Did you know that certain everyday habits could be negatively affecting your vision? It’s easy to sometimes take our eyesight for granted, as a lot of us are so used to being able to see well. But we only get one pair of eyes! So it’s important that we take care of them the best we can.
To best protect your eyesight you might want to consider breaking the following bad habits for good, in order to preserve and improve your quality of vision.
R Woodfall, a group of professional opticians have helped create this handy guide to bad habits you should break to improve your eyesight. Keep reading to find a list of the common habits that may be harmful to your eyes.
1. Smoking
It’ll come to no surprise that smoking is the first bad habit on this list, and for good reasons. Smoking has adverse health effects for your body overall, but did you know that it can specifically affect your eyes?
Smoking significantly increases your risk for many eye conditions. Macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma are all eye conditions that you have an increased risk of developing if you smoke.
In fact, one of the ways to decrease the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is by avoiding smoking, as smokers are 3-4 times more likely to develop this eye condition than non-smokers.
2. Rubbing Your Eyes
Although it’s not as detrimental to your eyesight as smoking, rubbing your eyes over an extended period of time can cause damage to them. When you rub your eyes, you can break the small blood vessels underneath your skin, which can result in dark circles and give an unfavourable appearance.
However, rubbing your eyes as a continuous bad habit can actually cause a condition called Keratoconus. Keratoconus is a condition where the cornea thins and bulges over time. This causes blurred vision and sensitivity to light.
3. Not Wearing Sunglasses
Most people are aware of the harm too much sun can do to your skin, but what about your eyes? Another bad habit that can damage your eyes is neglecting your sunglasses.
Sunglasses protect your eyes from overexposure to the sun. The sun emits harmful UVA and UVB rays that can do a lot of damage to your eyes over time, so it’s important to start protecting your eyes now! Wear your sunglasses every time you’re outside for long periods in the summer, it can make all the difference over time.
Overexposure to the sun can cause a temporary eye condition called photokeratitis. This condition is painful but thankfully the symptoms may only last a few days. The best way to prevent this condition is by wearing your sunglasses, so don’t neglect them!
4. Not Visiting Your Optician
Visiting your optician is one of the best things you can do for your eye health, their expert eye care services can help treat any eye conditions you may have. An optician practice has the facilities to detect eye conditions before you notice them, so it’s well worth going! Break the habit of avoiding your optician for good.
Eyesight is important, and yet many of us do things that can harm our eyes. Which of these habits will you work towards breaking? Let us know in the comments!
Photo by Marina Vitale on Unsplash
