4 Tips to Help You Handle Ocular Conditions

Author: Simon Hopes

For many people, sight is one of the important senses. It can allow you to navigate and understand the people or things around you. Hence, it’s vital to take care of the eyes to ensure they work properly in the future.

However, many people experience ocular conditions like irregular astigmatism, myopia, and keratoconus. Some of these conditions manifest as people age, but others are minor and may not last for a long time. Therefore, to handle some of these ocular conditions, narrow down to the following tips to achieve the goal.

  1. Eat Healthy Food

A healthy and well-balanced diet can help maintain your eyes' health and reduce the risks of getting ocular conditions. Serious conditions like dry eyes and glaucoma can be avoided by taking foodstuffs rich in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals with antioxidants. These antioxidants in the diet can ward off the free radicals that can negatively affect your eyes. Some of the antioxidants that you can get from healthy diets like eggs and fish include the following:

  • Zinc
  • Vitamin A, C, and E
  • Beta-carotene
  • Omega-3 fatty acids
  • Zeaxanthin
  • Lutein

2. Put on Sunglasses

Sunglasses are capable of blocking harmful UV rays and can reduce the risks of getting cancer and cataracts. Even prescription sunglasses can provide you with protection, but they have to come with equal lens size and UV protection.

However, the amount of protection against UV does not depend on the darkness or color of the lenses. For instance, light amber-colored lenses can also offer protection like dark gray lenses. Thus, it’s important to have an optician verify that the lenses you choose can offer you 100% protection against UVB, UVC, and UVA rays.

3. Wear Contact Lens

A contact lens refers to a medical device, which is worn directly to the eye’s cornea. Similar to sunglasses, the contact lens can subtract or add focusing power on the lens and correct refractive errors. A contact lens can also offer an effective and safe way to rectify vision, especially when it’s used with proper supervision.

Though, it’s important to look for a specialist who can offer you a specialty contact lens in Las Vegas that's tailored for your needs. Some of the personalized contact lenses, which you can acquire from a specialist may include:

  • Gas-permeable lens
  • Hybrid lens
  • Scleral contact lens
  • Custom soft lens
  • Pediatric contact lens

4. Quit Smoking

Smoking is an exogenous risk factor for different ocular conditions. This is because smoking can reduce helpful nutrients in the eyes. If this is not controlled, smokers can get diabetic eye disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals who smoke regularly can develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is an ocular condition that damages the part of the retina called macula. Although supplements and medication can slow its progression, there is no cure.

However, when smokers quit smoking, they can reduce the risks of acquiring these eye diseases. The perfect way to stop smoking is to enroll in counseling, alternative therapies, and nicotine replacement therapy.

The Bottom Line

The health of the eyes can change gradually, and at times, you may not observe obvious signs of various ocular conditions. Because of that, you need to have your eyes checked by optometrists. This is necessary since some of the vision conditions can be avoided or treated.