Every year we remind everyone of the importance of good eye health and of having their eyes tested every two years. Looking after your eyes is just as important as looking after the rest of your body.
This year has been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic but High Street Opticians are still open for business and have taken steps to keep you safe.
Preventing damage and sight loss
More than 50 per cent of sight loss is preventable, so getting your eyes tested can help prevent, or limit, the damage caused by certain eye conditions.
Regular eye examinations are important because:
• having your vision corrected can improve the quality of day-to-day life
• they will help detect certain eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, which could lead to sight loss
• poor vision could be a risk factor for falls
An optometrist may also be able to spot the signs of some broader health conditions with symptoms that affect the eyes, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Eye examinations for children are vital to make sure that any visual problems such as squint, lazy eye (amblyopia) or short-sightedness (myopia) are detected and treated early.
Keeping Eyes Healthy
Other important steps people can take to help keep their eyes healthy include:
- stopping smoking
- protecting eyes in bright sunlight or glare
- eating well and taking regular exercise
- wearing safety goggles to protect eyes while doing DIY and/ or sporting activities
- wearing goggles when necessary in the workplace
- taking regular breaks if working at a computer screen
If you do notice a change to your sight, never dismiss it as ‘just part of getting older’ – contact your local optometrist immediately.
People with Sight Loss
If you are blind or partially sighted it is still important that you have your eye health and residual vision checked regularly. It is also important that you attend hospital appointments at the Eye Unit. Please remember that COVID patients are treated in different areas of the hospital to Eye Units and COVID security is taken very seriously to keep you safe.
At Devon in Sight we aim to keep you ’Seeing in the New Year’ for many more years to come!