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Your Eyes are the Windows to the World
Your eyes are the most important of the 5 sensory organs. First and foremost, good vision enables you perform well—at home, at play, at work, or behind the wheel. Yet, we tend to ignore or overlook taking steps to preventative eye care, a peril we cannot afford to risk. Hence, do you agree eye care is supremely important? Follow these 8 rules to keep healthy eyes!
8 Rules for Eye Care to Keep Healthy Eyes
Everyone should follow these rules to keep your eyes healthy and well, preserving your eyesight at its best.
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Rule #1:Get a Comprehensive eye exam
Have you ever gone for a comprehensive eye exam? It is important to realise that everyone, including young children should visit the optometrist and ophthalmologist regularly to check your eyes for correct vision and eye screenings.
In particular, myopia and other eye power problems are becoming an epidemic in our country. “Many vision problems can be easily treated, like nearsightedness (shortsightedness) and astigmatism, others can lead to permanent vision problems and even blindness if they’re not caught early,” says
,The key point is do not wait for a problem to happen before visiting an optometrist or ophthalmologist. The reason is because many eye diseases are silent and do not show symptoms until the condition has advanced substantially to a late stage. Two of the three leading eye diseases leading on to blindness are silent diseases: glaucoma and Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
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Rule #2: Eat right to protect your sight
Adopt a diet rich in fruits and leafy dark greens like spinach and kale. There are sources of omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamins A, C and E which might help ward off age-related vision problems like macular degeneration and cataracts.
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Rule #3: Maintain a healthy diet and weight
First thing to remember is, maintain a healthy diet and weight. By doing so, you reduce the likelihood of spikes in blood sugar and can prevent retinal damage over time. For this reason, eat more wholegrains and foods high in fibre include quinoa, brown rice, whole-wheat breads and pasta, whole oats.
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Rule #4: Protect your eyes at work
Safety is often overlooked. It is of paramount importance that you wear safety glasses, goggles, safety shields, and eye guards, if you work with or study chemicals, hazardous materials. In addition, include situations when your working area has particles, flying objects or dust.
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Rule #5: Quit smoking or never start
Most smokers are unaware of the deleterious effect of smoking on their eyes. Smoking in particular, significantly increases risks on your eyes. These include double risk of developing cataract, a three-fold increase in the risk of developing AMD (Age Macular Degeneration), 2.2 times of developing uveitis (inflammation of the eye’s middle layer, or uvea) which is a serious eye disease that can result in complete vision loss.
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Rule #6: Be cool and wear your shades
Notably, when out in the sun, protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light. With this in mind, choose sunglasses with both UVA and UVB protection. Point often overlooked, the sun’s UV rays may cause eye damage, including cataracts, AMD, photokeratitis etc that can cause temporary vision loss.
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Rule #7: Give your eyes a rest
Furthermore, it must be remembered to avoid glare. Therefore, limit screen time and guard against eye strain for good eye care.
In essence, remember 20:20:20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Take a break every 2 hours for a 15-minute break.
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Rule #8: Clean your hands and your contact lenses properly
Overall, be meticulously clean before you ever touch your eyes. Washing your hands and contact lens are absolute musts to control the spread of viruses and other bacteria that can cause infection in your eyes, such as conjunctivitis (pinkeye) and corneal ulcers.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, your eyesight is precious. Consequently, keep eyes healthy and well into your golden years. There are 8 rules you can follow to keep them healthy to make sure you are seeing your best. Furthermore, for best eye care, it is imperative to visit your optometrist and ophthalmologist regularly for eye and vision checks.
References:
https://nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes/eyehealthtips
https://www.aop.org.uk/advice-and-support/for-patients/top-tips-for-healthy-eyes
If you need to consult with an Optometrist: call, send an enquiry or book an appointment on GetDoc
Find an Optometrist in Malaysia, on GetDoc
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If you need to consult with an Ophthalmologist: call, send an enquiry or book an appointment on GetDoc
Find an Ophthalmologist: in Malaysia, on GetDoc
Find an Ophthalmologist: in Singapore, on GetDoc
by Wong Mei Chan
View all articles by Wong Mei Chan.