Tips to Prevent Eye Problems By The American Academy of Ophthalmology

Image Credit: RareHealthCare

It is strictly recommended by the American Academy of Ophthalmology that you protect your eyes whenever you're in the sun long enough to get a suntan or sunburn. Wearing a brimmed hat cuts sunlight exposure to your eyes by about half. Sunglasses will further boost your protection. The sun's rays can also reflect off of water, sand, and snow, so it's advisable to wear sunglasses in addition to a wide-brimmed hat in these environments. You can get good UV blocking even with inexpensive sunglasses.

Recommendations are that no more than 30 percent of sunlight should reach your eyes. In bright conditions, such as on sunlit ski slopes or the beach, it might be better to wear sunglasses with a transmission factor of only 10 percent. Keep in mind, too, that dark glasses with no UV blocking give you no protection whatsoever. In fact, they boost your risk of eye damage because they dilate your pupils. That lets more light in without blocking the harmful UV rays.

Eyestrain

Eyestrain, such as from reading or sewing, doesn't really injure the eyes, but it makes them tired. To be exact, it isn't really even the eyes that get tired or strained but the muscles around the eyes. The best cure for eyestrain is to give your eye muscles a rest. Take a break from what you're doing. Close your eyes and give them nothing to look at for a while, or stare off into the distance for a moment. Also, having sufficient light to read or work by helps prevent eyestrain in the first place. An adjustable gooseneck lamp lets you concentrate light where you most need it and not where it will irritate your eyes. Remember, the finer the task, the more light required.

Although eyestrain doesn't harm your eyes, it can cause discomfort, such as watery or dry eyes, difficulty focusing, fatigue, and perhaps an accompanying headache. Also, although eyestrain itself isn't serious, it can be one symptom of serious conditions, such as glaucoma. If you're bothered by long-lasting, frequently recurring eyestrain, you should see an eye-care professional.

Diabetic Eye Care

People with diabetes need to be particularly concerned with protecting their eyes. The complications of diabetes pose several serious threats to the eyes. The major eye-disease risk for people with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, in which abnormal blood vessels grow across the retina, damaging and sometimes permanently destroying vision. Diabetic retinopathy afflicts about one-third of people with diabetes, typically after they've had diabetes for at least a decade. About 5 percent of people with diabetes end up losing their sight because of retinopathy. In fact, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in people younger than 60 years old in the United States and Canada.

Diet, medication, and exercise are key to controlling diabetes and reducing the risks of retinopathy. High blood pressure increases the chances of developing retinopathy. Keeping close control of blood sugar levels is known to decrease a person's risk of progressive retinopathy. Anyone with diabetes who's at risk should be screened at least yearly for this eye disease, even if there are no vision symptoms. If caught early, advancement of retinopathy can sometimes be halted by laser treatments. Those recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes should have an eye exam soon after the diagnosis is made. It's common to have diabetes for some time before being diagnosed, and eye damage may already have occurred.