The World Health Organization states that there are more than 285 million blind and visually impaired people globally. Every day, someone is being diagnosed with an eye defect or vision impairment. Therefore, protecting your sight is significant to keep yourself from losing it gradually, or going blind completely. In this article, we will explore some ways you can protect your eyes, followed by signs to look out for to determine if you are losing it in our next article. We have discussed causes of sight loss already, which is available for you to read in other blog posts.
Ways to Care for Your Eyes
Make exercising a hobby - Studies suggest that regular exercise reduce chances of so many sicknesses, including sight-related infections. Such diseases may include age-related macular degeneration which exercising helps protect against it by up to 70 percent.
Eat healthy - We cannot talk about exercising and say nothing about eating healthy. Taking in balance diet helps the body gets the nutrients needed, including those that are useful for our eyes. Make sure that you eat fruits, vegetables, proteins, starch, and related nutrition.
Follow you medical prescriptions - Maybe you are already taking an eye treatment to regulate your sight. It is beneficial that you follow all the instructions from the doctor, honor all medical appointments/checkups, and communicate to your doctor all the changes that are happening in your eyes.
Avoid harmful acts such as smoking - Throughout the years, many warnings against smoking have been provided. Smoking does not only affect one’s lungs, throat, and more, but eyes too. People who smoke are at greater risk of loosing their sight due to age-related eye sicknesses
Know About Your Family History - In the understanding blindness article, we discussed some diseases that can cause sight-loss such as diabetes. These diseases are usually hereditary and may be passed from generation to generation within a family structure. Do you or any of your family suffer from diabetes or have a history of high blood pressure? Are you advanced in age? Any of these traits increase your risk for sight-threatening eye diseases.
Look for red flags or warning signs in your vision - If you start noticing changes in your vision, see your eye doctor immediately. Such signs include frequent eye pain, red eyes, difficulty seeing in low light conditions, and color distortion.
Protect your eyes from harmful light - When in sunny environment, always wear sunglasses that safeguard your eyes from 100% of the sun's harmful rays. This may help reduce your risk of sight-loss.
These are some of the tips you can use to protect your eyes and maybe prolong your sight. Eat healthy, exercise, avoid smoking, avoid direct look at the sun rays, follow prescriptions, pay attention to changes in your eyes, and you will be glad to enjoy seeing the beauty that surrounds you.
In our next article, let’s talk about a few ways to tell if you are losing sight.