Your eyes are an important part of your health, but when it comes to hygiene.....
health
Your eyes are an important part of your health, but when it comes to hygiene, we often overlook proper care for it. When people think about good hygiene, how many of us ever think about how we clean and protect our eyes and eyelids? Today, everyone knows to take good care of their teeth and most of us maintain our oral hygiene by brushing twice or three times daily because the consequences of not doing so are well known. What most people do not realise is that eye hygiene is also very important, and there are consequences when you do not pay attention to your eyes. A few easy additions to your daily routine can help you avoid infection and contamination, and also improve your vision. Here are a few tips to get started...
Remove your makeup nightly
Excess debris from makeup can cause eye irritation and redness. Use warm compresses, makeup wipes or natural alternatives such as coconut oil to remove all of your makeup, especially stubborn mascara. To reduce puffiness, try finishing with a cool compress.
Wash your hands
Common eye infections such as viral conjunctivitis (pink eye) can be avoided with proper hand washing. Whenever possible, avoid sharing towels, makeup or medicated eye drops to avoid spreading bacteria to other people.
Quit smoking
We all know that smoking is one of the most modifiable risk factors for serious health conditions - and that includes your eyes. Smoking contributes to macular degeneration, uveitis, cataracts and dry eye (when your tears are poor quality and cause fuzzy vision, like a dusty windshield). In fact, smokers are up to four times more likely to go blind in old age.
Limit screen time
We are likely to spend more than 10 hours a day viewing smartphones, computers and other devices. Prolonged screen time causes eye irritation, dryness, fatigue or blurred vision. To help your eye muscles relax, try the 20-20-20 rule: for every 20 minutes you’re on a computer or device, look away at an object at 20 feet away for 20 seconds or more. Also adjust indoor lighting to avoid too much glare on your devices. A bright, white background is harder on your eyes than a cooler, gray tone. If you need to wear eye glasses to see the screen, choose a pair with anti-reflective lenses to absorb some of the screen’s blue light.
Eat your carrots
And your spinach, kale, apricots, sweet potatoes, and fish, which contain nutrients that support better vision. Vitamin C, calcium and zinc also boost eye sight.
Treat your contacts well
Contact lenses, that is. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water before removing your contact lens. Use fresh solution every night. If you’ve been using the same storage case since you started wearing contacts, throw it out and aim to replace it every three months. Do not use tap water to rinse your contact lenses because it isn’t sterile and contains microorganisms that can lead to serious infections. Also, when it comes to sleeping, it’s safest to always remove contacts before getting some shut eye.
Wear sunnies
Sunglasses are more than a fashion statement - they protect your eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays and ultraviolet radiation (UVB), which in the long run can cause macular degeneration and cataracts. Skin cancer can occur right around your eyes, so your pair of specs should offer 99 percent protection against UVA and UVB rays. Sunglasses protect the thin eyelid skin that we don’t apply sunscreen to due to the burning and irritation of the eyes.
Be aware of blood sugar
Diabetic retinopathy is the major leading cause of vision loss and preventable blindness among 24-64 year olds in America who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Poorly controlled blood sugar is a risk factor. If you have diabetes, be sure to get a dilated eye exam every year.
Some common eye problems
Dry Eyes: This happens when your eyes can’t make enough good-quality tears. You might feel like something is in your eye or like it is burning. Rarely, in severe cases, extreme dryness can lead to some loss of vision. Some treatments include: Using a humidifier in your home; special eye drops that work like real tears; plugs in your tear ducts to lessen drainage; testosterone eyelid cream; nutritional supplements with fish oil and omega-3.
Eyestrain: Anyone who reads for hours, works at a computer, or drives long distances knows about this one. It happens when you overuse your eyes. They get tired and need to rest, just like any other part of your body.
If your eyes feel strained, give them some time off. If they’re still weary after a few days, check with your doctor to make sure it isn’t another problem.
Night Blindness: Is it hard to see at night, especially while driving? Is it tough to find your way around in dark places, such as movie theatres? That sounds like night blindness. It’s a symptom, not a problem in its own right. Nearsightedness, cataracts, keratoconus, and a lack of vitamin A all cause a type of night blindness that doctors can fix.
Presbyopia: This happens when you lose the ability, despite good distance vision, to clearly see close objects and small print. After age 40 or so, you may have to hold a book or other reading material farther away from your eyes to make it easier to read. Sort of like your arms are too short. Reading glasses, contact lenses, LASIK, which is laser eye surgery, and other procedures can be used to restore good reading vision.
Cataracts: These are cloudy areas that develop in the eye lens. Cataracts often form slowly. They don’t cause symptoms like pain, redness, or tearing in the eye. Some stay small and don’t affect your sight. If they do progress and affect your vision, surgery almost always works to bring it back.
