7 Ways You Could Be Damaging Your Eyesight
Are you damaging your eyesight without realizing it? Here are seven lifestyle factors and habits that could be increasing your risk of vision loss.
Smoking
Smoking can damage nerves and blood vessels in the eyes. This can lead to conditions such as optic neuropathy – which can lead to blindness later in life. Smoking also increases the risk of dry eye syndrome and cataracts. All in all, it’s worth packing in smoking if you want to preserve your eye health.
Drinking heavily
You can also damage your vision through regular heavy drinking. Long-term alcohol abuse can cause the eyes to become dry and bloodshot, while also leading to macular degeneration. This can increase the risk of blindness later in life. By drinking in moderation, you could prevent such problems.
Eating an unbalanced diet
An unbalanced diet could also damage your vision. Too many fatty and sugary foods can increase your risk of diabetes, which can result in blurred vision (known as diabetic retinopathy). Make sure you’re eating a balanced diet that isn’t too high in fats and sugars. Getting enough fresh fruit and vegetables could also be important – many fruit and vegetables contain nutrients such as vitamin A and vitamin E that are essential for eye health.
Getting stressed out
Chronic stress can also damage your vision by increasing blood pressure and leading to nerve damage. By taking steps to reduce stress, you could help to protect your eyes. There are lots of stress-busting activities that you can try from listening to music to exercising to meditating. Getting a good night’s sleep could also lower your stress levels.
Not protecting your eyes in the sun
Sunlight contains UV rays, which can be harmful to the eyes. Prolonged sun exposure can increase the risk of conditions such as cataracts. By wearing shades in the sun, you can protect your eyes from harmful UV damage. Any time you have to squint because it is too bright is a time that you should be wearing shades.
Not wearing prescription glasses
You could also be damaging your eyes simply by not wearing prescription glasses. By putting extra strain on your eyes, you could cause your vision to get worse. You can click here to find lots of stylish women’s glasses online. Contact lenses could also be an option if you don’t get on with glasses. Try to get into a routine of wearing corrective lenses.
Ignoring visual health problems
If you start to notice blurred vision, black spots, streaks of light, or other issues with your vision, make sure that you see a doctor or an optician. Ignoring visual health problems can cause them to get worse. What could be something easily curable could then become irreversible? A good example is cataracts – when caught early, cataracts are easy to remove and vision can be easily restored, but when ignored, cataracts can lead to permanent blindness. Be safe and get any problem checked out as early as possible.