Jul 20

Jul 20 6 top tips for keeping your eyes healthy

In the very early days of Heydays I wrote THIS BLOG all about why I love wearing glasses, and especially the fabulously colourful range of ready readers by French company IZIPIZI, like these ones

I’m not prepared to reveal exactly how many pairs of their well-priced, impressively sturdy glasses I own. Let’s just say it’s more than two and leave it at that shall we?

Anyway, a conversation I had with a good friend who’s an ophthalmic consultant about my collection prompted this return to the subject of eyes, and more specifically, this time, eye health. Because I was very heartened to hear from her that not only does she also have an assortment of ready readers which is on its way to matching mine in number (admittedly it may take her a while to fully catch up), but that wearing non-prescription glasses isn’t harmful to your eyes provided you don’t have astigmatism or already wear glasses.

With that reassuring piece of information happily noted, I asked her what her top three tips were for keeping your eyes healthy and this was her reply:

Tip 1: Don’t smoke

It’s not widely known that smoking increases your risk of eye disease, but it does. if you smoke you’re far more likely to develop cataracts and experience age-related macular degeneration (AMD) because tobacco chemicals damage the blood vessels behind your eyes.

The good news is that if you quit smoking your risk of developing AMD declines.

Tip 2: Eat a balanced diet

Eye friendly nutrients that can protect against AMD are found in lots of different fruit and veg including spinach, red peppers, kale, leeks, avocado, peaches and blueberries, so do your best to eat your five a day and make them as colourfully varied as possible.

Cold water fish like sardines, mackerel and tuna are also a great sources of DHA and Omega-3 fatty acids which provide structural support to cell membranes in the eyes. Recent research showed that eating fish just once a week can reduce your risk of developing early AMD by up to 40%.

Tip 3: Wear eye protection in bright or direct sunlight

UV rays are can be as bad for your eyes as they are for your skin. Protection can be in the form of a wide brimmed hat, but better still wear sunglasses to defend your eyes from the damage they cause which increases your risk of developing cataracts and other age-related conditions.

Make sure the sunglasses you buy carry the CE or British Standard marks so the lenses properly protect your eyes, and as the effects of UV rays are not only cumulative, but most damaging to young eyes, make sure little ones wear sunglasses as well as their hats and sunblock.

My sis and I demonstrating how to wear protective sunglasses. You’re welcome

The eagle-eyed (pun entirely intended) amongst you will have spotted that the title of this blog is ‘Six top tips for keeping your eyes healthy’, and that’s only three (well done). That’s because I did a little research of my own, and wanted to share this trio of further eye-care suggestions from various expert sources.

Tip 4: Take regular breaks

This one’s from the Association of Optometrists. They recommend when you’re working on something close up, like a computer, tablet or smartphone, to relieve your eye muscles you should follow the 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Oh and make sure you’re blinking regularly because that helps prevent your eyes from drying out. Talking of which….

Tip 5: Drink plenty of water (but not alcohol)

These next two are courtesy of Moorfields Eye Hospital and The Eyecare Trust. Water is essential to the normal working of your body and the same goes for your eyes. Dehydration can lead to dry, sore and irritated eyes.

Drinking too much alcohol, on the other hand, interferes with your liver functions and that, in turn, reduces the levels of gluthione, which is an antioxidant that can help protect against common eye disease.

So drink lots of glasses of water, but not so many of wine (sorry).

Tip 6: Have your eyes tested regularly

You should ideally be having an eye examination once every two years, it’s something we should all see (boom boom) as an essential health check.

An eye examination will not only detect any problem with your vision but it can also reveal a number of other underlying health problems like diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure.

If you’re at all concerned about your eyesight, make an appointment with an optometrist. You can find where your nearest one is HERE