Today is World Sight Day and to celebrate this I have to be boring and ask you all to look after and don’t take your eyesight, for granted.
Make sure you have your eyes tested regularly and if you have any worries at all don’t just dismiss them as it could be serious and/or correctable.
There are eye centres or clinics in most hospitals (Especially in the UK) If you mention any worries to an optometrist at an opticians or to a doctor, they can both refer you to a specialist eye clinic. This happened to me by going for an eye exam at an opticians. They referred me then found put I have Macular Dystrophy.
Use sunglasses with built in protection even when the sun isn’t shining if that makes your eyes more comfortable. This will protect you from the harmful UV sun and UVB radiation exposure that can increase the risk of cataracts, other eye diseases and damages to the eye itself.
Wear protective eyewear that you need for your job or doing tasks around the house. You don’t need an unnecessary injury when this could be prevented.
Quit smoking. Smoking can increase your risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and optic nerve damage. Cigarettes and vapes. I stopped a few years ago now.
Make sure you exercise and eat healthily. A good walk, fruit and veg is good for me although I’m not spot on I try my best. If you have any of the Macular Dystrophies. Stargardt’s Disease included, please watch your Vitamin A intake. We can have our suggested intake for our overall health, please don’t cut it out altogether. But DON’T start getting excessively giddy with the foods full of Vit A or extra supplements full of it. This is the stuff our eyes can’t process properly and causes our vision loss. Just enough for your daily recommendation. Please don’t cut it out altogether.
If you haven’t got my condition above. Eat plenty of leafy greens, carrots, tomatoes, peppers. Anything rich in Vitamin A to help your eyesight be 20/20
Make sure your prescription is upto date. Don’t use glasses that aren’t helping you as they should anymore.
Please don’t use glasses from the poundshop.
They haven’t got the right corrections for your eyes and just have the same lenses for each eye. Everybody’s eyes are different. We need extra magnification on one, maybe less on the other. There are cheap glasses available that will do the job with correct lenses for you from a high street Opticians (I managed to get some for £20) If you receive some benefits (In the UK) you can even get money towards some or free ones. It’s really not worth messing about with your sight with these.
I used to take my vision for granted and didn’t even think about being blind or have vision loss. I took my peepers for granted.
So do yourself a favour and book yourself an appointment with the opticians today. They can also see other conditions and diseases that may need looking at, so it’s not just your eyesight you maybe saving. It’s just better for your general overall health.
One Vision Blog 