New Year’s Resolution: Healthy Eyes

New Year’s is an exciting time of year. It is a time for change and for an optimistic outlook on the rest of the year. It is also the time of year that people traditionally make New Year’s resolutions to start the year off well. So why not make a resolution to help protect one of your most important senses; your sense of sight?

Here are some tips that you can start doing right now to help keep those eyes healthy well beyond 2013:

• Make an appointment to see your eye doctor: Getting a basic eye exam can reveal some more serious diseases that may affect more than just your vision. An exam with your eye doctor can potentially uncover hidden medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammations, and infections . If you don’t have an eye doctor, you can find one using CooperVision’s Find An Eye Doctor locator.
• Eat your way to healthier eyes: While you are at your eye exam, make sure to ask your eye doctor what you should be eating for healthier eyes. Did you know that there are five essential nutrients that help promote healthy vision and may reduce the risk of eye disease? Getting those nutrients by eating things such as leafy greens, nuts, and shellfish can protect those eyes of yours. Certain studies have shown that taking an antioxidant or vitamin supplement can reduce the risk of advanced AMD progression and visual acuity loss.
• Wear Sunglasses Outdoors: Wearing sunglasses not only ups your cool factor, they protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. Make sure you protect your eyes even on cloudy days. Not only does too much UV exposure increase your risk for cataracts and macular degeneration, it can also cause short term eye damage such as photokeratits like the journalist Anderson Cooper suffered earlier in December. Contact lens wearers can also opt for contact lenses with UV protection to wear along with their sunglasses. CooperVision’s Avaira contact lenses have UV protection built right in the material of the contact lens.

All of us here at CooperVision wish you a happy and healthy New Year!

Nothing in this blog post is to be construed as medical advice, nor is it intended to replace the recommendations of a medical professional. For specific questions, please see your eye care practitioner.