Dry eyes

We rely heavily on our eyes every day, yet we often take them for granted. We spend too much time staring at bright screens, going out into the sun without any eye protection, and overtaxing them by close reading and burning the midnight oil during exams.

Yet most of us tend to be unconcerned about our eye health as long as we can see clearly.

Don't wait until you develop blurry vision before paying attention. Start taking care of your eyes with some simple habits:

1. Reduce screen time

Daily use on various screens such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets, can cause eye strain and dry eyes. These devices also emit blue light, which is harmful to your eyes. To reduce your exposure to blue light, make the effort to cut down on your screen time, adjust your screen settings, or invest in special glasses that filter it out.

2. Take a break to reduce eye strain

If you find it difficult to cut down the amount of time you spend looking at screens, make it a point to practise the 20-20-20 rule: take a 20 second break every 20 minutes of screen time to look at something that is 20 feet away.

3. Avoid exposure to UV light

Excessive exposure to UV light from sunlight or other light sources can be damaging to your eyes. Get a good pair of sunglasses that completely blocks both UVA and UVB light, and make it a point to wear them whenever you are outdoors during the day.

4. Avoid rubbing your eyes

Even though it might provide immediate relief or distraction from irritated or itchy eyes, it can exacerbate the problem and further worsen the discomfort. Use some eye drops to soothe eye irritation instead.

5. Get the right kind of nutrition to optimize your eye health

Getting the right nutrition is key to keeping your eyes healthy. Berries are good for this purpose, as they are packed full of antioxidants and contain anthocyanins, which have been found to be beneficial to people with cataracts, and could help to protect the retina from damage caused by ageing and overexposure to light. Berries also contain vitamin C, which may slow down macular degeneration and vision loss.

Call for an appointment to get the latest facts, procedures and supplement information for dry eye at drboyeroptometrist.com

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