GLOBAL HEALTH AGING

Vision impairments are amongst the most common health changes that can affect us as we get older. Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of changes in your vision and should be prepared for accordingly. However, there are ways to make sure that your eyesight doesn’t get much worse than it needs to. Here are some ways to take care of your eyes as you get a little older.

Quit smoking

Many of the changes to your eyesight can be managed with good lifestyle advice. Maintaining a healthier weight, eating well, and protecting them from UV rays by wearing sunglasses when outside are all good ways of lowering your chances of getting cataracts. Smoking affects blood vessels all over the body, including in the eyes, and can lead to both the development of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. As such, you might want to check out services like Self Chec that can help you quit smoking. Of course, preventing too much change to your eyesight is but one of the benefits of stopping smoking.

Make sure you’re getting annual checks and the cover that you need

The single best thing that you can do when you’re getting a little older is to simply check your eyes a little more often. With the help of services like the National Vision Administrators, you can arrange for an annual eye check every year. As such, not only can you act more quickly on any changes you have noticed to your eyesight, but you might be able to catch changes that you have yet to notice in your daily life.

Make sure that you wear the right lenses

Just because you might already wear glasses doesn’t mean that you should avoid seeing your optician or optometrist, either. Despite the fact that corrective lenses can play an important role in keeping your vision from getting worse, your eyesight can still change while you are wearing them. As such, keep going for an eye exam even if you already wear glasses. If you spend a lot of time outdoors, consider glasses that convert into shades to protect your eyes from UV light. If you have any eye conditions like astigmatism, they also make special lenses that help redirect light more effectively to the eyes to prevent the strain and headaches common with that condition.

Be mindful of chronic health conditions

Aside from health changes that can impact your sight directly, you have to think about how your overall health can also have a ripple effect on your eyes. There are chronic conditions that can also cause changes to your eyesight, such as diabetes. For that reason, you should make sure that you’re getting your annual checkup, monitoring your heart health, blood sugar, and other indicators of long-term health, and follow whatever advice your doctor recommends to prevent chronic conditions from arising later in your life.

You might not be able to prevent age-related macular degeneration, even with the tips above. However, you can make sure that you’re not putting your eyes under any more stress than they should be, stopping your sight from getting worse, still.