MAY IS HEALTHY VISION MONTH

May signifies beautiful flowers and the transition from spring to summer. May is also healthy vision month.

Take this month to obtain a proper gauge of your eye health and take extra steps to promote eye wellness. After all, your eyes are vital to your overall health.

Follow the eye care tips below to ensure you have truly healthy vision.

The Foods You Eat Protect Your Eyesight

You may have heard that eating carrots is good for your eyes. This is because carrots are high in vitamin A, which helps protect your eyes against glaucoma, macular degeneration, and xerophthalmia. Continue to eat carrots as well as a diet full of dark leafy greens and plenty of fruits.

Also load up on kale, spinach, cucumbers, collard greens, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Even fish can boost eye health thanks to its omega 3-fatty acids. In particular halibut, tuna and salmon are full of omega-3 fatty acids.

Go To The Eye Doctor For A True Eye Exam

Just because you can see 20/20 doesn’t mean your eyes are perfectly healthy. This May, have your optometrist perform a full dilated eye exam to truly gauge your eye health. This can reveal minor flaws in your vision or an eye disease such as macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease or glaucoma. A dilated eye exam makes use of special drops that dilate the pupils to allow more light to enter. Your eye care professional can then get a clear look at the back of your eyes to determine if signs of disease or damage are present.

Make Use Of Protective Eyewear

Don protective eyewear when playing sports or engaging in other risky activities like operating power equipment. Whether it’s an eye guard, safety glasses or goggles, eye protection will safeguard your eyes as long as the lenses are made of uber-strong polycarbonate.

Eliminate Cigarettes

Smoking is terrible for the eyes as well as the rest of your body. Research indicates smoking heightens the odds of age-related macular degeneration, optic nerve damage and cataracts. Each of these eye conditions has the potential to induce blindness.

Be Careful When Cleaning Your Contact Lenses

The mishandling of contact lenses can cause infection. Wash your hands in a thorough manner before touching your contact lenses. Always clean your lenses as directed by your eye care professional.

Don’t Forget To Wear Your Sunglasses

May means summer is right around the corner. Those cloudy skies will soon give way to beaming sunshine. Just about everyone loves the sun, but its harmful UV-A and UV-B radiation can seriously harm the eyes. Be sure to bring your sunglasses with you every time you head outside. If your current shades don’t block at least 99 percent of both types of ultraviolet rays, it’s time to upgrade.

Start May off the right way by keeping your eyes protected from the sun’s harsh rays.