Women at Higher Risk of Eye Disease: 7 Eye Care Tips for Maintaining Healthy Vision

According to Blindness America, in its report titled “Vision Problems in the United States: Prevalence of Adult Vision Impairment and Age-Related Eye Disease in America”, women are more prone to vision problems than men. The report states that women are at higher risk for eye disease after the age of 50, especially:

• Glaucoma
• Cataract
• Diabetic Retinopathy
• Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

According to Prevent Blindness:

• Women form the majority of Americans over 40 with visual impairment or blindness
• 25% of women have not had an eye exam in at least 2 years
• 5% of women believe men are at greater risk of permanent vision loss
• 86% believe the risk is equal for men and women
• Less than 10% understand that they are at greater risk

To protect your eyes and reduce the risk of vision loss, here are 7 eye care tips for women:

1. Understand Potential Risks – Obesity, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, autoimmune disorders, and thyroid problems increase the risk of eye disease. Know your family’s medical history. If vision loss, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts or glaucoma are common, you may have inherited these problems. Exercise regularly and get regular medical checkups if you’re overweight, since obesity can lead to diabetes and other conditions that affect eye health.
2. Get the Right Nutrition – A balanced diet plays an essential role in women’s health, but certain foods are known to boost eye health as well. For instance, spinach, kale, broccoli and other dark green leafy vegetables are loaded with lutein. This antioxidant may help protect against AMD, the leading cause of blindness. Other antioxidants such as vitamin C, E and A, minerals and Omega 3 fatty acids are also essential for eye health.
3. Wear Protective Eyewear – Your eyes are extremely delicate, so it’s essential to protect your eyes from excessive UV exposure, accidents and other damage. Wear sunglasses that block out 99-100% of both UVA and UVB rays, to reduce the risk of cataract and eye tumors. You should also wear protective eyewear to avoid eye injury while playing sports, swimming, cleaning with strong chemicals, or working with sharp tools.
4. Care for Contact Lenses – A lot of women prefer to wear contact lenses instead of glasses, usually for aesthetic reasons or comfort. If you’re a contact lens wearer, follow a proper routine for cleaning, removing and replacing your lenses. Poor hygiene or over-wearing lenses can cause corneal scarring, which may lead to blindness. You can also opt for Lasik refractive surgery to get rid of both glasses and contact lenses permanently.
5. Be Careful with Makeup – If you use eye makeup regularly, remove it at the end of the day. Sleeping with makeup on can clog your tear ducts or trap dirt and bacteria, leading to scratches, eye disease, and a host of other problems. Using eyeliners, mascaras and eye shadows past their expiry date can also cause eye irritation, allergic reactions and eye infection, so throw away old makeup and avoid sharing cosmetics with others.
6. Watch for Vision Problems – Hormonal changes during pregnancy and menopause can also affect your vision. For instance, water retention can cause a change in your number or power, as well as puffy eyelids or dry eyes when you’re pregnant. Dry eyes are also common during menopause, along with redness or heaviness in the eyes or eyelids. Be aware of changes that may occur as you get older, and get a checkup if you face any problems.
7. Get an Eye Exam Regularly – A comprehensive eye exam can help you prevent eye disease, eye infection and even vision loss, since early detection and treatment keep minor problems from turning into serious health concerns. Dilated eye exams may help with early detection of diabetes, high blood pressure and other medical conditions as well. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, get an eye exam every 1-2 years, and annually after the age of 50.

Women are caregivers, often looking after the family’s wellness before their own. However, it’s equally crucial to care for your own vision and health, so you can continue to care for your loved ones. Head to InSight Vision Center for a comprehensive eye exam today!

How to Safely View Solar Eclipse

In the excitement of the much awaited solar eclipse make sure you don’t forget the one thing that you’ve grown up listening to – Do not look at the sun with your naked eyes. This solar eclipse is no exception to the rule so if you plan to catch a glimpse of the rare event taking place on August 21, here are 7 tips to keep in mind:

1. Sunglasses, color films, media X-ray films, floppy disks, and smoked glass should never be used for viewing a solar eclipse as none of these options offer any protection against harmful UV radiation.
2. You can use a telescope or binoculars to project the sun’s image on a screen while avoiding the side-mounted finder scope.
3. You can also buy eclipse glasses at a local welding supply store but be sure to check that the glass grading meets the safety requirements set by the ISO.
4. If you happen to live in the path of the solar eclipse, you can safely witness it with your naked eyes at the moment of totality when the moon blocks the sun completely.
5. Those of you who do not wish to take any risk can view the event from the comfort of your couch while it is being streamed live on your TV screen.
6. If you normally wear glasses do not remove them to put on your eclipse glasses. Instead, wear your eclipse glasses over your normal eyeglasses or you can also hold them in front of your regular glasses.
7. If you are into a lot of DIY, an alternative method is using a pinhole projector where you stream the sunlight from a small pencil hole onto a makeshift screen. Make sure you do not look at the eclipse through this pinhole but only at the partially eclipsed sun on the projector screen.

Eclipse blindness is not a myth so do not risk your lifelong healthy vision when viewing a grand solar phenomenon for a few seconds. You pair of sunglass definitely won’t protect you against the harmful UV rays and infrared light. In order to educate people on the perils of unsafe viewing practices and how to view this captivating celestial occurrence safely, two experts – Dr. Eric Poulsen and Dr. White have made a few recommendations. Read them in detail here and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience safely:

https://abc30.com/amp/safety-solar-eclipse-fresno-total/2311505/

How to Protect Your Eyes From Harmful Digital Devices?

While technology is great, the devices we rely on for everything might be exposing our eyes to dangers like blurred vision, retinal damage and digital eye strain. Adults and children alike are using computers, smartphones, tablets, TVs, video games, Fitbits, GPS devices and other gadgets on a daily basis. However, staring at backlit LED screens, especially at night, has a negative impact on vision and causes digital eye strain. In certain cases, the symptoms of eye strain are a manifestation of an underlying eye condition so it is important that you know them and receive timely treatment.

Digital Eye Strain Symptoms

• Dry or watery eyes
• Itchiness and burning sensation
• Blurred vision
• Frequent headaches
• A painful shoulder
• Aching back
• Difficulty focusing
• Increased sensitivity to light

6 Frightening Outcomes of Using Digital Devices on Eye Health

The potential outcomes of overexposure to digital devices include:

1. Digital Eye Strain (DES) – This is a term used to describe problems with vision or eyes that are caused by using computers or digital devices for two hours or more daily. Symptoms include eye strain, headaches, redness, dry eye syndrome, blurry vision and neck/shoulder/back pain. It occurs due to screen glare/position, decreased blinking, and poor posture.
2. Texting-Related Issues – Continuous texting can also cause vision issues, including dryness, eye strain, fatigue, headaches and perhaps even myopia or nearsightedness. This happens because of holding a phone too close to the eyes, not blinking enough while staring at a phone screen, and squinting or straining to read text displayed in small fonts.
3. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) – CVS is becoming a common problem for those who stare at digital screens for long periods without blinking, from too close, or at uncomfortable angles. It can cause symptoms such as eye strain, headaches, trouble with focusing, dry eyes, double or blurred vision, light sensitivity, and burning, itchiness or watering in eyes.
4. Tension Headaches – Using digital devices for too long can lead to tension headaches, which are caused by extended eye strain. Screen glare and high contrast between dark-colored text and bright screens are usually to blame. Your eyes need to work much harder while focusing on the screen, leading to muscle spasms near the temples.
5. Retinal Damage – High Energy Visible Light (HEV) is the blue/violet light emitted by digital devices with LED screens. It lies at the blue end of the color spectrum, and direct exposure may contribute to retinal damage. This can affect your central vision and cause macular degeneration or make age-related macular degeneration (AMD) worse.
6. The Risk of Cataracts – There may be a link between blue light from digital devices and an increase in cataract development. While more studies need to be conducted in this regard, there is cause for concern. Doctors report that some patients in their mid-30s are showing cataracts with the same level of cloudiness normally seen only in patients over the age of 70.
7. Ocular Migraines – Sitting in front of the TV screen for several hours, playing games on a hand-held device, reading e-books under fluorescent lights or working on a computer for extended hours can trigger ocular migraines. Also known as retinal migraines, ocular migraines usually accompany flashing dots, nausea, sensitivity to flashing lights, temporary blindness, wavy lines, and may or may not accompany a throbbing headache.
8. Dry Eyes – Working on the computer screen for longer hours often results in irritated and dry eyes. Other symptoms of dry eyes include increased sensitivity to light and blurred vision. If left untreated, dry eyes can adversely impact your eyesight so it is very important to protect eyes from the computer screen with anti-glare eyewear.

Who Is At Greatest Risk of Vision Issues?

Children using digital devices on a frequent and regular basis face a higher risk of vision-related issues, since their eyes are still developing. They do not have the natural defense against blue light found in adult eyes as a result of the lens yellowing with age, which keeps blue light from efficiently penetrating and reaching the retina.

Millennials who have grown up using digital devices, students, and people working on computers all day are also at a higher risk of eye strain, especially if they do not follow proper eye care practices.

Top 10 Ways to Prevent Digital Eye Strain

Here are 10 preventative measures that can help protect your eyes from damage

1. Avoiding glare helps prevent eye strain, so use an anti-glare screen or coating on devices that you use often.
2. Follow the “20-20-20” rule – look away from the screen every 20 minutes, at something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds. You can also massage your eyes periodically for lasting eye strain relief.
3. Keep your phone as far from your eyes as possible, but at a distance where you can still comfortably read without straining.
4. Adjust the brightness on your digital display so it matches the brightness of the area around it.
5. Position yourself at an arm’s length from the computer screen, with the screen just below your eye level.
6. Take frequent breaks to rest your eyes. Stretch, go outside or take a nap – whatever works for you!
7. Get an eye exam regularly to help nip any eyesight or eye health issues in the bud, before they get worse.
8. Make a conscious effort to blink more frequently, since this keeps your eyes clean and lubricated.
9. Place a light source behind you instead of behind the device, so your eyes don’t have to work so hard to adjust.
10. Wear glasses with an anti-reflective coating while using any digital device for prolonged periods of time.

Are you experiencing any of the digital eye strain symptoms stated above?

Schedule a consultation at InSight Vision Center to combat the negative effects of digital eye strain while preventing it from progressing and inviting other problems.