Proper Eye Care Habits

As children, many of us were plagued with the horrible thoughts of what would happen when staring directly into the sun. While some of us imagined something akin to melted eyeballs or sockets set aflame, the inherent dangers were a little more subtle than that.

Our eyes are very sensitive organs, more so than other organ in our body. Certain ophthalmic tools, like an eye ultrasound and a scanning laser ophthalmoscope can ensure proper vision, but before you have your doctor reaching for the surgical CO2 laser, there are things you can do to prevent poor eyesight. While myopia is partly inherited, bad habits can make you even more susceptible to nearsightedness. Here are some good eye care habits you should remember.

 

Give Me a Break

Your eyes are like any other muscle in the body. The difference here is that eyeballs work constantly from morning to night to ensure you see everything in your world properly. It would be like doing bicep curls all day. There’s bound to be some strain, some soreness, and some fatigue.

So it makes sense to give your eyes a break every now and then. Near work is the biggest culprit to this eye strain. It’s a good idea to limit the time spent performing continuous near work, which includes painting, drawing, writing, reading, playing games on a handheld device, or doing craft work with small objects.

However, for many people, near work comprises the entirety of their occupations. Office work consists almost entirely of staring at a computer all day long. In order to prevent eye strain, give them a break. Every thirty to forty minutes of near work, take a three to five minute vision break. A vision break should simply consist of staring at a distant object or looking out your window. This will reset your vision and help to clear your head a bit.

Reading and Other Forms of Recreation

We obviously have to use our eyes day to day, and while we can try to live with our eyes closed, it’s not exactly recommended. So what do we do? Well, you can still make use of your eyes, but do so intelligently.

· Reading: When reading, sit upright in a comfortable chair. The height of the table and chair should be adequate. The distance between the book and your eyes should be about 30 centimeters. Above all, make sure to read in a well-lit room.

· Using a computer: Your eyes should be about 50 centimeters from the computer screen. Adjust the screen to reduce glare as much as possible, and, of course, use your laptop in adequate lighting.

· Watching TV: Sit at least two full meters away from the TV and make sure the TV is at or below eye level.