Healthy Vision Awareness Month

Simple things, like looking at your phone to check your Facebook, catching a movie with a friend, or flipping through a photo album of old pictures, would not be possible if we didn’t have healthy vision. It’s so easy to take things for granted until you lose them. May is Healthy Vision Month where we are reminded of the importance of healthy vision. There are about 1.3 billion people living with some form of vision impairment according to the World Health Organization. About 80 percent of those impairments are considered avoidable. Taking care of your eyes should be treated with the level of care you put into eating healthy and being physically active. Consult an eye care professional and follow a few tips to help you reduce your chances of vision loss. Your future self will thank you.

What Are the Signs You Need to See an Eye Care Professional Immediately?

  • Decreased vision
  • Eye pain
  • Drainage or redness of the eye
  • Double vision
  • Diabetes
  • Floaters (tiny specks that appear to float before your eyes)
  • Circles (halos) around light sources
  • If you see flashes of light

How Can You Protect Your Vision?

Get Regular Comprehensive Dilated Eye Exams

Your eye doctor can detect any eye problems early if you pay attention to the warning signs and make sure you visit your eye doctor regularly. Serious eye diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are more easily treated if caught early. Make sure to research your family’s eye health history. You may be at an increased risk so it’s important to know if anyone has been diagnosed with an eye disease or condition since some are hereditary.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Many eye diseases are linked to other health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important to not only your overall physical health but especially your eyes. Start adding more superfoods into your diet such as tuna, blueberries, dark chocolate, spinach, eggs, oysters, oranges and carrots to name a few. Exercise can also help reduce the risk of health problems. Incorporate frequent physical activity into your routine as much as possible a steer away from smoking tobacco. Research has shown that people who smoke tobacco are at a higher risk of developing cataracts, AMD, diabetic retinopathy and more

Wear Protective Eyewear  

If you work in an environment that involves an activity that can be potentially harmful to your eyes, make sure to wear protective eyewear and take extra safety precautions. Also, wear protective eyewear when playing sports or doing activities around the home, such as painting, yard work, and home repairs. When shopping for sunglasses, choose ones that block 99 percent to 100 percent of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. These will help prevent retinal damage along with protecting the delicate eyelid skin from both wrinkles and skin cancer around the eye, both cancerous and non-cancerous growths on the eye.

Contact Lens Care

It is easy to abuse contact lens, avoiding the following mistakes, you will save yourself from some serious eye damage such as corneal ulcers, severe pain, and even vision loss. Take extra precautions by avoiding the following:

  • Putting in or taking out your contact lens without washing your hands
  • Sleeping in contact lens that are not approved for overnight wear
  • Using saliva or water as a cleansing or wetting solution
  • Using expired solution
  • Using disposable contact lens beyond their wear

Give Your Eyes a Rest

This is especially a good idea if you have a job where you’re looking at a screen for long periods of time.  Use the 20-20-20 rule: look up from your work every twenty minutes at an object twenty feet away for twenty seconds.

Healthy vision requires you and your family to take safety precautions, maintain a healthy lifestyle, become knowledgeable about the warning signs of serious eye problems or family eye history, and lastly visit your eye doctor often.  Remember 80 percent of impairments are considered avoidable so be proactive to protect you and your family.

In the event of any health emergencies, Golden Triangle Emergency Center is here for you. Our concierge-level care for all ages is available 24/7 for local patients, and our doctors are ready to serve. When your family needs it most, we offer only the very best.

Nutex Health, Inc supports you and your family’s health. You can depend on Golden Triangle Emergency Center or any one of our concierge-level, freestanding emergency facilities to deliver the emergency care you deserve, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.