Eye Care - Changing LifeStyle for Good

Protecting your eyes is the very first step towards taking care of your eyes. We will discuss what lifestyle changes you can do to protect your eyes at first place.

Research Studies have shown that nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, beta carotene, lutein, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids can help in keeping eyes healthy & preventing eye related problems. Eat following foods regularly to maintain healthy eyes :

1. Vitamin A rich fruits & vegetables : It is important for retina. Eat Carrots, tomatoes, mangoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, pumpkin, fish and eggs. Carrots contain a lot of beta carotene which is very helpful for healthy eyes.

2. Vitamin C rich fruits & vegetables : Broccoli, oranges, bell peppers, and brussels sprouts. If you find these taste good then you can mix in yogurt.

3. Drink plenty of Water : It helps in reducing Dehydration.

4. Omega-3 Fat : Oily Fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, halibut. etc. It helps in protecting blood vessels in eyes. It helps in preventing dry eyes. But avoid Omega-6 fatty acids (found in vegetable oils, processed & packaged food) which counteract omega-3 fat.

5. Green leafy vegetables : spinach, mustard greens, kale, and collards. Spinach also contains beta carotene, Vitamin C and lutein which is found to reverse macular degeneration symptoms.

6. Proteins : Eggs, nuts, beans, and other non-meat protein sources.

Eating balanced diet also helps in controlling weight and hence obesity related problems like Diabetes which is one of the main reason for eye problems in adults.

• Cataracts

• Pterygia

• Macular Degeneration

• Pingueculae

• Lifetime damage to eyes

Protect your eyes even if you are standing under shade because reflected UV rays from all around you can still be harmful for your eyes.

1. Eyewear : Keep your eyes cool and calm by wearing protective eyewear. Sunglasses not only protects your eyes from UV rays but also are in fashion. So, wear your glasses when outside home or while playing sports, cycling, swimming etc. (irrespective of summer or winters). It helps in keeping your eyes safe from wind, dust particles and harmful sun rays. Make sure you follow your workplace eye safety rules too. Sometimes inside home too you should wear glasses when doing activities like dusting & decorating home etc. Anti-glare glasses should be used while driving or working on computer to protect eye strain.

2. Wear Hats : If you are out in sun then wear brimmed hat to protect your eyes from sun.

3. Contact Lenses : Contact lenses should be bought with latest prescription. Follow these important points if you wear contact lenses :

• Never wear your contact lenses when swimming instead wear prescription goggles.

• Do not try to wear contact lenses when you already have irritated eyes as it can worsen the situation.

• Make sure you timely clean well your contact lenses and lubricate eyes frequently as per recommendations.

• Wash your hands well before wearing contact lenses.

• Do not wear contact lenses or glasses (especially 3D glasses) for too long.

• Do not sleep wearing contact lenses unless specifically asked by your doctor.

• Even if your contact lenses provide UV protection, make sure you wear glasses for complete protection.

• Strictly follow doctor’s instruction on usage of contact lenses.

• Never use saliva or put contact lenses in mouth for wetting them.

• Buy comfortable sunglasses which blocks 99-100% of both UV-A & UV-B radiations, blocks blue-wavelength and blocks 75-90% of visible light. Make sure no more than 30% rays of sun reach your eyes.

• Buy polarized lenses which help in decreasing glare from reflective surfaces. Every dark lense is not polarized. Dark lense instead of helping in protecting eyes, prove to be harmful as they do not stop UV rays and just blocks light dilating your pupils.

• Buy Protective eyewear lenses made of polycarbonate instead of plastic (polycarbonate is 10 times stronger than other plastics).

• Level of UV protection is not determined by lens color.

• Generally glasses with smaller frames should be preferred as they can provide higher protection than larger framed glasses.

• Price of glasses should not be used to determine how much protection glasses give. Even some costly glasses might not provide sufficient eyes protection.

• Buy glasses which covers sides of your eyes too.

• Test for distortion in sunglasses by holding them some inches in front of your eyes and looking on some fixed object by moving glass in every direction (up, down, left, right), if you find any kind of distortion then the glass is of poor quality.

• Read labels of Eye drops before using as some eye drops are not recommended to be used while wearing contact lenses.

• Eye Drops are useful for re-wetting eyes if your eyes get dry after sitting for long in front of computer/TV/mobile. Get recommendations from your doctor for best eye drops for your eyes.

• Don’t use drops containing preservatives like Benz Alkonium Chloride, Chlorbutol more than four times per day. Its better to avoid use of such drops.

• Don’t use redness reliever drops as it can further make your eyes dry.

• Always check expiry date of eye care products like eye drops.

• Make sure you don’t use eye drops after expiry date.

• Do not touch eye drop bottle tip with hands to prevent contamination and transfer of germs.Do not share your eye products with anyone.

A person with normal eyesight should visit eye doctor atleast once every two years for check-up.

Do's & Don'ts for healthy eyes :

• Do not Smoke

• Reduce alcohol intake.

• Never put salt in your eyes.

• Have healthy diet and control your weight.

• If you feel your eyes getting dried, blink more.

• Never look on any bright light like tube-light, sun etc. directly.

• Take regular breaks from eye-intensive activities like computer work etc.

• Avoid every kind of glare be it from computers, television, doors or windows.

• Use proper lightening in your home and workplace. Do not read in dim light.

• After having lunch, take a walk in fresh air to relax your eyes and then start your work.

• When you take breaks from work, splash water on your face closing your eyes to relax your face and eyes.

• Don’t rub your eyes if you get some irritation in eyes or if some particle goes into your eyes. Blink several times followed by filling your mouth with air and splash eyes with water to take out any dirt.

• Make sure you give your eyes proper rest. You can try 20-20-20 rule, according to which you should look away about 20 feet in front of you for 20 seconds after every 20 minutes to prevent eye strain. Also after every 2 hrs take 15 min break.

1. Do eyes exercise during breaks from work to bring relief to your eyes. Follow these steps atleast three times to relax your eyes :

• Start with blinking your eyes.

• Close your eyes and move your eyeballs in clockwise & anticlockwise direction.

• Take Deep Breath and slowly open your eyes exhaling.

2. Look on objects far away from you followed by looking on objects near to you. Repeat this atleast three times taking deep breath simultaneously.

3. Perform Palming using your hands. Repeat following these steps atleast three times to relax your eyes :

• Rub your palms against each other to make them warm.

• Cover your eyes with your palm until your palm gets normal again.

4. Close your eyes for 4-5 seconds followed by opening eyes for 4-5 seconds. Repeat this atleast three times.

• Also check out Home Remedies for Common Problems of Eyes.