With the beginning of 2020, many of us are setting new goals and looking ahead to the future. As we enter the “Year of Optometry”, our staff is looking ahead at how we can help our patients achieve better eye health in 2020. Although many of us take eye health for granted, the consequences for not taking care of the eyes are devastating. Here are a few resolutions for improving your eye health in the year of 20/20 vision.
Eating More Eye-Healthy Foods
You may have heard the famous quote, often attributed to Hippocrates, that food is medicine. While medicine is irreplaceable in many cases and cannot simply be replaced by a healthy diet, it is true that the food that we eat can have a huge impact on our health. This is true for the eyes as well. Certain foods that we ingest can actually help the eyes to stay healthy for longer. In fact, some vitamins and minerals such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, copper, and zinc, have been proven to slow down some of the deterioration that is often seen with age in many patients. Our first resolution is to add a few more foods that support healthy eyesight such as fish, citrus or other vitamin C rich fruits, dark leafy greens such as kale and spinach, orange vegetables rich in beta carotene such as carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes, and healthy red meats.
Schedule an Eye Exam
One of the most important pieces of the eye health puzzle is to have a yearly comprehensive eye exam with your optometrist. Yearly eye exams are crucial for catching health problems early and for detecting eye conditions. If you are wearing contacts or glasses, a yearly eye exam will ensure that you have the correct prescription so that you can reduce eye strain, squinting, and blurry vision associated with an incorrect prescription. An eye exam can even catch the early signs of diseases such as diabetes and brain tumors. Our second resolution is to schedule a yearly eye exam.
Better Electronic Device Habits
Devices are a necessary part of today’s culture and for the most part, are unavoidable. However, excessive use of screens can result in eye strain and can even contribute to myopia. However, certain good habits can drastically reduce these effects. Our third resolution is to set better screen time habits such as reducing the glare of the screens, keeping screens further from the eyes, using computer glasses, and periodically giving the eyes time to focus on something far away.
Stop Rubbing the Eye
In the busy day to day life, many of us slip into bad habits that can be detrimental to our eye health. One seemingly small habit is rubbing the eye. Although it can feel good to rub your eyes, this can cause broken blood vessels, risk of corneal scratch, keratoconus, and even eyelid laxity. Rubbing the eyes can also cause the transfer of germs to the eye which can make you sick or lead to pink eye. Our fourth resolution is to improve eye health by getting rid of this one simple habit.
Start Wearing Sunglasses
Sunglasses for many are an accessory that is taken out during the summer to brighten up their summer wardrobe and keep the sun out of their eyes. However, sunglasses are important year-round. They help to block UV rays that can damage the eyes, leading to eye problems down the road. Our fifth resolution is to begin wearing sunglasses while outside every day, even during the winter.
Take Care of Contacts
One of the easiest ways to neglect eye health is to get nonchalant about contact care. However, forgetting to follow your doctor’s instructions regarding contacts can lead to serious ramifications for your eyes. Bad habits such as using tap water to clean your contacts, leaving them in overnight, swimming while wearing contacts, or other seemingly small infractions can lead to eye infections, corneal scarring, and other problems. Our sixth resolution is to take care of contact lenses.
The beginning of the year is an excellent time to start thinking about eye health. Simple changes such as wearing sunglasses more often, eating a few more salads, and even being mindful of rubbing the eyes can go a long way in preventing premature aging of the eyes, eye diseases, and progression of myopia. These are our six resolutions for a happy and healthy 2020.