Just as your body depends on a good diet, exercise, and treatment from your family physician to stay healthy, so too does your eye health benefit from constant care. The best way to keep your vision at its peak is to schedule frequent appointments with a vision specialist who can examine your eyes for any abnormalities. Here are four more tips for protecting your eyesight:
Use Protective Eyewear
- One of the easiest ways to protect your vision is to wear sunglasses while outside, even in the wintertime. Most eye doctors recommend that patients wear glasses that block out at least 99% of the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. Another feature to look for is wrap-around sides that protect peripheral vision. If you play sports, you should also wear protective goggles or glasses.
Say Goodbye to Cigarettes
- While you may know that smoking comes with a higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, and cancer, you may not know that smoking also increases your chances for developing eye diseases, such as macular degeneration and cataracts. So say goodbye to this bad habit and say hello to healthier eyes.
Eat a Well-Balanced Diet
- Another simple way to protect your eyesight is to eat a healthy diet each day, consisting of vegetables, citrus, and lean proteins. Many vision specialists encourage their patients to choose vitamin-rich items like kale, spinach, salmon, eggs, nuts, and oranges when filling their grocery carts each week.
Take Frequent Breaks When Working on a Computer
- Those who work on a computer know how taxing looking at a screen for a long period can be on their eyesight. If you spend several hours each day on a computer, be sure to follow the 20-20-20 rule, which encourages you to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
For more helpful insight into protecting your vision, speak to your doctor here at Boston Laser. Our caring and knowledgeable professionals have years of experience helping patients establish good habits that will ensure the health of their eyes. To learn more about our laser eye surgery services, call us at (617) 566-0062.