National Eye Health Week

National Eye Health Week occurs every year for a week in September. It is used to promote the importance of why regular eye examinations are advised and good eye health.

Your lifestyle, common eye conditions that develop with age and family history can all have an impact on the health of your eyes. There are some ways in which you can change your lifestyle to help boost your eye health as well as your overall health.

Nutrition

What you eat has a massive impact on your whole body, including your eyes. A poor diet rich in fatty foods and low in vitamins and minerals can put your sight at risk. There are several fruits, vegetables and other wholesome foods that are rich in the vitamins and nutrients needed to boost your eye health and protect your vision.

Eye health friendly foods include:

• Leafy green vegetables as they are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin which help prevent age-related diseases such as macular degeneration.
• Oily fish are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.
• Eggs contain an abundance of amino acids and lutein.
• Nuts and seeds are great for maintaining good eye health as they contain vitamin E.
• Blueberries and grapes can help improve your night-time vision as they contain anthocyanins.
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Exercise

Regular exercise is incredibly beneficial to your overall health, but it can also help preserve your vision. Evidence has shown that when paired with a health diet, exercise can help prevent sight loss that can be caused by the narrowing and hardening of arteries, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

UV Protection

UV protection is something that can be overlooked when it comes to eye care. Sunglasses are not just an accessory to be worn on sunny days, but for protection against harmful UV radiation. When choosing a pair of sunglasses ensure that they meet the British Standards or carry the CE mark as these will provide you with the best level of protection from UV.

Smoking

Smoking can not only cause damage to the lungs but can also contribute to the development of macular degeneration and cataracts. Smoking is the largest controllable factor associated with macular degeneration and stopping smoking can help reduce the risk of this developing.

Regular Eye Examinations

Keeping up with regular eye examinations at the recommended intervals not only assesses for changes in vision, but also helps our optometrists monitor the health of your eyes. Using high quality pieces of technology such as the OCT, allows the optometrist to see in detail the individual layers of the retina and macular. Eye conditions such as macular degeneration and glaucoma can be detected in its earliest stages from these scans.

For any more information regarding you eye health, OCT technology or eye examinations please contact your local MKO.