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Topics on this page include:

Get regular eye examinations | Control chronic health conditions | Recognize symptoms of eye problems and get immediate care if they occur | Protect your eyes against sun damage | Protect your eyes from injury | First aid tips for eye injuries | Eat a balanced diet | Make the most of the vision you have | Your eyes and computer

Get regular eye examinations

Most people schedule annual visits with their doctor and biannual visits with their dentist to maintain healthy bodies and teeth. However, they neglect to visit their eye care professional unless they are having a problem with their vision.

Our eyes are vitally important to us. More than half the sensory information the brain receives comes to it through the eyes, and most people would consider losing their eyesight a severe handicap. Therefore, it is extremely important for regular eye exams be a part of each person's health care regime. Regular exams allow the eye care provider to evaluate any sight problems a person may have and detect any changes. Early diagnosis of potential problems decreases the possibility of damage to a person's vision.

Several eye problems are associated with aging. At the very least, most people develop presbyopia, the condition in which the lens hardens and becomes less flexible, making it harder to focus their eyes. People suffering from presbyopia have difficulty focusing on things close to them and need glasses for reading. Other eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration also tend to occur as people age. Therefore, between the ages of forty and sixty-five, everyone should get a complete eye exam at least every two years. After age sixty-five, people should get a complete eye exam every one to two years. If people have a family history of eye diseases such as glaucoma or macular degeneration, or a chronic health condition such as diabetes, they should have annual eye exams.

Control chronic health conditions

Several eye diseases including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are associated with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. If high blood pressure and high blood sugar associated with diabetes are kept under control, the patient won't be as likely to develop associated vision problems.

Recognize symptoms of eye problems and get immediate care if they occur

Several symptoms indicate serious eye problems. If they occur, the person should see his or her eye care professional as soon as possible. These symptoms include sudden loss of vision in one eye, the sudden occurrence of hazy or blurred vision, flashes of light, black spots appearing in the field of vision, and halos or rainbows appearing around lights. All of these symptoms represent potential long-term threats to a person's vision. The quicker patients seek treatment, the less likely they are to lose their vision.

Protect your eyes against sun damage

Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause severe damage to the eyes and are associated with some eye diseases. Therefore, people should always protect their eyes against the sun. Everyone should wear sunglasses that absorb ninety-nine to one hundred percent of UVA and UVB light.

UVA light is suspected to contribute to the formation of cataracts (clouding of the lens that occurs as a person ages). It may also contribute to macular degeneration (bleeding in the retina that can cause damage to vision). UVB causes the greatest amount of injury by damaging the cornea. UVB can cause photokeratitis or sunburn of the cornea. Treatment of this problem consists of bandaging the eyes for several days.

When purchasing sunglasses, read the labels and associated information to find out how much UV protection is provided.

Wrap-around styles block out the most light and provide the greatest amount of protection. Dark glasses that don't block ultraviolet light may cause actually more damage than not wearing sunglasses. Sunglasses without UV protection permit your pupils to dilate, allowing more ultraviolet light to enter the eye. In addition to wearing sunglasses with UV protection, people who are out in the sun a lot should wear a hat with a brim. Fifty percent of sunlight comes from overhead and can get past most sunglasses. Brimmed hats will block out that light.

UV sunglasses will not protect you in a tanning booth. If you use tanning booths, you will need special protective goggles.

Protect your eyes from injury

If you play contact sports, consider wearing sports glasses to protect your eyes. If you play certain positions in ice hockey or baseball, you should consider adding a helmet with a face shield for more protection.

First aid tips for eye injuries

If you are hit in the eye, place an ice pack or cold compress on it as soon as possible, and keep it there for approximately fifteen minutes. This will help reduce the swelling and pain. If the eye continues to hurt, or if it turns black or you have blurred vision, go to the hospital emergency room or see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

If you get a speck of dust or dirt in your eye, do not rub it. Gently pull your upper eyelid over the lower eyelid. Blink a few times to remove the speck with your lower eyelashes. If you are unable to remove the speck from your eye, keep the eye closed and see the family doctor or ophthalmologist as soon as possible. If you are unable to contact your regular doctor, go to the emergency room.

If a harmful liquid splashes in your eye, wash your eye out with water right away. Don't use an eyecup. Pour water out of a clean container into your eye or hold your head under a running stream of water. Wash your eye for at least fifteen minutes, keeping it open as wide as you can. If necessary, use your fingers to hold your eye open. Roll your eye as much as you can. Do not bandage your eye. If it continues to hurt, go to your ophthalmologist or emergency room as soon as possible.

In case of eye injury, it is important to see the ophthalmologist. An injury can cause damage to your eye even if it doesn't appear to be serious. If, after an accident, you have blurred vision, double vision, partial loss of vision or sharp pains, go to an ophthalmologist or emergency room immediately.

Eat a balanced diet

Deficiency of certain nutrients may increase a person's risk for some eye diseases. By eating a balanced diet, you can obtain all the nutrients you need to protect your eyes as well as maintain general body health.

Make the most of the vision you have

To prevent eyestrain, always use good lighting that directs light onto your reading or work area. As they get older, most people find they need more light read or do other close work.

Your eyes and computers

There is no evidence that using computers causes vision problems. However, as computer usage has increased, complaints of headaches, dry eyes, and blurred vision have also increased. These are all symptoms of eyestrain. Other eye complaints by computer users include burning and itching, watery eyes, eye fatigue, and flickering sensations. Collectively, these symptoms are sometimes referred to as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), a catchall term for eyestrain symptoms that can affect productivity.

In addition, computer users often adjust their body position to move their eyes to a location where they can see the computer screen well. This can cause other bodily complaints such as a stiff, aching, or tired neck and sore shoulder muscles that can make a person feel tired and miserable at the end of the day.

Computer Vision Syndrome costs $1.9 billion per year to diagnose and treat, but CVS can be reduced or eliminated by following a few simple guidelines.

• Get a thorough eye exam to check for any eye problem that may require glasses for computer use. This is especially true for older people who are exhibiting symptoms of eyestrain. New lens designs are available which are especially intended for computer work.
• Be sure your glasses meet the requirements of your job. A person's regular glasses prescription may not meet the demands of viewing a computer screen twenty to thirty inches away from the eyes. In addition, tell your eye care professional about your specific job tasks. Measure your on-the-job seeing distances before visiting your eye professional. This will ensure your eye professional is prescribing corrective lenses that meet your job needs.
• Alternate your tasks throughout the day. If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer, take a task break - do something that doesn't require your eyes to focus on a nearby object. Examples of task breaks include making phone calls or photocopies or consulting with co-workers. None of these tasks requires close-up vision.
• Be sure to blink frequently. When people sit in front of a computer, they tend to blink less often and as a result, suffer from dry eyes.
• Cut the room lighting to about half the normal office level. One way to do this is to remove half the light bulbs from the ceiling lights. Incandescent lights are more flexible than fluorescent lights. You can also use dimmer switches to lower the lighting level. For tasks that require more light, use desk lamps.
• Minimize the glare on your computer screen. This can be done in several ways. Glare reduction filters are available for computers. The filter should have the American Optometric Association Seal of Acceptance on it. Glare can be reduced by repositioning the computer screen, or by using drapes, shades, or blinds. In addition, ask your eye care professional about tints or coatings for your glasses lens to reduce glare.
• Your screen may be too bright or too dim. Adjust your screen brightness and contrast for comfort. The screen brightness should closely match the level of lighting in the room.
• Use an adjustable copy holder to place reference material at the same distance from your eyes as your computer screen. It should also be as close to the screen as possible. That way, your eyes won't have to keep changing focus and your head won't have to keep moving back and forth.
• Adjust your work area and your computer for comfort. Most people prefer a height of about twenty-six inches for computer use, but desks and tables are normally twenty-nine inches. Place the computer screen sixteen to thirty inches from your eyes. The top of the screen should be slightly below your horizontal eye level. In addition, tilt the top of your computer screen away from you at a ten to twenty degree angle.
• Clean your computer screen frequently; dust and fingerprints can reduce the clarity of your vision.
• Invest in a quality monitor with a good image. If possible, select a seventeen-inch monitor. If the type on the screen is too small to read easily, increase your font size.