Understanding Eye Care: Do's and Don'ts

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Without your eyes, life can be quite difficult. You may not even be able to accomplish the majority of the day-to-day activities without help. Therefore, you need to understand some of the most common ways your eyesight can compromise. This includes a lack of proper eye care, failing to visit an optometrist early when your sight is ailing and failing to understand an underlying condition that could harm your eyesight

Lack of Proper Eye Care

Eye care refers to things that you should do to ensure that your eyes remain healthy. As such, you should:

• Eat a balanced diet, especially foods that contain vitamin A, C and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and touching your eyes with unclean hands.
• Avoid looking directly at the sun. Instead, wear sunglasses to avoid the sun's UV rays.
• Keep a safe distance from screens (computer and television screens).
• Avoid looking at bulbs directly and for long periods.
• Visit an optometrist to have your eyes examined. An optometrist is an eye doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating eye conditions that do not require surgery.

You may find that some people might get away with failing to do some of the things listed above. However, even if that is the case, don't test your luck. You want to make these actions a habit and maintain proper eye care.

Failing to Visit an Optometrist Early When Ailing

If you start noticing some unusual problems with your eyes like difficulty reading at night or during the day, sensitivity, foggy or cloudy vision, discomfort or eye pain, etc., don't wait to see whether the symptoms will subside. Visit an optometrist as soon as possible. If you delay, it can make an eye condition worse, meaning by the time you get to the optometrist, it might be too late to treat the condition.

Failing to Understand an Underlying Health Condition That Could Harm Your Eyesight

If you know that you have diabetes, make a schedule to visit your optometrist regularly. An increase in blood glucose levels can lead to diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can cause glaucoma, diabetic macular edema (DME) or retinal scarring. These three conditions can lead to blindness if not caught and treated early. Therefore, when you visit an optometrist as part of your eye care routine, ask them what diseases or underlying health problems can affect your sight. Additionally, ask what you are supposed to do to prevent the condition from affecting your eyesight. 

Contact an eye care service for more information. 

11 January 2021