Health

Let’s Understand The Importance Of Our Eyes: A Guide That Will Help To Maintain Your Eye Health

Introduction: Your eye is one of the most important organs of your body as it helps you to look at the world around you in a beautiful way, as this gives you a clear image of the things happening around you. Everyone knows that their eye is important but never takes care of it until a problem arises. So today you’ll learn how to maintain eye health and also how to keep it unaffected for longer ages.

Why is eye health important?

We know that vision is also said as one of the most important senses of our body, and according to a recent study on Ophthalmology in America, it was shown that more than 80% of what we know is what we see. Our eyes make the task easier by allowing us to see what is going on. Also, our eyes get easily affected as they are directly in contact with sunlight, dust, pollution, and also one of the day-to-day causes which are digital screens computers, Smartphones, etc) as the light of the digital screen comes directly and hits our eye lenses. Our eyes are complex organs and also help us to look at the world beautifully.

When we know that our eyes are healthy we don’t care about them. But the actual truth is that maintaining good eye health is not only important to see things but also we require it for our day-to-day tasks such as riding, reading, writing, etc. which will make it impossible for us to live.

Commonly known eye problems and their conditions:

If you take good care of your eyes still you can get many problems with them. Below are some of the diseases which affect people of all ages:

1. Refractive errors:  this is one of the most common issues of people of all ages this happens when your eye is not able to focus the light that is falling on the retina, making you not see properly which means you’ll see everything blurry. Some of the types of refractive errors are mentioned below:

• Myopia: This is also known as nearsightedness, if someone gets affected by this then he/she will not be able to see a bit far objects but can see the objects which are near to them.
• Hyperopia: This is known also as farsightedness, if someone gets affected by this then he/she will not be able to see the objects that are near to them, but will be able to see far objects.
• Astigmatism: PerA personffering from this will have blurry vision every time as his/her cornea is not properly shaped to focus the light falling on it.
• Presbyopia: This affects a person with ageing, with the rise in age he/she will not be able to see near things. For example: we can see that our grandparents need glasses to read the newspaper.

 

1. Cataracts: We can find cataracts in older ages persons as with age their eye lenses become cloudy, which makes their vision blurry or else very low light vision. Cataracts develop slowly and with time infect one or both eyes. Some of the symptoms that we can see are: the unable to see at night, faded colors, and bright lights that directly hit the eye.
2.  Glaucoma: It is a group of eye diseases that directly affects the optic nerve due to an increase in the pressure of the fluid in the eye, this pressure is also known as intraocular pressure (IOP). This will cause total vision loss or can make him/her blind if not treated in time. Glaucoma doesn’t show any symptoms in its early stages this is why it is also known as the “silent thief of an eye”.
   
   There are 2 types which are:

• Open-angle Glaucoma: This is one of the most common forms, as it causes blockage in the drainage angle which slowly leads to an increase in the pressure of the fluid.
• Angle-closure Glaucoma: This is not a common form of Glaucoma, as this blocks the drainage angle and because of this the pressure of the fluid rapidly increases.

One cannot control the effect the Glaucoma with any medicine or treatment, once you lose your vision it cannot be gained again, this is why it is important to take regular tests of the eyes.

1. Age-related
2. d macula degeneration: This affects over the age of 50 years. The central part of the retina which is known as the macula and is responsible for giving clear vision, gets affected and causes a person to have blurry vision. Activities like driving, walking, and reading become difficult for that person. This generally of 2types which are:
    

• Dry AMD: This is a very common form, which causes direct breaking down of the Macula
• Wet AMD: This is one of the most severe forms, as it directly grows abnormal blood vessels in the retina which leaks fluid and causes vision loss.

There is no cure for AMD, other than injections, laser therapy, and lifestyle changes which will make its growth slow.

1. Diabetic Retinopathy: In diabetic patients, this generally happens as it affects the blood vessels of the retina. With time, if there is an increase in the blood sugar level then this will damage the blood vessels which will lead to visualisation. There is no treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy in its early stages, so it is aadvisedfor diabetic patients to have regular tests of their eyes.
             If this is left untreated, it can cause blindness. This is why early detection, and maintaining blood sugar levels can help one to stop its damage.

Tips that one should follow to maintain healthy eyes:  If one wants to have good and healthy eyes he/she should have a healthy lifestyle and should take regular eye care.

1. Go for eye tests regularly: If you want to keep your eyes safe, you have to go for regular checkups of your eyes, whether you see any symptoms or not you should visit a doctor every 1 to 2 years to keep healthy eyes. If you have any problems earlier then you can get them treated easily.
2. Wearing protective eyewear: It is one’s duty to keep their eyes away from any injuries, this is why he/she should wear goggles, and safety glasses while working with any tools, or chemicals.
   Also one can use UV-protected glasses which will protect the eye from UV rays, as the UV rays will cause many eye problems.
3. Follow the 20-20-20 rule during screen time: In today’s day-to-day world digital screen is the most common factor for eye problems. So to control the longer screen time one should follow the 20-20-20 rule which means that every 20 minutes one should look 20 feet away distance for 20 seconds. This easy habit will keep your eyes safe from becoming dry.
4. Healthy Diet: A healthy diet can help in improving eye health such as vitamin C, vitamin E, etc. are very important for the eyes. We can find those in some foods such as:

• Carrot
• Leafy green
• Citrus fruit
• Nuts

1. Maintaining a healthy weight: If you are overweight then you have the chance of having diabetes and high blood pressure, which will badly affect your health. So, if you maintain overall health with physical activities then you can have a healthy body with healthy eyes.
2. Quit smoking: Everyone of us knows that smoking is not good for overall health as this may cause many problems in the eyes such as AMD, diabetic retinopathy, etc. So, to move away from this type of disease one should quit smoking.
3. Stay hydrated: Drinking water is not only good for the eyes but for the overall body, as the dehydrated body will cause dryness in the eyes. So, to keep the eyes lubricated and good one should keep himself/herself hydrated.
4. Know your family’s history: It is important to know your family history of diseases, as if one of them had AMD then you can tell your doctor before time which will help you to move away beforehand.

Read Also: The Impact Of Sarcopenia And Osteosarcopenic Obesity On Aging And Mortality

Conclusion:

Maintaining a healthy eye is one’s duty instead of becoming blind. Go for regular eye checkups, have a healthy body weight, eat a lot of nutritious diets instead of having oily foods, keep your body hydrated to not only keep your eyes but also to keep the overall body healthy, protect your eyes from UV rays, chemicals, etc by wearing UV protected glasses and goggles, if you have the habit of smoking then quit it as soon as possible as the eye problems are day by day coming to affect you. Always remember you can control your vision loss only if you to know get it treated earlier. So it is a advice to you, Don’t wait for the systems to come, be protective, be safe.