Proper eye care is extremely important for all ages. After all, poor eyesight makes living life in general really hard. Without proper eye care, reading becomes a problem – and we want our kids to read for life, don’t we? For us as parents working and productivity are severely impacted, especially when a significant part of your workday involves sitting in front of a computer. Worse, driving with poor vision endangers not only yourself but other people as well.
It’s a good thing there are a lot of things that we can do to improve or maintain perfect eyesight. Here are some tips to proper eye care, which are good for people from all walks of life.
Superfoods to improve or maintain perfect eyesight
Certain superfoods contain specific nutrients that are essential to proper eye care. It would be great if you encourage your kids to eat these superfoods regularly:
- Carrots, with beta-carotene that is transformed by the body into Vitamin A, which contributes to good eye health
- Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and bell peppers, loaded with Vitamin C that prevents damage to eye cells, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma.
- Turkey, a good source of zinc, which lowers risk of related macular degeneration
- Spinach, packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, anti-oxidants, and loads of lutein, which protect your eyes from oxidative stress.
- Kale, also rich in lutein
- Salmon, tuna and sardines, a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids that help protect your eyes from macular degeneration and dry eye syndrome
Protect your eyes with shades
Too much exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun increases the likelihood of cataracts and macular degeneration. Protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses, especially those designed to block 99% to 100% of UV rays.
Get your eyes off your computer every now and then
Whether you’re working, playing games, or watching videos on your computer, staring too long at its screen can lead to eyestrain, blurry vision, dry eyes and even some difficulty staring at a distance. To protect your eyes, the least you can do is rest them every 20 minutes by looking at anything about 20 feet away for about 20 seconds. Taking a 15-minute break every two hours is also recommended if you want to improve or maintain perfect eyesight.
Among the things you can do to protect your eyes when using a computer include:
- If you wear glasses, make sure to wear ones with updated prescriptions and that are adequate for computer use.
- Eyewear to protect your eyes from the glare not only from the monitor but from windows and other sources of light may also be needed. If necessary, use an anti-glare screen.
- Make sure that the top of the computer screen is at eye level so you can look slightly down at the screen and rest your eyes every now and then.
- Blink some more when you feel like your eyes are drying out. Using eye drops would help too.
Quit smoking
The risk of getting cataracts, optic nerve damage, and macular degeneration is much higher among people who smoke.
Get proper eye care from eye doctors
Getting your and your child’s eyes checked out on a regular basis by an eye doctor is extremely important if you want to improve or maintain perfect eyesight. Proper eye care administered by ophthalmologists and optometrists allow you to know the state of your eye health, if you have eye diseases that need to be taken care of immediately, or if you have visual problems that need to be corrected by eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Remember, however, that even with proper eye care, our vision generally suffers as we age. Still, the tips above can help slow things down. With proper eye care, we can enjoy books, TV shows, movies, driving a car and most importantly of all, the sight of our loved ones for a long time to come.
