Your eyesight is an important sense, and it is one that you should never take for granted. But how often do you consider the health of your eyes? If you were to damage your eyes, it could have a very big impact on the whole of your life.

There are several different ways that your eyes could change over time and develop problems. For instance, you could become long-sighted or short-sighted due to your eyes changing shape. You could also develop glaucoma, cataracts, of any number of different eye diseases.

The slightest change in your eyesight could lead to you starting to get headaches. The changes could make it difficult for you to see clearly and could affect your ability to work or to drive safely. So, what can be done to take better care of your eyesight now?

In this article, we’ll discuss ten ways that you can take care of your eyes. Read on to find out more about how to protect your eyesight.

1. Get Your Eyes Tested Every Two Years

One of the most important things you should do when it comes to taking care of your eyesight is to visit your optician often. Try and make an appointment every two years unless your optician advises you otherwise.

In your appointment, your optician will carry out a number of different tests on your eyes. These are designed to see whether there has been any change to your eyesight.

The eye exam will consist of several shorter tests. Some of these will be designed to see how well you can see at a distance and closer up. These will whether or not you are short or long-sighted. Other tests will look for signs of glaucoma and also indications of blind spots.

If you need to wear glasses or contact lenses, then your optician will prescribe them.

2. Wear Your Prescription Glasses

If your optician has prescribed glasses or contact lenses for you, then you should wear them as you have been advised to. While you may only need to wear your glasses while you are doing certain tasks, it is important that you do wear them. If you decide to not wear the glasses or contact lenses for any reason, then you will risk straining your eyes. This could make your eyesight worse and cause you headaches.

If you need new glasses, then you can buy some from this website using the prescription provided to you by your optician.

3. Eat a Healthy Diet

Your diet may not be the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to thinking about your eyesight. However, the right diet will help your eyes.

Vitamin A-rich foods and those with beta carotenes such as carrots, squashes, and sweet potatoes will help you to take care of your eyesight. This is because vitamin A plays an important role in ensuring that you have a clear cornea. The cornea is the clear outer layer in the front of your eyes. Vitamin A is a component of rhodopsin, which is a protein that can be found in your eyes. Rhodopsin allows you to see in poor lighting conditions meaning that vitamin A and carrots will help you to see in the dark!

4. Avoid Spending Too Long Looking at Screens

The amount of time that you spend looking at screens will affect your eyesight. If you are someone that spends a considerable amount of time working on computers or using a smartphone, then it is likely that you will strain your eyes.

Over a period of time, straining your eyes in this way will cause your eyes to become damaged.

You may find that you have headaches or that you struggle to focus on the screen.

If you need to use a screen for a prolonged period of time, ensure that you take regular breaks to get away from the screen. That way, you’ll be able to let your eyes rest up.

5. Take Care of Your Eyes in the Sun

If you spend any length of time looking into the sun, then it could cause you serious damage to your eyes. This is because UV light will flood your retinas and will quite literally burn the tissue. Other damage that you could receive from staring at the sun could include sunburn on your cornea.

It is vital that you do not stare at the sun. Even a brief glance could cause you damage. If there is a cloud covering the sun, this is no guarantee of protection either.

Whenever you are out in the sun, be sure that you always take measures to protect your eyes from the sun. Wear sunglasses that offer UV protection of at least 400. If you are able to, you should also wear a hat with a peak or a brim to block out the sun.

Even when you are wearing sunglasses with a suitable UV rating, you should still avoid looking in the direction of the sun as it can still cause damage, even when wearing a good pair of sunglasses.

6. Wear Protective Eyewear

There are many dangerous jobs out there, and if you work somewhere, such as a factory or even on a construction site, then you may risk something getting into your eye. To ensure that you don’t injure your eyes, make sure that you wear protective eyewear at all times. If none is provided, speak to your manager or your union representative.

There may be certain hobbies or interests that require you to wear protective eyewear. Some sports need you to wear a helmet or eyewear. If this is the case, always make sure you do wear it. Accidents can happen, and you wouldn’t want to damage your eyes because you were not wearing your eyewear.

7. Don’t Smoke

There are many age-related eye diseases, and smoking increases the likelihood that you will get one or more of them. These might include cataracts or macular degeneration.

If you are a smoker, cut back now or give up completely. Your eyesight is just one of the areas of your health that you are putting at risk through your smoking.

8. Make Sure That You Know Your Family Medical History

There are over 350 different hereditary eye diseases, these include amblyopia, albinism, aniridia, astigmatism, colourblindness, corneal dystrophies, glaucoma, hyperopia, keratoconus, Leber congenital amaurosis, night blindness, retinitis pigmentosa, and retinoblastoma, to name just a few.

It is helpful if you know what your family’s medical history is particularly relating to eye diseases. If someone has had an eye disease, then you should let your optician know as they will be able to keep an eye out for the early warning signs in you.

9. Know About Your Other Risk Factors

There are different risk factors that will affect you at different points in your life; you are at a greater risk of developing age-related eye diseases as you get older. If you are from certain ethnic backgrounds, there is a greater risk of developing certain other eye diseases. Knowing your risk factors will mean that you are going to be better able to manage your behaviours which will less prone to developing these conditions.

10. Take Steps to Avoid Eye Infections

If you are a contact lens wearer, then you will need to be careful that you do not develop any eye infections. Make sure that you wash your hands before you take your contact lenses out and when you put them back in.

Your contact lenses need to be cleaned as directed when they are not in use. Make sure that you also replace your lenses once they reach the end of their lifespan.

11. Get Tested for Glaucoma

If you are over the age of 40, have a family history of glaucoma, are short-sighted, diabetic, or are of African-Caribean heritage, then you may be at a greater risk of developing glaucoma. Speak with your optician and have them carry out the necessary tests to check to see whether you have it.

If you do have glaucoma, there are things that you can do to help reduce the intraocular pressure caused by the condition. Exercise is one of the best ways of doing this. Even just walking for 40 minutes each day is enough to reduce the pressure.

12. Cool Your Feet

When you’re in the car, turn the air vents down so that they are pointed at your feet rather than into your eyes. The dry air from the car air conditioning can suck the moisture out of your eyes and leave you prone to developing eye infections and ulcers.

The same rule applies to any other form of air conditioning. Make sure it is pointed away from your eyes.

There are many ways that you can take care of your eyes. Make sure that you visit your optician on a regular basis; this will give you an early insight into problems before they arise.