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Looking after your eyes is something that you shouldn’t put off. “Better late than never” just doesn’t apply. If your eyesight starts to deteriorate, it can be gone for good. Over 2% of adults over the age of 50 suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the risks get higher the older you get, especially if you’re caucasian. Cataracts are becoming so common that there are over 300,000 operations performed on them every year in the UK alone.
However, you don’t have to accept that your vision will get worse as you get older. You can take action to protect it. The sooner you do so; the more effective your efforts will be. Here are the steps that experts recommend that you can take to make sure that your vision at its best for the whole of your life.
1. Eat A Healthy And Balanced Diet
Your lifestyle choices can have an enormous impact on the health of your eyes. Having a healthy and varied diet can be of help in two ways.
It ensures that you are getting all of the nutrients that you need to keep your eyes healthy. Some of the key nutrients include Lutein, Meso-zeaxanthin, Zeaxanthin, and zinc. All of these contribute to the health of your eyes and can reduce your risk of developing AMD.
The other reason to watch what you eat is to reduce your chances of developing diabetes as you get older. Diabetes is a condition that significantly increases your chance of suffering from vision loss. Just keeping on top of your weight with a healthy diet can be a massive benefit to your overall health and eyes.
2. Act On Signs Of Change
One of the most effective ways of ensuring that you are keeping on top of your eye health is to follow your optician’s recommended schedule of checkups. This allows them to catch any warning signs early, so you can take action to save your vision.
If you notice any changes to your vision before your next scheduled checkup, it is best to arrange an appointment early. Changes in your vision could be a sign of a problem. Ignoring it can reduce your options to slow or halt any deterioration.
3. Exercise
Exercise has a wide range of health benefits. Getting into the habit of exercising regularly can keep you healthy and active as you age. Recent studies have shown that it can also help to protect your vision. So it’s yet another reason to try and find the motivation to get moving.
4. Protect Your Eyes From Harsh Lights
UV light can be very damaging for your eyes. If you are putting sunscreen on your skin, you should also be putting on glasses or wearing a brimmed hat. This will reduce the amount of UV rays that enter your eyes.
Another thing to avoid is too much blue light from screens. This can have a similar effect to UV light if you’re exposed to too much of it. Ways to minimise the impact of blue light include avoiding screens when you can. Use filters to reduce the amount of blue light. Finally, you can use the ‘night-time’ settings on your handheld devices. In this mode, the light is shifted to warmer tones, which are more gentle on your eyes.
5. Take An Eye Health Supplement
Getting the right balance and amount of nutrients to protect your eyes is vital. However, it can be hard to track of. So an easy option is to take a supplement that is specifically designed to promote your eye health. For example, Eye Logic Nutri Eye is formulated to contain all the nutrients your body needs to keep your retina in the best condition possible.
6. Stop Smoking
Smoking has a lot of negative impacts on your health. It can, directly and indirectly, impact your eye health. The toxins from cigarette smoke can travel directly to your eyes, cause damage, and oxidative stress. The damage that smoking does to your arteries and blood vessels, combined with how it raises your blood pressure, increases your risk of vision loss.
Combining these effects can reduce blood flow to your eyes and increase the pressure inside your eye. Both of which can speed vision loss and glaucoma.
7. Maintain Good Contact Lens Hygiene
If you wear contact lenses, you must take the time to keep them properly cleaned. If you do not adhere to the cleaning regime your contact lenses need, then you can be at risk of bacterial or fungal infections. Both of which can damage your vision.
So, which of these seven steps can you implement into your daily lifestyle to help promote good eye health?
