Tips For Keeping Your Eyes Healthy
Most of us these days work on the computers and mobile devices, but it’s well known that the blue light from these screens causes eye strain. So, to keep your eyesight sharp, it’s important to keep a good routine for protecting your eyes. It’s the only pair you will ever have, after all!
We have compiled a list of Top 10 tips for people who use their computers or phone screen (a little too much) every day. There are some great ideas for you below, but the main one – make sure that you take break, even when you are super involved in online roulette.
1. Eat Well
Good eye health starts in the stomach! Make sure that you get enough key nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids (fish is a great source!) zinc, lutein and vitamins C and E. Many of these can be found in green leafy vegetables, oily fish, nuts, beans, eggs, and fruit such as oranges.
2. Quit Smoking
Smoking cigarettes actually damages your optic nerve! It makes it more likely for you to get cataracts and macular degeneration.
3. Wear Sunglasses
This is especially important in the New Zealand sun, as good sunglasses are essential for protecting your eyes from the harsh UV rays. Too much exposure boosts your chances of getting cataracts. Make sure that you buy wrap-around sunglasses, rated UVH 400, to protect your eyes from both UVA and UVB rays.
4. Use Safety Eyewear
If you are working in a workshop, you will be required to use safety eyeglasses, and you should never neglect them. But also sports like hockey, lacrosse and squash can lead to eye injury! Wear eye protection to those games, and make sure you don’t get hit!
5. Taking breaks from computers
Staring for too long at the computer or phone screen is not just bad for your posture – it can cause significant eye strain, blurry vision, dry eyes, and trouble focussing at a distance. Make sure that you have a correct spectacle prescription for your glasses, and maybe invest in a pair of computer glasses. Look up eye exercises online and do them every day. Try using eye drops if your eyes get dry and try to take breaks from the screens every 20 minutes, or more often if you can.
6. Visit your doctor
Make sure you have regular check ups and eye exams, especially if your family has a history of glaucoma. It’s important to catch illness like that early, before they get too bad and treatment becomes difficult!
7. Look out for signs of trouble
Keep check on your eye health, like hazy or double vision, problems seeing in low light conditions, floaters in the eyes or constant pain or swelling. All of these can indicate a rise of severe problems and it’s a good idea to be aware of low-grade symptoms.
8. Get some fresh air
Fresh air is great for you overall, but apparently it also supplies oxygen to the corneas in your eyes. Make sure you get as much fresh air as you can, and in a beautiful country like New Zealand, that’s not hard!
9. Don’t rub your eyes
Most people rub their eyes often, but actually that can do you more harm than good. If your hands are not clean (and let’s face it, who has the time to sterilise their hands all the time?), you are probably introducing a host of germs straight into your eyes. At best, you can get a sty infection, and at worst something even more serious. So, resist that temptation and only wash your eyes carefully with water if there is something irritating them.
10. Use quality cosmetics
And finally, an important tip for the ladies – don’t be cheap with the cosmetics! A lot of cheaper quality cosmetics can cause irritations and allergic reactions and using makeup that’s out of date is a very bad idea. Mascara should be replaced every 3 months, and make sure you wash your makeup brushes well.