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Planning Your Super Bowl Menu?
Good news! Avocados are a good way to get more lutein in your diet! Lutein has been shown to be concentrated in the macular of the eye, and some research suggests that it may help maintain healthy eyesight as we age! It’s also linked to reducing the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration (AMD), which are common in the elderly. Therefore, eating avocados should have benefits for eye health over the long term. Bottom Line: Avocados are high in antioxidants, including Lutein and Zeaxanthin so party on!
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July is Eye Injury Prevention Month
Eye injuries of all types occur at a rate of more than 2,000 per day. In particular, an estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in American workplaces alone. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that almost 70% of the eye injuries studied occur from falling or flying objects, or sparks striking the eye.
Given the importance of eyesight, eye protection should always be a top priority in any workplace. One thing to remember is that preventing eye injuries is not complicated.
- ASSESS your facility to identify hazardous areas and provide the proper eye safety equipment.
- PLAN for emergencies by making sure eyewash and first aid stations are easily accessible and identifiable.
- PROTECT your eyes with approved safety eye equipment for your specific job hazard.
- FIT eyewear to your face by consulting with an eye care professional.
- EDUCATE on hazards and proper safety practices by having proper training programs in place.
- REVIEW your facility’s accident prevention policies and procedures with employees on a regular basis.
- TEST your vision during routine physical exams to help prevent accidents due to uncorrected vision problems.
As the old saying goes: “Prevention is better than a cure.” This applies to eye injuries too. These are easy tips to remember and they can dramatically decrease eye injuries in your workplace.
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5 Ways to Naturally Take Care of Your Eyesight
Every day we spend hours looking at small images on televisions, computers, and phones, leading to eye fatigue and an increased risk of future vision problems. However, that doesn’t mean that weakened eyesight is inevitable. The tips below offer five all-natural strategies for keeping your eyes sharp and healthy.
Adjust Your Diet
Nutrition plays an important role in the health of your eyesight. Foods rich in beta-carotene, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, and berries are excellent choices, as are any foods that contain significant amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids. Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of staying hydrated–drinking more water can provide relief for eyes that are dry, tired, or blurry.
Protect Your Eyes
If you spend large amounts of time outdoors, consider bringing along a hat or a pair of sunglasses with UV protection. The sun’s rays can dry out and damage your retinas, causing your eyesight to deteriorate over time. If you work or spend time in an environment where you might be exposed to sparks, splinters, dust, metal shavings, or projectiles, make sure to wear safety goggles that are rated to withstand any potential accidents.
Take Regular Breaks
Your eyes need rest to avoid drying out and becoming sore. When reading books, watching television, playing video games, or using a computer, take a 10-minute break each hour to close your eyes or look at something else. This gives your eyes time to adjust and recuperate, preventing excess strain that could lead to worsening vision.
Exercise Your Eyes
Just like other muscles, you can give your eyes a workout to improve your vision over time. One common eye exercise is to hold up a finger at arm’s length, focus on it for 10 seconds, and then focus on something behind it for another 10 seconds. Trying to focus on faraway objects is also a great way to train your eyes; the key is to give your eyes some variety in terms of size, shape, and distance, especially if your job or daily routine requires you to look at a screen for hours each day.
Avoid the Strain
In addition to taking breaks, there are a number of ways that you can reduce the strain you put on your eyes. Bright lights are one the biggest sources of eye stress, so avoid watching television or using a computer in a dark room whenever possible. You can also turn down the brightness on your computer screen during the day, though it’s important to avoid turning it down so low that it becomes difficult to read. Consider opening your blinds and using natural sunlight instead of lamps or artificial lights, which are harsher on your eyes.
Diminished eyesight is a natural part of the aging process, but the good news is that you can stay one step ahead by taking steps to strengthen and protect your vision. By following the tips above, you can ensure that your eyes get the rest and exercise necessary to stay in top shape.
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Smoking is BAD for Your Vision
Smoking increases your risks for eye disease, including cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. And the more a person smokes, the higher the risks. The good news is that after people quit smoking, their risks for these eye diseases becomes almost as low as for people who never smoked.
Smoking also raises the risks for cardiovascular diseases that indirectly influence your eyes’ health. And tobacco smoke, including second-hand smoke, is an irritant that worsens dry eye.
Smoking increases the risk of serious vision loss in people with other eye diseases. And when women smoke during pregnancy they are more likely to give birth prematurely, putting their babies at higher risk for a potentially blinding disease called retinopathy of prematurity as well as other health problems.
One of the safest things to do for your vision? Never start smoking at all.
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Stay in Shape to Protect Your Eyes
Diet and lifestyle choices can directly affect your eyes. May is Healthy Vision Month and the best way to take care of your eyes is to look after your overall health and get annual eye exams. Exercising, eating right and stop smoking are three of the best investments you can make in your vision.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology encourages you to find ways to be healthier, so your vision will last a lifetime. Making healthy choices and getting regular eye exams can help reduce the risk of getting some eye diseases and can reduce vision loss or slow down the disease if you do have age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma.
- Make Eye-Healthly Food Choices: A diet low in fat and rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains benefits the entire body, including the eyes. Studies show that foods rich in vitamins C and E, zinc, lutein and zeaxanthin are good for eye health. These nutrients are linked to lower risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and dry eye later in life. Eye-healthy food choices include citrus fruits, vegetable oils, nuts, whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables and cold water fish.
- Quit Smoking: Avoiding smoking and second hand smoke — or quitting, for current smokers — are some of the best investments everyone can make for long-term eye health. Smoking increases risk for eye diseases like cataract and age-related macular degeneration and raises the risks for cardiovascular diseases that indirectly influence eyes’ health. Tobacco smoke, including second-hand smoke, also worsens dry eye.
- Maintain Normal Blood Pressure, Cholesterol and Glucose Levels: High blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose (sugar) levels all increase the risk of vision loss from an eye disease. Keeping these under control will not only help one’s eyes but also overall health.
- Get Regular Physical Activity: Not only does 30 minutes of exercise a day benefit one’s heart, waistline and energy level, it can also do the eyes a world of good! Many eye diseases are linked to other health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels.
- Know the Symptoms of Vision Loss: Signs of vision loss may become apparent as reading, writing, shopping, watching television, driving a car and/or recognizing faces become more difficult. Vision loss that may be noticed by friends and family include missing, bumping into or knocking over objects, stepping hesitantly, and squinting or tilting the head when trying to focus.
- Get Regular Eye Exams: Adults age 65 and over should get a medical eye exam every one-to-two years. Regular eye exams are crucial in detecting changes in vision, which may be a symptom of a treatable eye disease or condition.
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May is Healthy Vision Month
Healthy Vision Month is a great time to learn more about eye health and how important regular comprehensive dilated eye exams are to maintaining healthy vision.
Early detection of eye disease is the key to preventing vision loss and blindness. Many people who are at risk for vision loss do not know it, and millions of people in the United States have undetected vision problems and eye diseases and conditions.
Are You At Risk?
Eyesight has a huge impact on day-to-day living and is one of the senses most fear losing most. Unfortunately, many people often do not pay attention to their eye health unless they notice a problem.
Many common eye diseases that can lead to vision loss and blindness, such as diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), often have no early warning signs or symptoms.
Regular eye exams can help make sure the eyes are healthy, however the risk of vision loss and blindness is higher for some people based on race, ethnicity, and other socioeconomic factors.
You might be at higher risk for eye disease if you have a family history of eye disease; have diabetes; are African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native; or are older than 50. Some diseases affect certain populations disproportionately.
- Glaucoma, which affects your side or peripheral vision first, is three times more common in African Americans than in Whites. It is a leading cause of blindness in African Americans.
- Diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness caused by uncontrolled diabetes, occurs more often in Hispanics/Latinos than in Whites.
- American Indians and Alaska Natives are 35 percent more likely to have diabetes than the average adult in the United States, putting them at increased risk of diabetic eye disease.
- Older adults are at higher risk of developing age-related eye diseases and conditions such as AMD, glaucoma, or cataract. AMD is a leading cause of blindness in Whites.
A comprehensive dilated eye exam is the best thing you can do to protect your vision. In addition to having regular eye exams, eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and wearing protective eyewear are just a few other things you can do to protect your sight.
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April is Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month
April is Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month. Of the 4.1 million Americans age 40 and older who are visually impaired or blind, 2.6 million are women.
A recent study I found shows more women than men have age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, the four leading eye diseases in the country. According to the National Eye Institute, the causes are primarily due to longevity as well as hormonal factors.
The first thing every woman should do, especially those ages 40 and older, is get a dilated eye exam…because early detection and treatment, vision loss can be lessened. Keeping a healthy lifestyle also helps keep the eyes healthy, including exercising regularly, not smoking and following a healthy diet.
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April – Sports Eye Safety Month
Each year, an estimated 100,000 people are hurt by sports-related eye injuries. About 13,500 of these injuries result in permanent vision loss. In support of Sports Eye Safety Month, the American Academy of Ophthalmology reminds athletes everywhere that the great majority of sports-related eye injuries can be avoided by simply wearing the proper protection.
•Baseball and basketball account for the largest number of injuries among young athletes.
•Little League pitchers can achieve pitching speeds up to 70 mph. That’s fast enough to seriously damage an eye.
•In basketball, serious eye injuries caused by flying fingers and elbows can be prevented by wearing appropriate protective eyewear.
•Many other popular sports, such as tennis, soccer, football, golf, water sports, and hockey, put unprotected players at risk for serious eye injury.
The risk of eye injury can vary depending on the activity. Make sure the level of eye protection you or others in your family use is appropriate for the type of activity. Regular eyeglasses do not offer proper eye protection.
Studies have shown that more than 90% of eye injuries can be prevented, simply by wearing the right protective eyewear.
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Easter Eggs are Egg-cellent for Your Eyes.
Good News…there is no reason to eliminate eggs from your Easter celebrations! In fact, the incredible, edible egg is chock full of eye friendly antioxidants and eggs yolks are high in lutein, a type of carotenoid that helps fight macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness. According to a 2009 study, older adults who consumed four egg yolks a day for five weeks had improved macular health. And here’s a little side note: ECT’s Dr. Ting-Fang Suarez usually has a boiled egg in her pocket. She says they’re a filling snack and they’re good for eyes…she should know because she specializes in retina diseases.
There are so many great ways to enjoy eggs that they never get boring. Whether your favorite egg dish is an Easter Egg, omelette or egg salad sandwich, it’s easy to get all the nutrition they contain while reaping their health benefits!
Happy Easter Egg Hunting!
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What Causes Eye Twitches?
Eyelid twitches (or essential blepharospasm) are involuntary muscle movements that happen in one or both eyelids. Mild occurrences are very common, similar to the minor muscle spasms most people experience in their arms or legs. If you are experiencing a pesky eyelid tic or twitch, these are possible causes.
Stress. There’s not much you can do about this except try to minimize the causes of stress.
Fatigue and tiredness. Not just your body, but your eyes get tired too when over-worked. Catch up with a good night’s sleep.
Alcohol and caffeine. Decaf your life and cut back on alcohol consumption to give your eyes some relief.
Dry eyes. Using computers and wearing contact lenses for long periods of time can cause your eyes to dry, thus making them twitch. Lubricating eye drops can help a great deal.
Eye strain. Prolonged usage of technology that involves continuous gazing at a computer/video/iPhone/iPad screen may cause computer vision syndrome. One of the symptoms can be eye twitching. Cut back on time spent in front of these devices. If it’s part of your job, there are protective lenses you can wear to relieve symptoms, even if you don’t require corrective lenses. Ask your eye care professional for advice.
Allergies and irritation. Environmental factors such as dust, smoke, chemicals, pollens, pet dander and other tiny particles in the air can make your eyes twitch.
Nutritional imbalance. Lack of essential nutrients in your diet may also cause that disturbing eye twitch. So eat healthfully!
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