A Beginner’s Guide To Caring For Your Eyesight
Many of us take the gift of sight for granted and ask - “Why test my eyes when I can see clearly?” If you are one of the many who ask a similar question, the chances are that you may contract one of the many sight-threatening eye diseases, but fail to get it treated in time.
While a routine eye exam from an optometrist may seem unnecessary, it will help you detect eye problems at an early stage and will treat it before it steals your vision.
To reduce any possibility of sight loss and ensure comfortable vision for years to come, Chan Optometry has formulated a Beginner’s Guide to caring for your eyesight. Through this guide, we want to help you preserve or achieve optimal eye health.
Getting Started
Identifying your vision problems: While in most cases there are signs and symptoms that are early indicators of a vision problem, there are times when there are no signs or symptoms. If you experience changes in your eyesight, for instance, loss of vision, eye pain, redness, watery eyes, or other recurring issues, you may need to consult an eye expert. However, to prevent asymptomatic diseases from creating trouble with your vision, regular visits to an optometrist are essential.
Next Steps
Speak to a qualified optometrist: Optometrists or eye doctors have specialized knowledge in eye care and are trained to perform eye tests as well as diagnose and treat disorders. They can guide you through preventative as well as management treatment to optimize your eye health. It is best to listen to your optometrist and the cues that are coming from your eyes.
Get your eyes examined: To determine the health of your eyes and detect potential vision problems, your optometrist will conduct a detailed eye examination. It typically includes several tests such as a glaucoma test, a visual acuity test, and a refraction test.
Advice From The Pros
Get routine eye exams: The Ontario Association of Optometrists recommend a comprehensive eye exam every one to two years, depending on age, ocular, and systemic health. When was the last time you got your eyes checked?
Eat healthily: Unhealthy food leads to inefficiency and undernourishment, and the long-term effect is usually the breakdown of normal functions. When it comes to your eyes, consuming unhealthy or junk food can lead to aberrations at night time, and potential eye diseases!
To protect your eyesight, get plenty of dark leafy greens (broccoli, spinach, kale), high-carotenoid foods (colorful fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, peppers, blueberries, blackberries, etc.). Also, try to eat goji berries as they are known to be a good source of vitamins and anti-oxidants, which optimize ocular functions and appears to have a preventative effect on eye diseases such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Take breaks from prolonged concentrated tasks: Take more breaks from the computer, the tablet, the phone, reading, and the TV. When you take those breaks, look at something far away (at least twenty feet away), for at least thirty seconds. This allows the eyes to relax and blink to refresh the tear film.
Wear the right pair of shades: Wear 100% UVA and UVB sunglasses whenever you are outside. This applies to children as well.
Quit smoking: Smoking not only kills, but it can cause blindness as well, so why risk it?
Be consistent: Like dieting, nothing short-term lasts. You have to commit to long-term decisions for it to have the effect that you want.
Ask your optometrist questions: Do not hesitate to ask your eye doctor for more tips on how to optimize the health of your eyes.
If you haven’t followed these tips or regularly checked your eyesight, it’s never too late to change. For professional eye doctors and optometrists in Markham, Ontario, reach out to Chan Optometry. We conduct comprehensive eye exams and also provide optometry services such as laser eye surgery consultations, contact lenses, orthokeratology lenses, myopic control treatment, and cataract management. We got into this profession with the goal of helping others, and so we make sure our services cater to the individual needs of our patients.
To learn more about how we can help you, visit our website. If you have any questions about our services or to book an eye exam with us, contact Chan Optometry today.