Healthy Eyes: Five Helpful Tips for Glasses Wearers

So many of us these days have vision problems are need to wear glasses or corrective lenses. A recent study showed that as much as 50 per cent of the population of the US is short sighted. I certainly see a lot more kids wearing glasses at school nowadays than there were when I was growing up. Given all of this it is becoming more and more important to look after your eyes properly and make sure your lifestyle isn’t making your vision worse. So I decided I should share my top 5 tips to keep your eyes healthy:

Get your vision checked regularly.

It is advisable to schedule a visit to your optician at least once every 12 months as some vision problems can often go completely unnoticed until it is too late. Getting regular eye tests can prevent the need for costly corrective treatments in the future so make sure you always follow your optician’s advice – if they say you need prescription glasses, start wearing them straight away.

If you need glasses, always make sure you wear them!

It doesn’t matter whether you think they look good or not, if your optician has said you need glasses then you need them. Not wearing your glasses can damage your eyes further and will only mean that you will need a stronger prescription later. If you don’t like the way they look then shop around, there are hundreds of frames available and there is sure to be something that will suit you.

Maintain a healthy diet for your eyes

Research has proven that certain vitamins and nutrients are beneficial to your eyesight, so making sure you eat a diet rich in vitamins A, C and E, folic acid, selenium and zinc could help prevent future vision problems. If your glasses prescription is very low (-0.25) it’s possible that your vision problems could actually be corrected by switching to a diet rich in these important nutrients.

Protect your eyes in summer

It may sound really obvious to say that UV rays can cause severe damage to your vision, yet hundreds of people still allow this to happen every year. Sunglasses are an absolute must when going out in the sun, whether you have problems with your eyesight or not. With an endless range of designer sunglasses on the market, it’s easy to find a pair that you like and that will give you the all-important protection you need.

Give your eyes a break!

If you usually spend a lot of time at your computer, it’s important to give your eyes regular breaks from looking at the screen. Just closing your eyes or focusing on an object in the distance for 10 seconds at least once an hour can make a really big difference and helps to prevent headaches and vision problems associated with prolonged use of a screen. Remember it’s not just work that causes these problems, the same applies to watching TV and playing video games too!

Playing computer games could help to improve eyesight

After years of being told that video games are bad for your health and especially your eyes, a new study has proved that in fact playing some games may actually help improve your vision, and could even prevent you from needing glasses in the future. The study, conducted by the University of Rochester, demonstrates that playing certain games can improve a person’s contrast sensitivity function, or their ability to distinguish easily between different shades of grey. But can that really mean the game has improved your eyesight?

Shades of grey may not sound all that ground-breaking, but contrast sensitivity is one of the most easily damaged functions of the human eye. People who suffer from low contrast sensitivity find it harder to see at night or to pick out small details like spots on clothing, and often the only way to treat the problem is with increasing strength prescription glasses or eye surgery. It’s now believed that computer games could be used to train the eyes to develop these skills, and that the same method could even be used to treat people who suffer from Amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’, a condition that affects the brain’s ability to correctly register signals from one eye.

But not all video games are thought to be beneficial in this way. The study compared different types of games by testing young adults who did not normally play games before and after a period of playing them regularly. The results of the tests revealed that subjects who played first-person shooter or action games like Call of Duty showed a 43 per cent improvement on average, whereas those who played non-action games like The Sims 2 showed hardly any.

So if gaming could help us avoid eye problems should we all be rushing out to buy an XBOX with as many action games as we can find to ensure that our designer sunglasses will remain our only visual aids far into our future? Well, unfortunately no. For a start the study makes a point that not all action games will work like this, in other words, most of them probably won’t. Not to mention the fact that although these games may help develop some areas of your sight, it’s still not a great idea to be sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time, or to allow gaming to replace other activities that are necessary to staying fit and healthy. In theory it’s certainly a nice idea, but it’s important to remember that it’s just as possible that video games could well be harmful in other ways.

How Serious Is Open Angle Glaucoma?

eye exams

If you are serious about the health of your eyes, then you should make sure that you see your optical doctor on a regular basis. Making sure that you have regular optical exam, for example your yearly exam for glaucoma, will go a long way towards insuring that you keep your vision. Open angle glaucoma affects more than 80 percent of the people that contract glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye disease that can be cured if found in the early stages.

There are other types of glaucoma but open angle is the one that affects the eyesight of most people. The sad fact is that there are more than 3 million Americans who have glaucoma but are not aware of it yet, based on statistical research. Glaucoma works by damaging the optic nerve through pressure in the eye or decreasing the blood supply to the optic nerve. If it is caught early enough by scheduling eye exams, then glaucoma can be arrested, and a person’s vision can be saved. However, any damage that glaucoma has caused up to that point is not fixable. The people who are most at risk of contracting glaucoma are black people, people over 40, or anyone that has a history of glaucoma in their family.

Open angle glaucoma is one of the most common forms of glaucoma and also one of the most treatable. The problem with glaucoma is that there are generally no symptoms other than a gradual loss of vision. Unfortunately, this loss of vision is many times not obvious to the person who has contracted glaucoma. The reason for this is the other eye will generally pick up the slack for the eye that is being affected by glaucoma. If both eyes happen to have glaucoma, then they’re both working in conjunction with each other and it is harder to be aware that there is any loss of sight. This type of glaucoma starts by affecting the peripheral vision. If left untreated it will eventually cause a person to have something called tunnel vision, which means they will not be able to see anything out of the sides of their eyes.

Even though having health issues is not something anybody wants, it does happen to people. Glaucoma is one of the most common types of disease that can affect the eyes, and open angle glaucoma is the most common of the group. This disease is the most common and the most treatable, yet at the same time, it is the one that causes the most cases of blindness.

Eye Exams Are Important For Good Eye Health

eyesight

Glaucoma is a disease that attacks the health of the eye, and it can affect anyone. Even people who try to stay as healthy as they are able can still get glaucoma. It is, in reality, the name given to a group of diseases that work by destroying the optic nerves. Everyone is unique, so therefore, glaucoma is caused by different things in different people.

Anyone who is serious about eye health issues and about keeping their eyes healthy will make sure that they get regular eye exams. As we get older, parts of our body breakdown and the eyes are especially vulnerable. A glaucoma test is done once a year and is basically a puff of air blown into each eye. While this is not the most comfortable test, it is a very important test because glaucoma works slowly and can sometimes do a lot of damage before it is detected. If detected early, then there is a better chance of successful treatment. Once the damage has occurred, it is irreversible and that is why it is important to take your doctor visits seriously. This is also why it is important to have regular screenings for glaucoma and it usually starts with the peripheral vision. Without regular screenings for glaucoma it is possible for a large part of the nerves to be destroyed before anyone realizes what has happened.

Glaucoma is an eye disease that wreaks havoc by causing increased pressure on the optic nerve. The causes and treatments of glaucoma will be different for every person based on their own unique circumstances. Glaucoma tends to happen as a person gets older but it can affect anyone at any age. If you happen to have glaucoma in your family history, then you are at an increased risk for getting it. Making sure that you take care of the health of your eyes is crucial. The best way to fight this disease is to find out that you have it as early as you possibly can. Once it is discovered, treatment can begin immediately, and is usually quite successful. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done for the damage that glaucoma has already caused.

Problems with your eyes can happen at any age; therefore, it is important that you take the health of your eyes just as seriously as you take other health issues. Making sure that you let your doctor know if you have any concerns or if something is bothering you with your eyesight is crucial. Early detection of problems is always in your best interest.

Acute Glaucoma Is A Very Threatening Eye Disease

eyesight

Acute glaucoma is a disease that affects the eyes and it is one of the major causes of blindness in the United States. There are four types of glaucoma and all of them can wreak havoc with your eyesight. Most people who are diagnosed with glaucoma have had no symptoms; this is why it is important to have regular eye exams. This disease affects eye health and is relentless unless stopped.

There are four types of glaucoma, but acute glaucoma is different in that it can develop suddenly and do serious damage in a short amount of time. It usually works by causing pressure to be increased within the eye. Generally, this happens slowly and the person is not aware of what is going on. In this type of glaucoma the pressure increases suddenly and this increase in pressure is very painful. The pain can become so intense that it can make a person vomit and even lose consciousness. This is very serious and usually requires a trip to the emergency room. An eye doctor needs to be consulted immediately and if treatment is delayed, then eyesight can be permanently destroyed.

Acute glaucoma is extremely serious; however, if there is any positive aspect to this disease, then that would have to be that with this type there is immediate knowledge that a problem is present. With other forms of glaucoma, many times the individual has no idea that they have this eye disease. The other eye picks up the slack in a sense, and this allows a person to go on without having any idea of the damage that is being done. If this damage is not discovered in a timely manner, then the person can eventually go blind. The bad part about glaucoma, aside from the fact that is a insidious, is the fact that once the damage is done it cannot be reversed. So it is imperative to discover glaucoma as early as possible. Many of the glaucoma attacks occur when a person is under stress or in a darkened room. In the dark and when under stress, the pupils dilate, which causes greater contact between the eyes lens and the iris. There are some drugs that can cause pupils to dilate and bring on an attack, such as anti-depressants, antihistamines, nausea medications and some cold medications.

The fact is that glaucoma is a very serious eye disease. Many people do not realize how serious glaucoma can be. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. However, if it is caught early, then it can be treated and in most cases vision can be saved. Acute glaucoma has immediate symptoms that cannot be ignored.

« Previous Page — Next Page »