March is Save Your Vision Month, so our experts have put together a guide to explain the crucial role that good vision care plays in eye health. Let’s explore the significance of regular eye exams and adopting healthy habits to ensure healthy eyes.

The importance of regular eye examinations

Did you know that more than half of all sight loss is avoidable? Regular eye examinations are key for healthy vision. They enable us to detect common eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and diabetic eye disease. By attending them on a regular basis, you can have peace of mind knowing we are monitoring your eye health, noting any significant changes and able to recommend treatment promptly if needed.

The power of specialist diagnostic equipment

Using specialist diagnostic equipment, our eye doctors can assess and monitor the health of your eyes comprehensively. This includes examining the optic nerve and retina at the back of the eye non-invasively, which is crucial for detecting conditions like glaucoma and AMD at their earliest stages before major irreversible sight loss occurs.

How to care for your eyes

There are several ways you can care for your eyes outside of getting regular eye exams:

1. Eat right for your vision – Incorporating a variety of fruits and vegetables into your diet, especially leafy greens, collard greens, oily fish, citrus fruits, and berries, provides essential nutrients like vitamins A, C, and E, which are beneficial for eye health.

2. Exercise regularly – Aerobic exercise not only improves overall health, but it also contributes to better eye health. It increases oxygen flow to the eyes, helps maintain healthy blood pressure and weight, and manages diabetes, which is crucial for preventing diabetic retinopathy.

3. Understand family eye health history – Knowing your family’s eye health history can help identify potential hereditary eye conditions early, allowing for proactive management and treatment.

4. Protect your eyes from UV – Overexposure to UV radiation from the sun over the years can lead to the development of cataracts and AMD later in life. Wearing sunglasses with 100% UV protection whenever you are outdoors helps safeguard your eyes from harmful UV rays.

5. Take screen breaks – Utilize the 20:20:20 rule – take a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds – helping to reduce eye strain caused by prolonged screen time.

6. Quit Smoking – Smoking is linked to an increased risk of developing cataracts, AMD, and other eye conditions. Quitting smoking benefits overall health and significantly improves eye health.

Staying on top of your eye health

By prioritizing regular eye exams and incorporating these habits into your daily routine, you can significantly improve your eye health and protect your vision. Additionally, we encourage you to have open discussions about eye health within your family. Sometimes, changes in vision may be noticed by family members first, prompting timely intervention and treatment.

Book your appointment

Let’s make vision care a priority not just this month but every day of the year. If you have any concerns or notice changes in your vision, book an eye examination today at our eye doctors in Oak Lawn or Orland Park.