At Mad River Eye Care, we are here to help you maintain your clearest vision. Part of this goal involves ensuring that your eyes remain healthy. To do our part, we want to help as many people as possible. We’ve set a goal to see 85 people for comprehensive eye examinations in March. If it’s been a while since your last examination, or if you’ve never had one, call us today to schedule your exam!
More than 20 million Americans suffer from severe vision loss. Not all eye diseases can be prevented, but here are some simple steps everyone can take to help their eyes remain healthy now and limit their chances of vision loss in the future.
Get an eye examination
Most people should have regular eye examinations to evaluate for and address any eye health concerns. Regular eye examinations will help keep up with any vision changes that occur as you age. Kids should have eye exams as well. While eye health exams are pretty rare with kids, vision concerns are best addressed early on.
Watch your health
Your overall health impacts your eye health. We know that maintaining good general health is important to maintain healthy eyes.
- Smoking: If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, consider stopping. If you need help, see your primary care provider for resources.
- Nutrition: Our eyes require nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin. Eating lots of berries, colored vegetables, and green leafy vegetables can help support eye health to prevent diseases. For some patients, eye doctors will recommend specific nutritional supplements that show evidence of preventing or slowing down the development of age-related macular degeneration.
Protect your eyes
Our eyes are exposed to potential problems, injuries, or weathering in many circumstances on a daily basis. Protecting your eyes can prevent harm or injury and limit exposure to harmful types of light.
- Wear eye protection: Wear eye protection when engaging in jobs or activities where objects or debris could be projected toward your eyes. Have impact/shatter-resistant glasses on hand to keep your eyes from suffering an injury with woodwork, yard work, or even working under the car.
- Wear UV-protective sunglasses: Overexposure to UV light can cause your eyes to age prematurely. Make sure you use quality sunglasses that protect you from all types of UV light when outdoors. Polarized lenses can give you maximum comfort and clearest vision for driving, being around snow, or on the water.
Most of our light sources, especially LED screens, emit certain wavelengths of high-energy blue light that can contribute to eye strain, fatigue, and dry eye syndrome and can disrupt your wake/sleep cycle. We recommend blue light-blocking anti-glare treatments on glasses to protect your eyes from this kind of light, especially for computer users.
Family history and genetics
Your family history could put you at a higher risk of certain eye diseases. Problems like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and some other eye diseases can have strong hereditary components. If you know of anyone in your family with eye diseases, see your eye doctor regularly to watch for early warning signs in your eyes. In some cases, genetic testing can identify certain gene profiles that indicate a higher risk for eye disease development.
Vision correction
Many people have less than clear vision. Blurry vision may cause your eyes to strain unnecessarily, may make it difficult to drive safely, and may prevent you from seeing comfortably for work or reading.
- Prescription glasses can improve your vision and can be calibrated specifically to optimize long-range vision, reading, and/or computer vision.
- Contact lenses can be used to address vision concerns and offer freedom from glasses on your face and flexibility for a variety of activities. Be sure to take care of your contact lenses appropriately and follow your eye doctor’s recommendations. Help us celebrate “Save Your Vision Month” by scheduling your eye examination today.
