The more informed you are about eye health, your family’s eye health history, and environmental causes, the more you can do to maintain healthy eyes and the best vision possible for the longest time.

Learn as Much as You Can About Eye Health—The Earlier, The Better

Two things that older people fear most about aging is falling and losing their sight. As the CDC notes, failing vision is a significant cause of falls in old age. You can take steps to prevent both of these fears from coming true by arming yourself with knowledge.

Gathering knowledge through articles like this and then explaining them to others will help you retain the vital information needed to take actionable steps towards maintaining better vision through good eye care. 

Know Your Family’s Eye Health History

The Cleveland Clinic shares two of the major causes of blindness in adults—glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Both of which are largely genetic. Many eye conditions can be managed through early detection, so knowing your risks for certain eye problems and seeing an ophthalmologist (as opposed to an optometrist or optician) for a baseline evaluation can be vital for vision health.

Get An Eye Exam with Dilation at Least Once a Year

Having a complete exam with dilation allows the doctor to check for many eye problems, like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as update your vision correction if needed.

Stop Smoking

Besides all the other health motivations (not to mention social pressure and guilt) to curtail a smoking habit, there are multiple reasons for quitting related to your eye health. Smoking can lead to partial or complete vision loss and is associated with risk for cataracts. It increases age-related macular degeneration likelihood by up to 4 times the rate of non-smokers.

By smoking, you also predispose yourself to getting glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and Dry Eye Syndrome. Smoking can eventually cause damage to your optic nerve. In addition, smoking damages blood vessels that supply your eyes with blood and nutrients. 

Protect Your Eyes From U/V Light

Wearing sunglasses helps you not to squint but helps avoid excessive sun exposure, which can cause cataracts. Practice safe contact lens habits. If you wear contact lenses, make sure to keep solutions sterile and fresh, avoid over-wearing them, and never use saliva to wet a dry lens.

Avoid Using “VisineⓇ-type” Eye Drops

As pointed out by ophthalmologists, labels for eye redness remover drops carry warnings, not to overuse, and to consult with a doctor if you “experience eye pain, changes in vision, continued redness or irritation of the eye condition worsens or persists for more than 72 hours.”

The tetrahydrozoline and other chemicals in regular redness relief eye drops can cause rebound redness. The FDA-approved brand of eye drops called LumifyⓇ may be less likely to cause problems, as noted by Health.com. If your eyes are merely dry, use artificial tears.

Take Breaks from Computer Work

Give your eyes a rest every 20-30 minutes, looking away 20 feet for 20 seconds, and taking a 15-minute break every couple of hours. Adjust your screen ergonomically, avoid glare, and make sure you are wearing the proper glasses for the screen. 

Eat Right to See Right

MedicalNewsToday has captured 10 of the top foods for eye health. Read the complete article for more about each category or nutrient.

• Fish
• Nuts and legumes
• Seeds
• Citrus fruits
• Leafy green vegetables
• Carrots
• Sweet potatoes
• Beef
• Eggs
• Water

What these foods have are the following essential nutrients and antioxidants recommended by the AAO for slowing the progression of eye diseases:

• Vitamin C 
• Vitamin E
• Zinc
• Lutein
• Zeaxanthin

The latter two nutrients occur naturally in the eyes’ retina. The retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining on the back of your eye. Look for lutein and zeaxanthin in leafy green vegetables (think kale, spinach, and Swiss chard), broccoli, asparagus, as well as fruits like papaya, raspberries, mangoes, and peaches, which are also replete with eye-health-building carotenoids.

Protect Your Liver if You Are Concerned About Eye Health

Interestingly, liver disease is a common health condition that can affect your eyes. Many people are aware that jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and the skin) is an indication of something wrong with the liver. Liver disease can also cause dry, itchy eyes. And a condition called xanthelasma, which produces small, fatty deposits of cholesterol on the eyelids, can be produced by cirrhosis of the liver. 

Fortunately, there’s a liver supplement with many key ingredients for eye health: Revive’s Liver supplement.

One of the primary ingredients in Revive’s formula is tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a compound initially approved to treat liver diseases. Recent research suggests TUDCA may prevent vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). To make the TUDCA more bioavailable, the two patented ingredients  AstraGin® and BioPerine®, have been added. AstraGin® and BioPerine® are naturally sourced ingredients that may increase the nutrient uptake of other active ingredients.

Other ingredients that bode well for eye health in Revive’s liver formula are 1000mg each of N-Acetyl-Cysteine (or NAC) and milk thistle. These ingredients have been added to support the body’s normal anti-inflammatory response. NAC taken orally has been isolated to show improvement in visual function in individuals suffering from retinitis pigmentosa. 

Takeaway

Sometimes people assume that failing eyesight is inevitable and will eventually result from either aging or eye strain. The reality is, educating yourself and following a lifestyle that incorporates tips like these may significantly reduce your risk of eye health problems. See a physician if you have any of these vision loss indicators: fluctuating visual clarity, seeing either floaters or flashes, poorer peripheral vision, or distorted images.

The information being presented in this blog is intended to be used as educational or resource information only. It is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice from your healthcare provider. This content should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. If you have any questions or concerns about your health, please contact your healthcare provider. You should call 911 for all medical emergencies. Revive MD is not liable for any advice or information provided on this blog, which advice or information is provided on an “as-is” basis, and assumes no liability for diagnosis, treatment, decisions, or actions made in reliance upon any advice or information contained on this blog. No warranties, express or implied, are made on the information that is provided.