In a 2012 survey from the American Optometric Association, more than
half of the respondents reported that they valued their eyesight more
than their memory or ability to walk. However, you may be making little
decisions every day that could be compromising your most indispensable
sense.
“Constantly interacting with screens, missing out on essential
nutrients, forgetting your sunglasses—these innocent-sounding habits can
stealthily take a toll on healthy eyes,” optometrist Hilary L.
Hawthorne, a trustee of the American Optometric Association, said.
Also, we often skip yearly eye exams, which puts not only our eyes
but also our overall health at risk. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy
to turn things around. Many of these expert-recommended tips can be done
in the blink of a you-know-what.
Related:
3 Eye Problems, Fixed
1. Keep Screens at a Distance
Screens have proliferated far beyond laptops and desktops. Now there are
smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and MP3 players—not to mention the
screens that we encounter at airports, subway and train stations, movie
theaters, and sporting events.
The contrast and the glare of an electronic screen can eventually
lead to eyestrain and, in some cases, computer vision syndrome, which
happens after prolonged use. Symptoms can include headaches, blurred
vision, neck pain, dry or red eyes, fatigue, double vision, and
difficulty refocusing.
It’s actually middle-aged people who spend the most time in front of
screens—an average of 9.5 hours a day, according to a study by the
Council for Research Excellence.
“Not only are we viewing screens for longer periods without breaks,
but we’re working with handheld devices at closer distances than we
would with printed materials,” said optometrist Mark Rosenfield, a
professor of clinical education at the State University of New York
College of Optometry, in Manhattan. (And as you age, the closer you are
to an object when you read it, the more work your eyes have to do to
maintain focus.)
Experts recommend that you keep your eyes at least an arm’s length
from a computer screen and 16 inches from a handheld device. However,
according to a 2011 paper published in the journal
Optometry and Vision Science, people on average hold smartphones about 14 inches away when reading and sometimes as close as seven inches.
If you can’t easily read the text on your handheld’s screen from at
least 16 inches away, increase the font size. To minimize eyestrain with
any device, make sure that you’re reading in soft lighting that doesn’t
cause glare. For a desktop computer, consider investing in an antiglare
filter that clips to the monitor (such as 3M’s, $69, amazon.com).
2. Take Blinking Breaks
In everyday life, we blink about 15 to 20 times a minute. But that rate drops by half when we’re viewing text on a screen.
“Blinking is important because the upper eyelid spreads tears over
the front of the eye, or cornea, just like a windshield wiper works,”
Rosenfield said. “If you don’t do it enough, the cornea can dry out and
feel irritated.”
He recommends using the 20/20/20 rule when staring at a screen: Every
20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds so you can blink naturally
and give your eyes time to relax. If you suffer from chronically dry
eyes, try using a laptop instead of a desktop computer.
Related:
Keep Your Eyes Healthy
When you’re looking down at a laptop, less eye surface is exposed and
there’s less tear evaporation and your eyes stay more moist. If you
have to use a desktop, raise your chair or tilt your screen four inches
below eye level, as measured from the center of the screen, so you
aren’t looking straight ahead. Find more dry eye treatments.
3. Wear Shades
Over time, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays can deteriorate vision,
leading to cataracts (a clouding of the eyes’ lenses); age-related
macular degeneration, or AMD (loss of sight in the center of the field
of vision); and noncancerous and cancerous growths on the eyes’ surface,
eyelids, and surrounding skin, according to optometrist Rachel Cohn,
the owner of the Wink Eyecare Boutique, in Potomac, Maryland.
The American Optometric Association recommends sunglasses that block
at least 99 percent of UVA and UVB radiation and that screen out 75 to
90 percent of visible light. Look for an “ANSI” sticker on the
sunglasses, which indicates that they meet these guidelines as proven by
the American National Standards Institute. And if you plan to spend a
lot of time outdoors, it’s a good idea to get sunglasses with lenses
that are polarized, which means that they’ve been treated to reduce
glare.
Though a new generation of contact lenses can help deflect some of
the sun’s harmful rays (such as Acuvue TrueEye, which is popular among
dry-eye sufferers), they don’t cover the eyelids, “so you’ll still want
to top off with a pair of sunglasses,” Cohn said. Find the perfect
sunglasses for your face shape.
Related:
6 Remedies for Tired-Looking Eyes
4. Try a Seafood Diet
You probably know that omega-3 fatty acids can bolster heart and brain
health, but they can also decrease your risk of eye disease. According
to a study published in the 2011
Archives of Ophthalmology, women
who ate canned tuna and dark-fish meat (mackerel, salmon, sardines,
bluefish, swordfish) just once a week had a 42 percent lower risk for
AMD than those who ate such fish less than once a month.
“Fish oils and fish-oil supplements are loaded with antioxidants that
help prevent the damage from free radicals that can cause diseases like
AMD,” Tanya Zuckerbrot, a registered dietitian in New York City, said.
Another reason to go fish: Increasing your intake of omega-3s may
also support healthier tear film. (Eat at least five to six four-ounce
servings of fatty fish weekly.)
5. Go for the Greens
Carrots have a reputation as the go-to vegetable for healthy eyesight,
and it’s true that “getting shortchanged on vitamin A, a key nutrient in
carrots, could contribute to the deterioration of your vision,”
Zuckerbrot said.
But the real star nutrients are lutein and zeaxanthin—pigments found
in such foods as dark, leafy greens, broccoli, zucchini, peas, and
Brussels sprouts. Researchers from the University of Georgia in Athens
discovered that leafy green vegetables may improve vision by reducing
the stressful effects of glare and exposure to bright light, because
they help absorb some of that light. Find more information on how a
healthy diet can protect your vision.
Further evidence for the power of produce: A British study published in the 2011
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that vegetarians had a 30 percent lower risk of developing cataracts than people who ate 3.5 ounces of meat a day.
6. Start Steeping
You may want to swap that afternoon cup of coffee for green tea: Not
only is it hydrating (which helps you produce tears) but the brew also
contains catechins, which are among a host of antioxidants (like
vitamins C and E, lutein, and zeaxanthin) that may defend the eyes’
tissues from AMD and cataracts. Research from the Chinese University of
Hong Kong has proven that catechins are absorbed in the highest
concentrations by the tissues in the retina, the part of the eye that
detects light.
7. Treat Contacts With Care
Approximately 85 percent of those who wear contacts claim that they’re
caring for their lenses properly, but only 2 percent really are, found
one study conducted by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center, in Dallas.
“One of the most harmful but common infractions is moistening
contacts with saliva instead of saline solution,” said Eliot Grossman,
the chief of eye health and optometry for LensCrafters, in Orange
County, California. “Hundreds of bacteria from your mouth will be
introduced directly to your eye, which could cause a serious
infection.”
The same is true for water or any other “nontraditional” substance.
(In one study, people fessed up to moistening contacts with everything
from beer to butter to baby oil.) And always store lenses in fresh
solution.
Grossman also recommends removing lenses even before naps and giving
your eyes a break by wearing glasses once a week. And to keep your
contacts and their case bacteria-free, wash your hands before handling
them and replace contacts as frequently as prescribed.
8. Make Over Your Makeup Routine
Bacteria can thrive in mascara, so toss the tube after three months.
Also, sharpen liner pencils regularly. It’s okay, of course, to line the
base of your lashes, but “putting liner inside the lash line can block
the oil glands, which protect your eyes’ surface,” Dr.Ruth D. Williams, a
former president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said .
9. Get Your Goggles On
You don’t have to work on a factory floor to sustain an on-the-job
injury. According to a 2008 study from the American Academy of
Ophthalmology and the American Society of Ocular Trauma, of the 2.5
million eye injuries that Americans suffer annually, nearly half happen
at home.
“People understand that you need safety glasses or goggles when using
power tools. But we should also wear them for things like yard work,
basic home repairs—like sawing, sanding, drilling, nailing, painting—and
certain cleaning jobs, like cleaning the oven,” said Justin Bazan, a
Brooklyn-based optometrist and a medical adviser to the Vision Council.
“Chemicals tough enough to clean appliances will damage eyes on
contact.”
10. See a Doctor
Even if you’re not among the 81 percent of Americans who need corrective
eyewear, experts recommend that all adults get a comprehensive eye exam
(during which the doctor dilates your pupils with drops) by age 40.
Follow up with yearly exams thereafter or as recommended. Go sooner if
you have symptoms such as persistent pain inside or behind your eyes,
redness, or gradual loss of vision. You also may need to start earlier
if a family member had glaucoma or you have diabetes, which puts you at a
higher risk for vision-related issues.
A comprehensive eye exam can also be an important barometer of overall health.
“The eyes are the only part of the body where we can view arteries
and veins without surgery or incisions,” said optometrist Andrea P.
Thau, an associate clinical professor at the State University of New
York College of Optometry and a spokesperson for the American Optometric
Association. “This allows an eye doctor to assess your risk for things
like stroke, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, brain tumors, aneurysms,
and multiple sclerosis.”
The testimony section of each Health Tip is a place where I can share
some of the letters I have received. These testimonies are always such
an inspiration to me and I hope also to you. I read every one of them.
If you have something to share regarding how your health has improved on
the Hallelujah Diet I would sure appreciate your sharing it with me so
that I can share it with all our Health Tip readers. Send your testimony
by clicking here!
“Dear George, You are such an inspiration to all of us who follow the Hallelujah Diet.
I read them regularly and would really miss them if you were to stop
writing them. You are such a wonderful example of how healthy a person
can be at age 80 because they have consumed a healthy diet and lived an
active lifestyle.
Before
you go, get checkups from your regular doctor and dentist to make sure
everything's in good shape. You still might need care while you're gone,
so plan in advance where you'll go 
Not
all diseases can be prevented by vaccines, so take other measures to
protect yourself. Many diseases are spread by mosquitoes or other bugs,
so try to 