Don those designer shades

Wearing sunglasses will not only prevent those nasty crow’s feet from appearing but will also protect your eyes from exposure to the sun’s harmful rays. Ensure that your glasses give you protection from ultra-violet light as excessive exposure to sunlight may contribute to cataracts and macular degeneration (a progressive deterioration of an area of the retina called the macular that can cause blurred vision and eventual blindness). 

Optometrist Siann Aburn says, “Same as sun damage on skin, it’s the cumulative exposure over time that causes damage, so it’s best to always protect your eyes.”  

Wearing a hat on sunny days can also reduce the amount of UV reaching your eyes by 40 per cent.

Know your family history

If you don’t know your family’s eye-health history, find out. A family history of glaucoma

(a disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage) or macular degeneration can greatly increase the chance that you will suffer from it too. 

Aburn says: “Family history is important as many eye conditions have a higher risk factor if a direct member of your family suffers from it – glaucoma in particular. It always pays to check with older family members if they have experienced any issues with their eyes.” Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, but early detection and treatment can mitigate this. 

Eat your way to eye health

Doctors often promote healthy nutrition as a means of reducing obesity, heart disease and other health complications, but eating for eye health is just as important. This means making sure your diet is rich in vitamins A, C, E, omega-3, zinc, lutein, lecithin and B12, which can be found in a wide range of fruit, vegetables and fish. 

“Exercising and eating the right foods helps to keep our blood pressure and cholesterol under control. This is extremely important as the most common cause of vision loss in older people is related to compromised blood supply to the eye, as happens in diabetes and other vascular problems,” says optometrist John Grylls.

Head to the optometrist

Many eye problems don’t reveal symptoms until it is too late. “An eye test not only checks how clear your vision is and whether you need glasses but also the health of the eyes including checks for macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and others,” Aburn says. 

“You may think that your eyes are fine because you see okay, but something may be happening that can only be detected by a comprehensive eye test. Early detection is vital and a full eye test should be scheduled every two to three years or on the advice of your optometrist.” 

See the light

Reading in low light can cause your eyes to strain. Ensure you have an adequate light source when reading, doing needlework or any other activity that requires your eyes to focus up close. 

The Optometrists Association Australia (OAA) says 60-year-olds require twice the light that a 20-year-old needs to perform the same task. “Spectacles can compensate for any change in optical focus, but to compensate for the loss of transparency within the eye later in life, increasing intensities of light are required.” 

Children’s vision

The OAA estimates approximately one in four Australian children suffer from an undetected vision problem and recommend they have their eyes tested prior to starting school. “Many children try to adapt to their vision problem without knowing they could see better. As a parent you are best placed to detect the signs of a potential vision problem,” the group says. 

Grylls agrees: “Children often don’t communicate well about the problems they are having with their eyes. Look out for signs of squinting or shutting one eye when reading and check with the teacher about progress at school.”

Keep it clean

Keeping your eyes clean can help prevent conditions like conjunctivitis, an infection of the membrane lining the eyelids. It’s also a good reason to splurge on new make-up, as wearing mascaras, eyeliners and eye shadows past their use-by date can cause infections. 

Contact lens wearers should ensure the contact is cleaned regularly and replaced according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. “It is best to replace the lenses regularly and have regular check-ups,” Grylls says. “This will reduce the chances of having a serious eye infection and increase the chances of having other potentially serious eye problems detected.”

Look after your eyes on the job

Whether you are working at a computer or on a construction site, it’s important to take care of your eye health at work as up to 60 per cent of all eye injuries happen on the job. If you are working outside remember to use UV-protected sunglasses or if the job demands it, protective goggles. For those glued to a screen all day, remember the 20-20-20 rule; that is, give your eyes a 20-second break every 20 minutes by looking at least 20 feet (six metres) away. Screen protectors can also help reduce glare and prevent eye-strain. 

Admit your age

Many eye problems are age-related. Both cataracts and macular degeneration are more likely to develop with age and as many conditions don’t have obvious symptoms, regular check-ups will help detect problems. “As we age, more problems can arise. The biggest change visually with our eyes starts around 45 when the eyes can no longer focus so well up close (a condition called presbyopia) and people need glasses to help them read. Health factors have more of an effect – such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol – as these can all cause changes to the health of the eyes. Cataracts tend to develop as time goes on too,” Aburn says.

Quit smoking

If there weren’t already enough reasons to quit, smoking is also a major factor contributing to the early development of macular degeneration, a condition that leads to a loss of vision in the centre of the visual field. According to The Medical Journal of Australia approximately 10,000 Australians are currently likely to be blind as a result of smoking.