Your eyes do amazing things, many of which go far beyond what meets the eye. Pardon the pun. Just think about it for a second: they take in information and directly connect with your brain to allow you to process the world around you. 80% of what you perceive comes from your sight and to put it lightly, that’s incredible! But what may surprise you is that your eye health can help detect a variety of health issues throughout the body. Unfortunately, many of us continue to neglect our eye health and skip regular exams that can be key to your overall health and wellness. In this article, we’re going to break down the reasons why you should be prioritizing your eye health and simple ways to do just that.
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Why Staying On Top Of Your Eye Health is So Important
Many of us skip out on those appointments and we really shouldn’t because eyes are important for various aspects of your health. They can quite literally change your life and here’s why:
Prevent Eye Problems
Unfortunately, many people think their eyesight is fine so they avoid going to an optometrist, only to later discover that their vision does need to be corrected and could have been prevented with quicker action. In fact, almost half of visual impairment cases could have been prevented, which is the first reason why staying on top of your eye health is so important. Maintaining your eye health can also help protect and prevent your eyes from other problems, such as age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma.
Manage Eye Disorders
If you have already been diagnosed with such conditions, maintaining your eye health is key for managing your condition and even reversing it. Proper eye health can slow down the progression of vision impairment and other eye disorders, and can even reduce or eradicate your symptoms.
Preserve Eyesight and Maintain Quality of Life
93 million US adults are at high risk for vision loss but staying on top of your eye health can help preserve your eyesight. And when you can see, you can accurately receive the information around you, which allows you to continue living independently. You can drive on your own, participate in all kinds of activities, see the world around you, and ultimately, maintain or increase your quality of life.
Now, even if you’re struggling with vision loss, maintaining your eye health can help. Most cases of vision impairment can also be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. However, it’s important that you continue to stay on top of your eye health to make sure the impairment doesn’t worsen.
Spot Additional Health Concerns
While many say the eyes are the window to the soul, the truth is that they’re the window to your body and overall health. In fact, your eyes are the only place where blood vessels can be viewed in their natural state without undergoing a surgical procedure. This is why optometrists are able to spot potential health conditions just from looking at someone’s eye. It also allows them to detect issues that would otherwise be missed with a regular doctor’s appointment. Additionally, your eye health can say a lot about your overall health and wellness.
Some of the health conditions that can be found with a quick eye exam are:
- Blood diseases
- Brain tumors
- Cataracts
- Diabetes
- Glaucoma
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Liver disease
- Macular degeneration
Get To The Bottom Of Other Symptoms
Seeing an optometrist can help you get to the root cause of those seemingly-unexplainable migraines, dizzy spells, vertigo, nausea and other “odd” symptoms not originally thought to be linked to the eye.
Keep Your Brain Healthy
Your eyes are directly linked to your brain through the optic nerve. This is how you are able to intake information and process it. As such, your eyes and your brain have a co-dependent relationship; healthy eyesight is imperative for healthy brain functioning and vice versa.
Common Eye Disorders
Eye disorders are quite common. In fact, vision disability is one of the top 10 disabilities for adults and one of the most common conditions in children.
- Refraction Errors: The most frequent eye problem in the US, refraction errors are a type of vision problem that makes it difficult to see clearly. You may be near-sighted or far-sighted, have distorted vision at all disorders, difficultly focusing up close or reading up-close. This type of eye problem can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or surgery.
- Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An eye disorder linked with aging that causes sharp and central vision, making it difficult to see fine details needed for common tasks, such as reading and driving. It is the leading cause of permanent vision impairment of reading or close-up vision for people over 65 years old.
- Cataracts: An eye disorder that can occur at any age (even birth) that causes clouding in the eye’s lens. Globally, it’s the leading cause of blindness and leading cause of vision loss in the United States. Treatment is available.
- Diabetic Retinopathy: A common complication of diabetes, Diabetic Retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in adults in the United States. It progresses through four stages, but can be reduced with proper management of your diabetes, which includes control of blood sugar, blood pressure and lipid levels.
- Glaucoma: A group of diseases, glaucoma refers to damage to the eye’s optic nerve, which results in vision loss and blindness. Early treatment can help protect the eyes from serious sight loss.
- Floaters: A condition that presents small dark shapes that “float” in your eyesight and impair your vision. They can come or go and often don’t need treatment, but they can also be a sign of a more serious problem.
Tips for Maintaining and Improving Eye Health
While many eye disorders and impairment can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery, being proactive about your eye health is just as important, if not more so. After all, it allows you to prevent potential issues before they even have a chance to become a problem. So, on top of going to your annual eye exams, here are some things you can do to start taking care of your eye health today.
- Eat more veggies: Leafy green vegetables are great for supporting eye health, so add some more spinach and kale onto your dinner plate or add them into your next smoothie. Carrots are also great, and fish that’s high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, halibut and tuna, provide plenty of benefits for your eye health.
- Do your eye exercises: Some simple eye exercises can help strengthen weak eye muscles to give you the best vision possible. They can also help prevent and improve vision impairment.
- Wear polarized sunglasses: Skip out on those $10 sunglasses at the corner store. To ensure proper protection from the sun, you want lenses that block out UVA and UVB rays, and that reduce the glare to prevent eye strain.
- Wear protective gear: If you’re doing an activity or tasks that puts your eyes at risk, wear proper eye protection.
- Keep your fingers out of your eyes: While a good eye-rub feels good, refrain from touching your eyes. If you must, whether it’s to get something out of your eye or to put in your contact lenses, make sure you thoroughly wash your hands first.
- Take breaks from tech: Staring at a screen all day long, whether it’s your work computer, television screen, phone or tablet, can take its toll on your eye health. Practice the 20-20-20 rule, where you look at something 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. This can also help prevent migraines, headaches and eye fatigue.
- Maintain your blood sugar levels: Almost all (90%) blindness caused by diabetes is preventable. Improve your diet and stay on top of your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, especially if you have been diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes.
- Be aware of your family history: Find out if there are any eye health problems you may be at higher risk for developing due to your family’s eye health history. While this information can be intimidating, it provides you with the perfect opportunity for prevention.
- Butt out cigarettes: If you don’t smoke, never start. If you do smoke, it’s time to butt out, as smoking cigarettes has been linked to an increased risk of developing cataracts, optic nerve damage and age-related macular degeneration, all of which can lead to sight loss.
- Maintain your weight: Getting in proper nutrition and regular physical activity to maintain a healthy weight can help keep your eyes sharp and lower your risk of eye disorders that are increased with excess weight and obesity.
The most common eye diseases and disorders can all be prevented, slowed down and treated with proper eye care. So, be proactive about your eye health with the tips provided in this article to keep your eyesight sharp and your quality of life great.
