Category Archives: Eyes Care

Tips for Protecting Your Eyes and Vision

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Maintaining your eye health and vision over a lifetime is an important part of your overall health. Eyesight can be directly affected by your daily habits as well as environmental factors. Protecting your eyes is necessary to protect your eyesight over your life time. Here are a few tips to maintain your eye health over the long haul.

First and foremost, regular annual checkups with an ophthalmologist are extremely important. Not only can an ophthalmologist aid in the care of your vision, but he will also be able to see the very early signs of any developing eye problems. So as your ophthalmologist looks for the classic diseases of the eye, he can also check for early signs of other disorders such as diabetes, high blood pressure, certain thyroid conditions and more. This eye checkup is just as important to your overall health as your yearly physical.

Overall general good health is also required to maintain good eye health. Proper nutrition aids our bodies to function properly, repair damage, and fight off infections. Diets lacking in certain vitamins and minerals can have negative consequences on your eyesight. For example, in many third world countries, blindness in children is quite common due to the lack of fundamental proper nutrition. And this need does not change as you age; proper nutrition is just as important to the senior population to help prevent age related eye diseases.

Computer eye strain is a common ailment in modern society. Taking breaks from the computer screen a few times an hour aids in preventing computer related strain, as does installing an anti-glare screen. The daily use of sunglasses is also recommended to protect your eyes from the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. Just as your skin needs protection from the sun, so do your eyes. Also, remember to always wear proper safety glasses to prevent eye injuries whenever you find yourself in a potentially injurious scenario.

Another good idea to help preserve your vision over your lifetime is to avoid smoking. If you do smoke, then quit. Smoking is directly linked to various eye diseases, including but not limited to, glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts.

Proper hygiene is another important factor related to eye health, especially for individuals that wear eye makeup or contact lenses. Eye makeup must be removed nightly to prevent the spread of bacteria and the risk of infection while you sleep. Never share eye makeup, touch the applicator to any foreign surface, or use old products. Additionally, mascara should be renewed every two months, and shadows and liners should be less than 6 months old.
Proper contact lens hygiene is also extremely important to prevent eye infections and diseases. Use your lenses as instructed by your eye doctor and give your eyes breaks from your lenses frequently. Do not sleep in your lenses, and always follow instructions to properly clean them.

These are just some of the steps for a lifetime of good eye health and vision. As you can see, just a few simple habits can make a big difference

Is Laser Eye Surgery in Your Future?

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How do I know if laser eye surgery is for me? There are many factors that have to be considered if you are thinking about having eye surgery done. First of all, there are age limitations. Certain surgeries require you to be 18 while others will require you to be 21 or older. You can’t have laser eye surgery if there is anything going on that could affect the healing process, or affect how your eyes will react to the surgery process. This means if you have pink eye, dry eyes, or any kind of injury that has affected your eye, that you will have to wait until it passes. If you’re pregnant, then you should wait until after you have given birth. In fact, you’ll probably be better off to wait a few months after, because pregnancy can affect your eyes. It can cause dry eyes or even change the shape of corneas! And of course, as with just about any medical procedure, any medications you are taking may affect whether it is safe to have laser eye surgery.

Am I qualified to have laser eye surgery?

There are some conditions that may mean you aren’t able to have laser eye surgery at all. Some of these can include uncontrolled glaucoma or cataracts. You also must be able to show that you have had a good, year-long history of stable vision. You may also be disqualified if you have certain types of diseases such as autoimmune or degenerative.

What are the costs and possible financing solutions I could use for laser eye surgery?

If you have come to the conclusion that laser eye surgery is something you need, then you need to be prepared for what it is going to cost you. Depending on the exact surgery or procedures that you need to have done, it will likely from a thousand to several thousand dollars. However, don’t close the door on considering it just because you don’t have a way to come up with such amounts of cash. There are some ways that you may be able to get it financed. There are many health care financing services, including some that are tailored for leaser eye surgeries. You can also consider investing into a FSA, or flexible spending account. With an FSA you’ll need to put some of your paycheck into each month, and you’ll be able to use pre-tax income for it.

How do I find a laser eye surgeon?

Now that you have figured out how you are going to pay for it, you’ll need to find the surgeon who will perform the procedure. Be careful during this selection process. Ask the surgeon for their credentials; are they a member of any medical associations? Talk with others and see if you can find someone who can give you a referral to a qualified surgeon. After you find a few that you think may fit the bill, schedule an appointment to sit down and talk with them. Be sure to take a complete list of everything you may want to ask so you don’t forget something!