Top Tips to Maintain Your Vision At All Ages

Protecting eye health is important at every age. At Wicker Park Eye Center, our ophthalmologists provide eye care services for patients of all ages, including children.

The eye is an important part of the body, and it requires good health and proper care to function at its best. Taking steps to protect eye health should begin at an early age and continue throughout adulthood. These top tips to maintain your vision at all ages from our Chicago, IL, eye center can help.

Wear Sunglasses

Children and adults should protect their eyes from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) light by wearing sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection.

Regularly wearing sunglasses with UVA and UVB protection can help reduce the risk of retinal damage and the development of cancerous growths on the eyes. Sunglasses that protect against UV light can also help delay the development of cataracts.

Follow the 20-20-20 Rule

It’s common for children and adults to spend large chunks of time staring at screens, such as computer monitors, smartphones, televisions, or tablets. Staring at these screens can cause the eyes to grow fatigued.

Following the 20-20-20 rule can help people of all ages rest their eyes during screen time. To follow the 20-20-20 rule, simply look away from your screen every 20 minutes and focus on something that’s 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Diet can affect vision by impacting eye health. A healthy diet supports eye health and vision. Some important nutrients include:

• Vitamins E and C, which can be found in spinach and other leafy green vegetables
• Omega-3 fatty acids, which is common in salmon and other fish

Poor diets that are high in saturated fats can increase the risk of calcification within the arteries, including the arteries of the eyes. As these arteries become clogged, blood flow to the eyes can become restricted, causing problems with vision.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking is not only bad for general health, it’s also bad for eye health and vision. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), smokers are more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD) than those who have never smoked. Smokers are also more likely to develop cataracts and are at increased risk of optic nerve problems.

Wear Eye Protection

Eye injuries can permanently affect vision. Simply wearing eye protection during certain activities is an easy way to protect the eyes and vision.

Eye protection should be worn while playing sports where balls or other equipment are likely to hit players, such as hockey.

It’s important to wear eye protection during other activities where debris or chemicals may hit the eyes, like yard work, carpentry, home repairs, and certain occupations.

Schedule Routine Eye Exams

A baseline eye exam can be performed at a young age to make sure children are seeing clearly and have healthy eyes.

For adults, routine eye exams at our Chicago practice have become even more important. Many age-related conditions can interfere with vision and even cause vision loss, such as AMD, glaucoma, and cataracts. Diagnosing such issues early can help slow their progression and preserve vision.

Schedule an Appointment

There are steps to take at every age to protect vision, one of which is scheduling an eye exam. We encourage you to schedule a consultation with one of our ophthalmologists or contact us.