It’s always important to take a moment to focus on our eye health. Making sure your vision stays clear and healthy helps you enjoy life to the fullest.
If you feel like your vision is fine, it’s easy to take your eyesight for granted. But your eyesight is precious and needs to be protected.
As we age, our risk for cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration increases. However, even young people can face sight-threatening scenarios or vision loss from eye disease because of uncontrolled diabetes or hypertension. At Vision Salon Eye Care Associates, our eye doctors are passionate about helping people in our community manage their diabetes and other conditions, so they can feel their best and avoid vision loss.
That being said, here are some lifestyle changes to help you maintain healthy eyes and vision.
Eat eye-healthy foods
Studies show that nutrients like lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc may help lower the risk of serious eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Make sure to add more fruits and colorful vegetables into your diet, such as:
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Squash
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Red bell peppers
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Spinach
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Kale
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Collard greens
Get regular exercise
Moving your body at least three to four times each week consistently has fantastic benefits for your physical and mental health. You’ll reduce your stress, strengthen your heart, and reduce your blood pressure.
Also, if you have diabetes, regular exercise is a key component of managing your disease to keep it under control. Some eye diseases are related to having high blood pressure and diabetes, so regular exercise helps you maintain healthy eyes and vision.
Don’t smoke
We know smoking can be a difficult habit to break, but it is terrible for your health, and that includes your eye health. Smokers have an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, which causes a blind spot in the front part of your vision, making you unable to drive, read, or see people’s faces.
Smoking can also lead to an increased risk of glaucoma and cataracts, and if you have dry eye, it will worsen your symptoms. If you smoke, work on a plan to ditch the habit for good.
Protect your eyes from the sun
We all enjoy spending time outside, especially when the weather is nice, but the sun can damage your eyes. It’s important to protect your eyes from the sun’s UV rays. Everyone should wear quality sunglasses, including babies, children, and adults.
Wear quality sunglasses that block 100% of both UV-A and UV-B rays, and ask us for help finding the right pair of sunglasses based on your outdoor activities. For instance, if you’re constantly on the water, polarized lenses reduce glare.
Pay attention to vision changes
If you notice you aren’t seeing as well as you used to, give us a call to schedule an eye exam. You may simply need a new prescription for your eyeglasses or contact lenses, but other issues may be going on that can only be diagnosed through an eye exam.
If you experience eye pain, see flashes of light, or a sudden increase in the number of eye floaters, call us right away. These may be signs of a more serious problem that requires immediate attention.
Get regular comprehensive eye exams
One of the simplest things you can do to protect your eye health and vision is to get regular eye exams. Even if you feel your vision is fine, some eye diseases have little to no symptoms in the early stages. The only way to catch them early is through an eye exam.
Our optometrists at Vision Salon Eye Care Associates help people in Chicago with their eye health and vision. If it’s been a while since your last comprehensive eye exam, please schedule an appointment with us.
