The Ultimate Guide to Proper Eye Care

Your eyes are essential in your daily life and overall health. They are necessary for the perception of the world around you. Eye health is so vital and should be part of your daily routines to take good care of them.

Unfortunately, there are diseases like glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration that can cause severe damage and lead to permanent loss of vision. Your eyes can also help uncover specific health problems like cancer and diabetes.

Not to worry, you are at the right place for you to find out how you can get proper eye care in Glendale, and you are already a step closer to better eye health.

Tips for Eye Care

Contrary to popular belief, there are things that you can do daily to care for your eyes. Here are some of the tips:

• Be weight-conscious – Healthy weight is not for aesthetic value only but overall health. Being overweight or obese, you can put yourself at risk of getting diabetes. When you have diabetes, you can easily get glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy.
• Eat healthy- Your eyes, just as the rest of your body, needs nourishment for proper functioning. It would help if you had lots of green leafy vegetables and fruits. You can add fish like tuna or salmon in your diet, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This food is very good for your eyes.
• Wear sunglasses – The sun’s UV rays are not suitable for your eyes. The UV rays over time can increase the risk of you getting age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
• Avoid smoking – Smoking increases the chances of you contracting age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. These diseases destroy the optic nerve.
• Use protective eyewear – If you are working in a factory or participating in certain sports, you need to cover your eyes to prevent injuries. You should wear them even when you are carrying out repairs around the house.
• Wear contacts with clean hands – Make sure your hands are clean before you wear our contacts. Wash your hands just before wearing contact lenses to prevent the chances of getting eye infections.

How to Tell if It’s an Eye Emergency

At times you have done all you could, and yet your eyes are behaving differently. It is essential to take these issues seriously to prevent further complications. These symptoms are:

• Pain – If you feel a throbbing, burning, or aching sensation around or in your eye, it is best that you visit the nearest optometrist near you. This could be a myriad of things from injuries to glaucoma. Our optometrist will be better placed to tell you what the problem could be.
• Photophobia or light sensitivity – This occurs when your eyes get some discomfort to bright light. At times, you may feel some pain. There could be a number of reasons like inflammation, lack of sleep, headaches or retinal detachment. In any case, if the problem is severe, it is best if you seek medical attention.
• Seeing dark shadows in your scope of vision – Whenever you see dark shadows obscuring your view, it can be that you have retinal detachment or diabetic retinopathy. You will need to see our optometrist as soon as possible. If left untreated, these conditions can cause blindness.
• Diplopia (double vision) – When you see double images, it could be an indicator that you may have cataracts, problems with the cornea or even brain tumors. When you have double vision, seek immediate medical attention.

Diagnosis of Eye Problems

Eye check-ups are one of the most stress free medical check-ups there are; free of needles and weighing scales. These are some of the standard tests:

• Eye movement test – This test checks the movement and alignment of your eyes.
• Visual acuity test – This tests the clarity of your vision. It involves reading charts.
• Schirmer tear test – This test checks the moistness of your eyes.
• Tonometry/Glaucoma test – It tests pressure in your eyes. If you have glaucoma, the pressure will increase. This will determine whether you will need glaucoma treatment.
• Corneal staining test – this tests the smoothness of your cornea to see whether there is abrasion on your cornea.

Everyone needs to get their eyes checked to diagnose whether they have eye problems or not. Getting comprehensive tests are essential since some diseases will not have symptoms that are easily detected. Contact Glendale Eye Medical Group, to get proper eye care.