Apart from being the window to the soul, the eyes also provide insight into your general well being. In fact, any noticeable change a doctor detects in your eyes could identify diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, risk of Alzheimer and Ocular disease.
Here are some of the things that you need to know about eyes and visions care
Lenses for Every Day Usage
Not all prescription glasses are designed to cater for UV light or anti-glare. This may force you to carry an extra pair of sunglasses to help protect your eyes in the sun. These sunglasses may also not be fitted as prescription glasses. This means that even while being protected from the UV light, your vision will still be blurry. A solution to this problem is the transitions lenses by Overnight Glasses which change from dark to light depending on uv light intensity.
Only the Doctor Knows
Eye problems are widespread and can go undetected for long (some are asymptomatic). A detailed eye exam conducted by an ophthalmologist or optometrist is essential for eye diseases to be identified at an early stage when treatment is most effective. Some of the things tested during the exam include vision acuity or sharpness, eye movement, eye alignment and depth perception. The exam usually involves the use of eye drops that are used to enlarge your pupil so as to enable the doctor to see inside the eye and identify any eye problems.
Vision Care Protects Your Eye Health
Early detection and treatment is vital as it helps prevent some eye diseases which can cause blindness or permanent vision loss. Some of these diseases are as follows;
Cataract: Cataract is a condition that occurs when the lens proteins clump together forming clouds. This clumped protein causes poor vision. Cataract is a common condition among the elderly but it can also occur in young people. Some of the risk factors that have been associated with cataract include; alcohol, cigarette smoking, diabetes and steroids. Cataract is a common condition among the elderly but it can also occur among young individuals.
Refractive error: Ask anybody with contact lenses or prescription glasses about refractive error and you’ll probably get different answers. Refractive error is a general term that refers to a range of eye conditions such as farsightedness, shortsightedness, astigmatism (indistinct images at all distance) and lastly presbyopia. This condition is caused by the eyes inability to bend light as it passes through the pupil. The corrective measure for this condition involves the use of right prescription glasses online or contact lenses.
Macular degeneration: Macula plays a major role in enabling us to see what is right ahead of us – text messages on the phone, the car ahead of the road or even the person whom we are talking to. Macular degeneration is caused by a breakdown of the eye’s light sensitive tissue.
Diabetic retinopathy: This condition is caused by poor regulation of blood sugars which leads to damaged retinal vessels. Diabetic retinopathy is the main cause of blindness among adults in America.
Glaucoma: This is another eye condition that occurs when there is a huge build-up of pressure in the eye which if not controlled causes optic nerve damage
Begin early
Even though most people tend to develop eye problems when they grow older, kids also require eye check-up so as to ensure the health of their eyes and for early disease detection. The worrying thing however is that less than 15% of pre-school kids in America are taken for eye check-up and less than 22 percent have undergone vision screening. It is important therefore that we protect our kids’ vision by ensuring they are regularly examined.
Other reasons to see a doctor
Apart from the routine eye check-up, you should also see a doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms; eye pain, double vision, flashes of light, halos or circles around lights, redness or draining of the eyes and lastly decreased vision.
Guidelines for good eye care
- Purchase and use the correct prescription glasses
- Keep diseases such as hypertension and diabetes under control
- Eat food rich in beta-carotene, vitamin A and C e.g. melon, pawpaw oranges, green leafy vegetables, potatoes, carrot and tomatoes
- Put on sunglasses to shield your eyes from the harmful UVB and UVA rays.
- Go for eye exams frequently – preferably once every year.
Conclusion
The eyes play a significant role in providing vision, producing tears and giving perception of the things surrounding us. It therefore goes without saying that we need to take good care of our eyes and to do so, we need to understand some of the common eye conditions (macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract etc) mentioned above. We also need to follow the guidelines for vision care i.e. eating a balanced diet, wearing sunglasses, going for eye check-up among others.
