Observing Healthy Vision Month This May 2022

May, observed as Healthy Vision Month, is a perfect time of the year to promise yourself a healthier vision.

While you care for your overall health more than anything, maintaining a proper and healthy vision is equally important! Several eye problems can be treated if detected early. Hence, regular eye exams for all ages are vital.

Why is Vision Health for All Ages Important?

Conducting regular eye exams for all ages is necessary to ensure you aren’t dealing with common eye problems. If it’s been a while since your last checkup, schedule one this month!

Whether you’re an adult or a preschooler, whether you’ve perfect eyesight or struggle with something genetic, regular eye exams are necessary for all ages.

• It’s believed that mostly adults can develop an eyesight problem. However, even preschoolers are subjected to them.
• Vision disability is among the most common disabilities in children. Despite this, only 1 in every 7 preschoolers receives an eye exam.
• According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, vision screening for kids aged 3 to 5 years is essential to catch eye conditions like lazy eye early for effective treatment.
• Approximately 11 million Americans aged 12 and older with refractive errors can see better when diagnosed early and given the proper treatment.

If you don’t take proper checkups, some preventive eye conditions can cause major problems like:

• Cataracts, the clouding of the eye that makes your vision foggy.

• Glaucoma which damages the optic nerve.

• Diabetic retinopathy that destroys the blood vessels in the back of the eye.

• Macular degeneration is age-related that affects the central vision.

What’re the Effective Ways to Protect Your Eyes?

Here are some of the most effective ways to protect your eyes from unwanted eye problems:

• Get regular dilated eye exams.

• Have a thorough understanding of your family’s eye health history. Some eye conditions like strabismus (cross-eyes), glaucoma, and retinal degeneration are genetically determined. If you’re aware of your family history, they can be detected early.

• Eat dark leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, or collard greens. Omega-3 fatty acids enriched fishes like albacore tuna, salmon, halibut, and trout are also great to protect your sight.

• If you play sports or do activities like home repairs, yard work, or painting, wear protective eyewear.

• Maintain a healthy weight and quit smoking.

• When exposed to the sunlight, wear sunglasses that block 99 to 100% of Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation.

• Clean your contact lenses properly and regularly to avoid eye infections. Wash your hands before removing or applying your lenses.

What Problems Should You Look Out for?

To stay completely aware of your eye health, you need to know what you should look out for. Identifying eye problems that could signify serious problems beforehand will save your vision.

Apart from your regular dilated eye exams, visit an eyecare professional if you’re going through these eye problems:

• Eye pain

• Decreased or double vision

• Redness or drainage of your eyes

• Diabetes

• Floaters in your eye

• Circle or halos around light sources

• Inflammation/irritation in the eye

• Flashes of light

• Itchy or watery eyes

What’s the Connection Between Eyes and Overall Health?

Taking proper care of your eyes will benefit your overall health. It’s noted that people with vision problems are more likely to have health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, strokes, poor hearing, and lower back pain.

Age is also one of the striking risk factors for eye health. Among people in the age range of 65 and older, 54.2% are blind. Approximately 41.7% of people with impaired vision have fair to poor overall health. And only 21.5% of Americans with no vision problems reported fine to poor health.

Family history, pre-existing health conditions and current medications also play a vital role in the existence of eye problems.

Why Are Regular Eye Exams Necessary?

Regardless of your risk levels of getting an eye problem, you should regularly pay a visit to an eye doctor.

The older you get, the more vulnerable you are to several irreversible vision damages. Macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy are the most common age-related conditions.

Moreover, it’s believed that healthy adults over the age of 40 need a checkup once in one or two years. But once you’ve crossed the 50-mark, annual eye exams are a must!

The best way to save your vision from irreversible eye problems is regular eye exams. If you live around or in Fresno, book an appointment with InSight Vision Center. We provide personalized care and strive to be accessible to every patient!

How To Observe Healthy Vision Month?

There are several ways to create awareness about Healthy Vision Month, observed every year. Here’s how you can talk about it to various people:

1. Take on the social media

Make good use of your social media platform. Share articles and resources regarding the importance of the month. Several doctors and organizations share the importance of a healthy vision. You can re-share them on your page.

2. Spread the message through your organization

If you work with an organization with a website, newsletter, or blog, use the platform to spread the message. You can reach more people with this.

3. Conduct an event

Host an event to spread the importance of a healthy vision. You don’t need to have a huge platform for this. Conduct awareness events in your neighborhood and educate them about healthy vision, ways to maintain it, available treatments, and more.

Bottom Line 

The best way to understand your eyes is by booking regular appointments with your eye doctor. Ask your doctor what needs to be done to maintain a healthy vision and follow their instructions to stay clear from vision problems.