How Regular Eye Care Can Improve Your Life
Your eyes are the gateway to the world. They allow you to see everything going on around you from street signs and fine print, right down to minute details such as street names. That is why it is vitally important that we care for and maintain healthy eyes throughout life – annual eye exams can prevent vision loss by detecting early eye diseases that are easier to treat.
Most people consider poor vision a normal part of aging; however, regular eye exams can prevent or delay many eye conditions by helping you identify whether corrective lenses and prescription lenses may be needed for you. Eye exams also can detect other health conditions affecting other parts of the body like diabetes and high blood pressure that require further investigation.
At an eye exam, your eye doctor will conduct an analysis of your eye health by inspecting its corneas, alignment of eyes and pupils reactions to light/close objects as well as fluid pressure inside of them. They’ll also look out for any changes to vision such as sharpening of vision or blind spots in peripheral (side) vision.
One reason people fail to get annual eye exams is due to thinking their vision remains clear and therefore don’t require an examination. Unfortunately, this misconception can be dangerous since many do not realize their vision can deteriorate quickly as they age and even a loss of just a few points can significantly diminish quality of life and increase risks related to falls and accidents.
Eye doctors can use retinal blood vessel analysis in people with diabetes or hypertension to spot early symptoms of stroke and heart disease before any other signs appear, as well as identify eye diseases caused by hereditary traits like macular degeneration and glaucoma.
Additional steps you can take to improve eye health include eating a diet rich in leafy green vegetables and other nutritious foods, getting adequate rest, and not straining your eyes for extended periods. For instance, long hours spent using screens such as smartphones and computers can cause eye strain; thus it is suggested that users follow the 20-20-20 rule: look away from screens at least every 20 minutes for 20 seconds in order to give your eyes a break and wear sunglasses that block 99-100% UVA and UVB rays; these simple steps can make an enormous impactful difference on how we see the world around us!
