be achieved by eating a regular healthy diet. Eye health starts with highly nutritious food on your plate. Try adding nutrients like omega-3, fatty acids, lutein, zinc, vitamin C and E in your diet to help ward off age related vision problems. These nutrients can be found in green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, salmon, fish, eggs, nuts, beans, diary products and citrus fruits. A balanced diet can help in achieving healthy body weight along with lowering the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- Quit Smoking: Smoking can be highly detrimental to health. If a person smokes regularly, he or she is more susceptible to developing cataracts, optic nerve damage, and macular degeneration which can have a severe impact on your long term eye health and vision. Quitting the habit of smoking at an early age has been shown to lower an reverse the onset of some of these conditions. If you are having trouble quitting, you may consult your family doctor for help.
- Wear Sunglasses: An effective way to prevent direct contact with sunlight is to wear a pair of sunglasses every time you step out of your home. This will protect your eyes from the ultraviolet (UV) rays that can cause excessive damage to vision. Consider buying shades that are tested to block 90% of UV rays. Even if you are using regular glasses with UV coating, its still a good idea to wear sunglasses to ensure an extra layer of protection for your eyes.
- Use Safety Eye-wear: If you are out biking, motorcycling, mowing the lawn, there are chances that hazardous airborne materials or tiny insects can hit your eyes and cause permanent vision problems if they scratch your cornea or lead to a bad infection. To avoid such issues, its recommended to wear protective eyewear when operating lawn equipment or power tools, or if playing contact sports/cycling.
These are just a few tips to protect and enhance your eyesight. If you are currently facing an eye problem or vision disorder, visit Westway Eyecare for treatment and eye care services.