How to Protect Your Eyesight

It’s easy to take our vision for granted when we are young. But as we age, our eyes need extra TLC to ensure we can protect them from vision loss and age-related diseases.

Here are 5 things you can do to protect your eyesight:

1. Eat right
   Get enough of the right foods with vitamins A, C, and E. These foods contain antioxidants that can help prevent eye diseases like macular degeneration. Food sources for these important nutrients include a variety of colorful vegetables and fruits like carrots, broccoli, kale, strawberries and citrus. Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon are also great for protecting eyes.
2. Exercise
   Exercise, exercise, exercise! Regular exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, control blood pressure and prevent diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy can damage your vision.
3. Quit smoking
   Smoking not only damages your lungs and your heart, it also raises your risk of developing cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
4. Wear protective eyewear
   Keep your eyes protected in bright sun with eyewear with both UV-A and UV-B protection. These harmful rays can cause cataracts and may lead to macular degeneration and skin cancer. Wearing safety goggles also protects your eyes from corrosive materials, dirt, dust and mold, as well as chemicals and sharp objects. Wear eye protection when chopping or stacking wood, doing yard work and pool maintenance, chopping ice and working on home improvement tasks like painting.
5. See your Ophthalmologist regularly

The American Academy of Ophthalmology now recommends that even adults with no signs or risk factors for eye disease get a baseline eye disease screening at age 40, the time when early signs of disease and changes in vision may start to occur. According to AAO, a thorough ophthalmologic evaluation can uncover common abnormalities of the visual system and related structures, as well as less common but extremely serious ones, such as ocular tumors.

Like many age-related diseases, early detection and treatment can help. With the right diagnosis and intervention, diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataract may be treated effectively.

If you are age 40 or older and have not yet had an eye disease screening, schedule one today. It is an essential step toward preserving your vision and keeping your eyes healthy!

Contact ZiekerEye today to Request an appointment for an eye exam.