MAINTAINING HEALTHY EYES: Embracing the gift of good sight
Our eyes are like windows to the world. They allow us to experience the beauty around us, connect with others, and enjoy life to the fullest. Good sight enables us to read, drive, watch movies, and even appreciate those breathtaking sunsets. It truly enriches our lives.
Maintaining a healthy eyes is very crucial as it plays a great role in our quality of life. Many people believes that they only need to visit an eye clinic when they can’t see clearly. Some think of an eye exam as getting a new prescription for glasses or contacts. Seeing clearly, by having a correctly optimized prescription is very important, but there is much more to it than that. One of the main reasons for having an eye examination is to prevent eye disease or minimize damage to the eyes by undetected eye diseases.
Many eye diseases and problems are silent. Silent meaning it is not possible for the individual having the problem to detect the problem early, Example is primary open angle glaucoma which come without any major symptom until the late stage. Many people think they will know if something is going wrong with their eyes. While this is sometimes true, on the other hand, some people go completely blind in one eye without noticing it until eye examination is conducted. Diseases like glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, retinal detachments and other conditions can be detected during the course of a routine eye examination. Early treatment can prevent loss of precious sight.
It goes without saying that looking after your health is really important for a good quality of life. However, while people carefully monitor what they eat, how much alcohol they consume and how much exercise they do, one area of health that is often neglected is eye health. A lot of people only really start to seriously look after their eyes once they start to get problems, rather than monitor them in the way they do with other areas of health. The big problem with this approach is that the longer an eye condition goes undiagnosed and untreated, the worse the condition will get and some of the symptoms are often irreversible if detected late.
Regular eye examinations can have life-changing benefits if an eye condition is diagnosed early, as more can be done to prevent the condition from worsening.
Some of the most common eye problems we see include:
• Cataracts
• Keratoconus
• Glaucoma
• Dry Eyes
• Diabetes
• Macular Degeneration
• Allergies
• Eye Infections
• Eye Injurie
• Pinguecula and pterygium
Benefits of Regular eye examination
• It helps in early diagnosis of eye problem, hence better management of the diagnosed condition.
• It helps the individual to know their health status and know whether they need any lifestyle modification.
• It improves the quality of life
• Helps to prevent some cases of irreversible blindness
Effects of Self Diagnosis The 5 most common ones are:
1. Wrong treatment – Without a proper diagnosis, you run the risk of getting the wrong diagnosis. A wrong diagnosis leads to bad treatment choices and other problems which you will find below as you read.
2. Delay in proper eye care – Administering the wrong treatment leads to a delay in seeking proper care. Naturally, when you are undergoing treatment, you allow some time for it to work. This is okay if the treatment is right. However, it is dangerous when the treatment is wrong because you spend the time you would have used to get proper care waiting for a treatment that ends up not working.
3. Worsened eye condition – As you delay proper eye care, your eye condition may get worse and cause complications, including vision loss.
4. Adverse reactions – You run the risk of using contraindicated drugs or applying inaccurate doses when treatment is prescribed by unqualified persons. This can lead to adverse reactions
5. Higher cost of treatment – It is always cheaper and easier to treat eye conditions in their early stages. Delaying proper treatment leads to worsened eye conditions/complications which cost more.
To avoid these risks, make it a habit to get a professional diagnosis before starting an eye treatment.
Warning Signs of Eye Problem
• Change in Iris color
• Difficulty seeing at far and/or near
• Double vision
• Cloudy vision
• Dry eyes
• Severe itching
• Excess discharge or tearing
• Eye pain
• Colored circles around light
• Heaviness of the eyes
• Redness of the eyes
• Loss of peripheral vision
• sudden loss of vision
• Unusual sensitivity to light
• Problem adjusting to dark
• Eye strain
Keeping eyes healthy
Other important steps you can take to help keep your eyes healthy include:
• stopping smoking
• protecting eyes in bright sunlight or glare
• a healthy balanced diet rich in Vitamin A, C and E as well as Omega 3 fatty acid
• taking regular exercise
• wearing safety goggles to protect eyes while doing sporting activities
• wearing goggles when necessary in the workplace
• Additionally, remember the 20-20-20 rule! For every 20 minutes spent looking at a screen or doing close-up work, take a 20-second break and focus on something 20 feet away. This helps reduce eye strain and keeps your eyes refreshed.
In conclusion, taking care of our eyesight should be a top priority for all of us. Celebrate World Sight Day by spreading awareness about the importance of good sight and sharing these warning signs with your loved ones. Remember, your eyes are precious, so let’s prioritize their health and enjoy the world through crystal-clear vision!
REFERENCES
World Health Organization. (2021, October 7). World Sight Day 2021. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-sight-day/2021
National Eye Institute. (2021, August). Keep your eyes healthy. Retrieved from https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/healthy-vision/keep-your-eyes-healthy
American Academy of Ophthalmology. (2021, January 20). Warning signs of eye trouble. Retrieved from https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/warning-signs-eye-trouble
University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. (2021). Eye exams. Retrieved from https://www.umkelloggeye.org/conditions-treatments/eye-exams
American Academy of Ophthalmology. (2020, April 22). How to maintain good vision. Retrieved from https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/how-to-maintain-good-eyesight