Eye Care

It's so important to take care of your eyes, but you may not think about it very often. A good time to start is now. No matter how much makeup you put on them or how much you workout, if your eyes look tired or lackluster it will show.

Be alert for symptoms of vision problems or visual stress including frequent headaches, tired or burning eyes, blurred vision, difficulty with distance vision, difficulty reading or doing close work or trouble reading the blackboard at school.

Wear proper safety eye wear when doing things like using power tools, or playing sports like racquetball, basketball, karate or kick boxing.

Provide adequate lighting when reading and watching TV.

Take rest breaks from visually demanding tasks and from the computer screen.

Wear proper sunglasses when outdoors and include ultraviolet radiation protection in all eye wear.

Schedule a comprehensive eye health and vision exam every 12 to 18 months to help ensure your correct eyesight -- especially important if you wear corrective lenses.

Sunlight and Your Eyes
Scientific researchers have been studying the long-term effects of sunlight on the human eye. A number of studies have shown a relationship between eyes that are unprotected from the sun's rays and conditions of the eyes such as cataracts (the clouding of the focusing lens inside the eye) and macular degeneration (results in a permanent loss of central vision). Eye care professionals are recommending year-round use of proper sunglasses to block the potentially harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Proper Nutrition for Your Eyes
Your eyes require specific vitamins and minerals to maintain optimum health and function. The typical diet cannot always meet these needs in the right amounts. Current medical studies suggest that patients with several diseases of the eyes may benefit from daily dietary supplements of antioxidant vitamins that include zinc, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E.

Foods That Contain High Amounts of "Eye Nutrients"
Zinc: Sunflower seeds, lentils, ricotta cheese, spinach, green leafy vegetables
Selenium: Shrimp, eggs, garlic, Brazil nuts, flounder
Vitamin A: Carrots and carrot juice, sweet potato, winter squash, spinach
Vitamin C: Citrus fruit, orange juice, guava, cantaloupe
Vitamin E: Wheat germ, peanuts, eggs, cucumber, corn oil, green leafy vegetables

Who are the eye exam people? It can be so confusing.
Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who are eye specialists. They diagnose and treat eye disease, perform eye surgery, give eye tests and prescribe corrective lenses.

Optometrists are not medical doctors, but they are licensed to give eye exams and treat nonsurgical eye problems. They can prescribe corrective lenses.

Opticians fill prescriptions for glasses and contact lenses and fit you for your glasses.

Can Wearing Eyeglasses or Contact Lenses Weaken Your Eyes?
The most common misconception about wearing eyeglasses or lenses is that if worn too much, they can make your eyes lazy or weak. This is just not true. The goal of a perfectly prescribed vision correction depends on two things. The first is obvious: to provide clear eyesight. The second is equally important but less obvious: to provide effortless visual ability.

Many eyes see clearly without vision correction, but they may achieve this clarity by exerting unnecessary effort. For example, many cars reach high speeds with ease while others reach the same speed by exerting "pedal to the floor" effort. If your eyes routinely exert unnecessary focusing effort to see you may experience unnecessary fatigue, symptoms of eye discomfort and loss of vision. Feel confident that wearing a properly prescribed lens correction will not in any way hasten the natural and expected changes your eyes will undergo throughout your lifetime.

Did You Know?
The adult eyeball measures about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter. Of its total surface area only one-sixth is exposed--the front portion.

Eyes...
Are the most complex organs you possess except for your brain.
Are composed of more than 2 million working parts.
Can process 36,000 bits of information every hour.
Under the right conditions, can discern the light of a candle at a distance of 14 miles.
Contribute toward 85 percent of your total knowledge.
Utilize 65 percent of all the pathways to the brain.
Can instantaneously set in motion hundreds of muscles and organs in your body.
In a normal life-span, will bring you almost 24 million images of the world around you.
Are 100 times more powerful than they need to be. The external muscles that move the eyes are the strongest muscles in the human body for the job that they have to do.
Are the only part of the human body that can function at 100 percent ability at any moment, day or night, without rest. Your eyelids need rest, the external muscles of your eyes need rest, the lubrication of your eyes requires replenishment, but your eyes themselves never need rest. But please rest them!