Save Your Vision Month
Month of March celebrated as Save Your Vision Month
Did you know? Every year the month of March is celebrated as Save Your Vision Month? Yes, this was announced by the American Optometric Association (AOA) with a vision to raise more awareness on the necessity for complete, yearly eye evaluations. There is a misconception or say a myth among people that having a good eye sight itself guarantees they have good eye health. However this doesn’t hold true by practically speaking since other visual problems may get ignored which otherwise may have been corrected, had they got their eyes were examined time to time.
Estimates reveal that eye conditions like cataracts, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, and age-related macular disease are believed to cause partial or full blindness in excess of 4crore people worldwide by the end of this year. The silver lining is that with early diagnosis through simple things like a regular eye check up these conditions can be prevented big time.
The narrow views which most of us possess about eye care or eye check up is about getting a spectacle or lens prescribed. However you will be surprised to know, with the various ways they examine your eyes to check their functioning together or any to detect presence of any eye ailments – they may be the first to ring the bell if incase you also have other health problems like BP and Sugar. These usually come out when your doctor does tests like administering those special eye drops for diagnosis during and eye check up, usually not much liked by the people.
When it comes to regular eye checkups, those families with histories of eye disease especially, it’s a necessity. The same applies to people of all age groups even though the insurance providers may advise for a gap longer than yearly one visit, its best to have an eye checkup done every year at least once. And of course the doctors will do their best to maintain your eye health to the maximum possible.
Rule #1 in receiving good eye care is never missing your appointments. More useful tips for preserving your eyes follow in the next lines.
- Wear good, quality sunglasses. Never compromise on quality of sunglasses as it can lead to excessive Exposure to UV rays which have the potential of causing you cataracts, macular degeneration, unusual conjunctival issues and bad effects directly to the cornea.
- Avoid use of tobacco as have the tendency to harm not just eye health but health in general as well.
- Contact lens should be handled with care. Did you know even permanent damage to the eyes is possible due to excessive or improper use of contact lenses like sleeping with the lens on. Which is why have a good understanding from your doctor regarding the right usage and hygiene options since the lenses by usage tend to encourage microbial activity
- Add more green, leafy vegetables to your diet. The mothers were always right – the more of spinach, broccoli and other vegetables the better stays our eye sight as they contain loads of nutrients.
- Exercise helps: As you are aware exercise anyways helps increasing the blood circulation and oxygen intake for the body – the same benefit is passed on to the eyes as well.
- Use protective gear during risky times. A very useful tip mostly ignored by many. This saves our eyes from unwanted damages to the eyes.
It is time you take a break from your phones and laptops for a bit. The AOA's prime objective this year is on creating awareness on the effects the everyday gadget use, have on our eyes. Make it a point to rest your eyes by looking at distance of a minimum of 20 feet in an interval of at least every 20 minutes, say for 15-20 sec time. This action reduces the strain caused by these devices on your eyes.
The AOA deserves credit for its efforts in helping educate the public on the importance of eye care and eye health, particularly through Save Your Vision Month. It has been reported that around 80% of vision problems are avoidable or curable with proper evaluation and treatment. Lets together pledge to take good care of eye by timely eye checkup irrespective of how your eye sight feels.