Tips to Improve Your Vision All Year Round

Eye exams are an important part of our yearly health maintenance. Not only do ours eyes help us see the world around us, but through eyes we can often see other problems pertaining to our health. Regular eye exams can improve your chances of detecting other health concerns early, including conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

Here are a few ways to improve your eye health:

  • Avoid persistent rubbing of your eyes. Rubbing your eyes can damage the outer lens of the eye (cornea), which can greatly decrease your vision.
  • Avoid straining the eyes. Straining the eyes can lead to tension headaches and temporary blurred vision.
  • Wear UV protection sunglasses while outdoors or while in the car. UV rays can damage the eyes over time, causing early development of cataracts and possibly macular degeneration.
  • Use protective eye where while doing yard work or construction.  If you have a job that involves working with drywall, sawdust, or other airborne particles use eye protective at work too.

Some eye conditions can come on suddenly, such as acute glaucoma, retina detachment or floaters.  Other conditions occur slowly, Cataracts or Keratoconus. Yearly eye exams can often result in identifying early signs. 

Any changes to your vision should be reported to your eye care professional immediately. There are many signs of serious vision problems that can be detected early. Ensuring that you pay attention to blurred vision, dry eyes, or constant eye strain will help you preserve your vision. We only get one pair of eyes, so it is important you take care of them.

Encouraging Better Eye Care

Taking care of your eyes is more than just an annual exam. Making sure that you take care of your vision between exams is just as important if not more than the exam itself. Many of us feel that if we go to our annual eye exam everything is alright. But the truth of the matter is quite often we can spot problems with our vision much faster than in our trip to the eye doctor.

Each and every one of us knows how our body works. We can pick up on the slightest variances before anyone else. Making sure that we know the common signs of eye complications is important. Below you will see some of the signs to look for and when to get them checked out.

Symptoms to Discuss with Your Eye Care Professional:

 Blurred Vision
 Eye pain
 Decreased night vision
 Increased squinting
 Spots (black squiggly dots, often referred to as floaters)
 Halos
 Frequent Headaches
 Frequent need to rub your eyes
 Frequent changes in prescriptions

Annual eye exams are important and eye care professionals can pick up on other conditions besides those of the eyes like; Hypertension, and even Diabetes. That is why it is so important to visit your eye care professional regularly. Asking questions during your visits and finding out what to look for can also help you with early detection of conditions like Keratoconus, cataracts, glaucoma, hypertension, and yes even Diabetes.

If you don’t feel comfortable with your current eye care professional, or they are not answering your questions in a way you can understand them it is ok to find a new one. Making sure you can communicate is one of the most important things you can do for your eye health.

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in eye care, eye health, Keratoconus and other vision correction procedures, such as LASIK or Visian ICL.

For more information on your eye care visit www.AllAboutVision.com

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