- Exercise improves blood circulation, which improves oxygen levels to the eyes and the removal of toxins.
- Wear Sunglasses. To protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light, choose sunglasses with both UVA and UVB protection. Also, wearing a hat with a brim will greatly reduce the amount of UV radiation slipping around the side of your sunglasses.
- You’re probably using digital devices for hours each day at work and at home. These devices are exposing your eyes to high energy blue light. It’s called blue light because the wavelengths emitted are near the bluer part of the spectrum. So, there are some measures to be taken care of to keep your eyes healthy such as: keep your computer screen within 20″-24″ of your eye, blink frequently, adjust the lighting to minimize glare on the screen, Keep the top of your computer screen slightly below eye level and use lubricating eye drops to soothe irritated, dry eyes.
- Keeping your hands clean is so important when it comes to your eyes, especially if you’re a contact lens wearer. Before you touch your eye (and before you put in or remove a contact lens) wash your hands with mild soap and dry with a lint-free towel. Some germs and bacteria that come from your hands can cause eye infections, like bacterial conjunctivitis (pink eye).
- Get a good night’s sleep. You’ll feel the difference when you get the sleep you need. You’ll look great, you’ll perform at home or work—and good rest will support the health of your eyes.
Reflective light is the one that bounces off an object, like a mirror, whereas Emitted light is the one that can be generated through matter which is in an excited state. This state can come from a variety of sources, like smartphones, laptops or LED lights and television.
The emitted light is more dangerous to your eyes, as it could damage your retina in a serious manner, as these lights discharge from one point of source, which directly hits into the retina. Hence, there are certain measures to be taken in order to protect your eyes from these lights.
- During the time of summer, wear sunglasses with complete ultraviolet protection. UVR comes from the sun and may also be reflected off surfaces such as water or sand. Too much exposure to UVR can cause photokeratitis or photo conjunctivitis (more commonly known as “snow blindness”) in the short-term. Continual UVR exposure, particularly exposure to UVB rays may cause cataracts development, pterygium (a non-cancerous growth over the cornea) or skin cancer of the eyelids.
- Quit smoking, or if you haven’t smoke yet, do not. It makes you more likely to get cataracts, damage to your optic nerve, and macular degeneration, among many other medical problems. If you’ve tried to kick the habit before only to start again, keep at it. The more times you try to quit, the more likely you are to succeed. Ask your doctor for help.
- Wash hands and avoid rubbing your eyes. The best way to protect yourself from the spread of communicable disease is simply to wash your hands on a regular basis. This practice is crucial to avoid contracting eye-related conditions such as conjunctivitis. You often develop conjunctivitis after touching something that someone else has touched after they rubbed their eyes.
- Use Safety Eyewear. If you use hazardous or airborne materials on the job or at home, wear safety glasses or protective goggles. Sports like ice hockey, racquetball, and lacrosse can also lead to an eye injury. Wear eye protection. Helmets with protective face masks or sports goggles with polycarbonate lenses will shield your eyes.
- Do wear hats, during summer. Even if you wear sunglasses every time you go outside, you are not offering complete UVR protection to your eyes and eyelids. Sunglasses usually have gaps along the sides where UVR exposure occurs. While you wear your sunglasses, minimize your risk and add a hat with a brim at least 3 inches wide. Consistent use of hats and sunglasses significantly decreases your UVR exposure.
- Look away from the computer screen often. Staring at a computer or phone screen for too long can cause problems such as eye strain, blurry vision, trouble focusing at a distance, dry eyes, headaches, neck, back, and shoulder pain. Hence, to protect your eyes, you should make sure your glasses or contacts prescription is up to date and good for looking at a computer screen. Move the screen so your eyes are level with the top of the monitor. That lets you look slightly down at the screen. Also, rest your eyes every 20 minutes. Look 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Get up at least every 2 hours and take a 15-minute break.
- Visit an eye doctor regularly. Everyone needs a regular eye exam, even young children. It helps protect your sight and lets you see your best. Eye exams can also find diseases, like glaucoma, that have no symptoms. It’s important to spot them early on when they’re easier to treat.
- Get adequate sleep. Although you know how important it is to get a good night’s rest, you may find it hard to get the sleep you need, particularly with a busy lifestyle. However, your eyes are counting on you to be rested.
- Use eye drops. Sometimes, despite your best attempts, you need to use some kind of eye drops to minimize pain or manage other eye problems. This can be especially true for those going through glaucoma surgery recovery. If you have allergies that make your eyes feel tired or excessively dry, you may also benefit from ketotifen eye drops. However, you should also consult an eye doctor to discuss a chronic need for eye drops.
- Eat healthily and drink plenty of water. There are many foods rich in nutrients that improve your eyesight and help prevent the development of long-term vision problems. Also, drinking plenty of water each day can prevent and reverse many of the negative effects of dehydration, as well as providing fluid for normal eye function.
Have regular physical exams to check for diabetes and high blood pressure. If left untreated, these diseases can cause eye problems. In particular, diabetes and high blood pressure can lead to vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and eye strokes.
• Find out if you are at a higher risk for eye diseases. Be aware of your family’s health history. Do you or any of your family suffer from diabetes or have a history of high blood pressure? Are you over age 60? Any of these traits increases your risk for sight-threatening eye diseases.
• Exercise frequently. Studies suggest that regular exercise — such as brisk walking — can reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration by up to 70 percent.
• Protect your eyes from harmful UV light. When outdoors during daytime, always wear sunglasses that shield your eyes from 100 percent of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. This may help reduce your risk of cataracts, pinguecula, and other eye problems.
• Around the world, about 39 million people are blind and roughly 6 times that many have some kind of vision impairment.
• Look for warning signs of changes in your vision. If you start noticing changes in your vision, see your eye doctor immediately. Some trouble signs to look for are double vision, hazy vision and difficulty seeing in low light conditions. Other signs and symptoms of potentially serious eye problems that warrant immediate attention include red eyes, frequent flashes of light, floaters, and eye pain and swelling.
• Eat right to protect your sight. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, particularly dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or collard greens is important for keeping your eyes healthy, too. Research has also shown there are eye health benefits from eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut.
• Quit smoking or never start. Smoking is as bad for your eyes as it is for the rest of your body. Research has linked smoking to an increased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, cataract, and optic nerve damage, all of which can lead to blindness.
• Clean your hands and your contact lenses–properly. To avoid the risk of infection, always wash your hands thoroughly before putting in or taking out your contact lenses. Make sure to disinfect contact lenses as instructed and replace them as appropriate.
• Give your eyes a rest. If you spend a lot of time at the computer or focusing on any one thing, you sometimes forget to blink and your eyes can get fatigued. Try the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look away about 20 feet in front of you for 20 seconds. This can help reduce eyestrain.