Eyesight is one of our most important senses. In fact, 80 percent of what we perceive comes through our sight. When we’re young, many of us tend to take our healthy vision for granted, assuming that since we are blessed to have good eyesight now, it will always be that way. But the truth is, that if you want to enjoy good vision throughout your life, you will need to adopt good vision care practices as you age. Just a little effort will pay off in a big way.
What common eye problems affect people in their twenties and thirties?
Having good vision is important as you pursue your education, start your career, and perhaps begin to raise a family. The good news is that most folks between the ages of 19 and 40 enjoy good vision and eye health.
The most common vision problems seen among young adults are due to visual stress (also known as eye strain) and eye injuries. Luckily, you can avoid many of these problems by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking steps to protect your eyes from stress and injury. Let’s talk in more detail about these vision problems:
Eyestrain or visual stress
The fact is that today’s lifestyles place a lot of demand on our vision. A typical college student, gig worker, or office worker can spend many hours reading or staring at a computer screen or digital device.
And if you’re working in a poorly designed environment with inadequate lighting, uncomfortable seating, incorrect viewing angles, and inappropriate working distances, all of this can compound your visual stress. And as the day goes on, your eyes will begin to fatigue and some of the following signs of eyestrain will appear:
- Itching or burning eyes
- Light sensitivity
- Watery eyes
- Dry eyes
- Headaches
- Difficulty focusing your eyes
How to minimize eye strain
Making a few adjustments to your work environment can go a long way toward reducing eye strain:
- Modify your workspace – Start by positioning the top of your screen below eye level so that you’re looking down at the screen to minimize the strain on your eyes and neck. If you’re copying text from another source, position the text at the same level as your screen.
Adjust the screen brightness to a comfortable setting for your eyes. Avoid screen glare with a glare reduction filter or by adjusting the window shades or curtains or even by wearing anti-reflective lenses. If you spend many hours at the computer, consider getting blue light-blocking glasses or lens coatings. - Adjust the lighting in your work area – Avoid using overhead lighting which tends to be brighter than necessary and try to avoid harsh light. Consider using an adjustable shaded lamp to provide specific task lighting as needed.
- Rest your eyes periodically – Use the 20-20-20 rule promoted by optometry associations worldwide. Every 20 minutes look 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This will give your eyes a break from focusing on close-range work. You might want to get up and stretch, perhaps walk around or do another task that does not involve prolonged focusing on near objects. Try to train yourself to blink often in order to keep your eyes moist. Use over-the-counter tear solutions if necessary.
Eye injuries
Every day, nearly 2,000 workers in the U.S. sustain job-related eye injuries requiring medical treatment according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. And if that statistic isn’t staggering enough, many eye injuries also take place at home. In fact, nearly 60 percent of all product-related eye injuries occur outside of the workplace, according to Prevent Blindness America. Luckily, serious eye injuries leading to vision loss can be avoided by using proper eye protection.
How to protect your eyes from injuries:
- At work: If you work in an environment where your eyes can get splashed with chemicals, grease, or oil, or you can sustain burns from steam, or be exposed to UV or infrared radiation, or get stuck with flying wood or metal chips, it is your right to insist that your employer provide the appropriate safety eyewear. Learn more about OSHA’s rules for protective eyewear here.
- At home: Use common sense and follow manufacturers’ instructions and safety warnings to prevent eye injuries at home. Wear eye protection when working with strong household chemicals like oven cleaner, when chopping wood, or using power tools or jump-starting a car battery. You can get non-prescription eye goggles at home building big box stores and hardware stores. Your optometrist can advise you on prescription safety eyewear.
- At play: Of course, regular eyeglasses and contact lenses don’t provide appropriate protection from sports-related injuries. That’s why specialized protective eyewear has been designed for a wide variety of sports including football, hockey, basketball, and racquet sports. Your eye care professional can discuss eye safety strategies and protective eyewear options with you.
Are there preventative steps to take to maintain healthy vision?
Absolutely! Here are some eye health tips to help you keep your eyes healthy:
Protect your eyes from blue light
Most digital devices and LED lights in use today emit short wavelengths in the blue part of the light spectrum that can slowly damage the retina if your eyes are exposed to high levels of blue light over an extended period of time.
Although we get most of our blue light exposure from outdoor light, we spend so much time in front of our digital devices at short distances that, for many of us, these artificial sources of blue light have become significant sources of exposure. And this can lead to problems like age-related macular degeneration which robs you of central vision.
What you can do to protect your eyes from blue light?
- Consider getting special glasses.
- Also, have lens coatings put on your own glasses that block blue light rays.
Protect your eyes from the sun
We all know that the sun emits harmful UV-A and UV-B ultraviolet rays that can cause skin cancer. Well, it turns out that prolonged exposure to these rays over time can damage your eyes as well, by damaging your retinas and increasing your risk of cataracts and cancer of the eyelids.
What you can do to protect your eyes from the sun?
- Make sure that your sunglasses offer UV-A and UV-B radiation protection.
- Look for glasses that block out 99 to 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B rays.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat or visor in addition to your sunglasses to reduce the amount of radiation entering over the top or around the sides of your glasses.
- Wear sunglasses whenever you’re outside, even on cloudy days or winter days.
- While you’re at it, make sure to use a high SPF sunscreen on the delicate skin surrounding your eyes (mainly to keep cancer away, but your wrinkles will thank you later).
For Pete’s sake, don’t smoke!
Apart from all of the other health risks that smoking poses, it turns out that smoking exposes your eyes to high levels of noxious chemicals that can harm your delicate eye tissue and increase your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
What you can do to stop smoking?
- Ask your health care provider to suggest a support system that will help you to quit successfully: be it nicotine replacement gum, patches, sprays, inhalers or lozenges, professional counseling, and/or smoking cessation medications.
- Recruit friends and family in your quest to remain smoke-free.
Get regular exercise
Wait, what?!
What I said. The reason that getting regular exercise is important for your vision health is because exercise improves blood circulation which is critical for bringing oxygen and nutrients to your eye structures as well as for helping to remove toxins. Now that everyone is no longer locked inside due to coronavirus quarantining, there’s no excuse not to get out and exercise.
What you can do to get more exercise
- Join a gym
- Subscribe to a home exercise app
- Enlist a workout buddy to stay motivated!
Eat a balanced diet
You may have heard antioxidant-rich foods being touted as being important for preventing cancer and heart disease. Well, these very antioxidants are also great for decreasing your risk of getting macular degeneration and cataracts. A good reason to include them in your daily diet!
What you can do to get more antioxidants in your diet?
- Researchers have found the following antioxidants to be the most eye-friendly nutrients: lutein/zeaxanthin, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and EPA/DHA fatty acids. You can get these nutrients by eating green leafy veggies, eggs, fruits and vegetables, walnuts, chia and flax seeds, sweet potatoes, cold-water fish (like sardines, salmon, and mackerel).
- If you’re overwhelmed at the task of including these foods to improve eyesight in your daily diet, fear not, you can take them in a supplement form that works just as well.
Get regular eye exams
The American Optometric Association recommends that adults between 19 and 40 receive an eye exam at least every two years. And if you’re at risk of eye problems due to a family history of eye disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or if you have had prior vision problems, your eye doctor might recommend more frequent check-ups. Why? Because most serious eye problems can be prevented if treated early.
Even if your vision seems fine, getting regular check-ups can help you maintain good vision for the rest of your life. Make it a habit to schedule your annual eye exam around your birthday, that way you won’t forget. Because taking care of your eye health is the best birthday present you can give yourself.
Why Choose Assil Gaur Eye Institute for your eye care?
The eye care professional team of ophthalmologists and optometrists at Assil Gaur Eye Institute (AGEI) offers world-class eye care treating dry eye conditions, cataracts, glaucoma, LASIK, and laser eye correction, as well as a wide variety of cornea and retinal conditions.
At AGEI, you will experience a state-of-the-art health care facility that brings together revolutionary technologies with experienced vision care professionals. Our goal is to help you achieve your personal best vision.
Please call 866-945-2745 or visit us here to make an appointment online. If you are experiencing any concerning symptoms, contact us immediately to determine the best time to schedule an exam.
At Assil Gaur Eye Institute we take our patients’ safety seriously. Our facility’s Covid-19 patient safety procedures exceed all CDC recommendations. Masks are required in our institutes at all times.
We are conveniently located for patients throughout Southern California and the Los Angeles area at locations in or near Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City, Hollywood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, and Downtown Los Angeles.
Dr. Harris continued her education at Pennsylvania College of Optometry where she received another bachelor’s degree in vision sciences and then a doctorate of Optometry. While at the college, she served as an ambassador to the school and a tutor for her fellow professional colleagues. Her clinical and classroom work yielded academic achievement awards and bid her membership in the Beta Sigma Kappa Honor Society.
She completed clinical rotations during her fourth year at a few private practices in addition to the William Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center and Hahneman Hospital in Philadelphia.
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