20 Things You Don’t Want Happening to your eyes!
When asked, many of us will admit that we sometimes take the health of our eyes for granted. In some ways, we are neglectful by simply being careless, while in other ways we strive for a certain look and end up harming our eyes. Here are the top 20 worst things that you don’t want happening to your beautiful eyes!
1. Not Understanding the Importance of Sunglasses
Sunglasses protect our delicate eyes from harmful UV rays. When UV light gets into our eyes, it can result in problems such as growths on the conjunctiva, damage to the cornea and increasing the risk of macular degeneration, and potentially causing cataracts to form. Try to find some 100% UV protection sunglasses and wear them every time you go outdoors.
2. Undergoing Eyeball Tattoos
If you want to change the appearance or color of your eye, you are better off looking into colored contacts. Eyeball tattoos involve ink coloring the sclera by being injected under the conjunctiva. This procedure has not been approved by the FDA and poses the risk of blindness, light sensitivity, and eye infections, among other conditions.
3. Be picky when it comes to eating
It is important to maintain good eye health through a diverse diet. Foods such as dark green leafy vegetables and those high in omega-3, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E can strengthen or maintain the health of your eyes. This good habit should start as early as possible, as children require the same diet to help with their eyesight.
4. Being a Frequent or Active Smoker
When thinking about the effects of smoking, many people will visualize heart disease or lung cancer. However, smoking can also cause drastic damage to your eyesight. Some of the conditions that smoking can increase the risk of are dry eyes, glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.
5. Using Home Remedies Without Researching First
Either through misunderstanding, misinformation, or carelessness, people will use home remedies to treat eye conditions and find that they have disastrous results. Certain home remedies, such as putting breast milk in the eyes to cure pink eye, may result in severe infections. Do not try something just because you heard that it worked perfectly for someone else.
6. Mixing up Medications with Other Substances
A common conundrum that people encounter is mixing up their eye drops with a household product that is in a similarly-sized container. Eyelash glue bottles are particularly notable for appearing similar to eye drop containers. Keep your eye drops far away from anything that you may confuse them with when you are in a hurry.
7. Not Maintaining Good Health in Other Areas
If you are aware of an existing health condition such as diabetes, you must work with your doctor to complete your recommended treatments. If you ignore your symptoms of diabetes and your blood sugar gets too high, this can cause the retina to become damaged by leaky blood vessels in the eye. The same principle applies to conditions such as high blood pressure and Lyme Disease.
8. Neglecting to Don Protective Glasses for Sports
Many eye injuries sustained from playing sports can easily be avoided by wearing protective eyewear in the future. Without this, you run the risk of getting poked in the eye by a player or hit in the face with a ball, bat, or other material. Goggles can keep your eyes safe and you will not need to worry about suffering from conditions such as a detached retina.
9. Neglecting to Don Protective Glasses for Work
Certain workplaces have a high risk of employees sustaining eye injuries, particularly those that work with chemicals or construction materials. Your workplace should legally be supplying you with safety glasses, but if they do not, go buy a pair for yourself. Your eyesight is far more valuable than the cost of the glasses.
10. Avoiding Eye Doctors After Sustaining an Injury
If you have recently hurt your eye in some way, you should make an appointment to see your eye doctor right away. Even if you do not think anything feels different, the doctor will be able to take close scans to assess the damage. If you start to notice flashing lights or pain, go to a hospital for treatment as fast as you can.
11. Failing to Take Prescribed Medications
If your eye doctor has prescribed medicine to you, it is your job to follow the instructions and take it faithfully. Going against the advice of an eye doctor can result in serious medical complications, potentially rendering you blind. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take the medicine, if your problem is forgetfulness.
12. Looking Directly at the Sun
As children, many of us were warned against looking straight at the sun, and that advice stands true today. Staring at the sun can cause burns to your retina and permanently damage your vision. This can only be done safely with the use of solar filtered lenses, meant for watching an eclipse.
13. Not Taking Contacts Out Before Swimming
Some people enjoy being able to see underwater, while others think it is more convenient to leave contacts in for swimming. No matter what your reasoning is, contact lenses should be removed before swimming or going in the shower. Otherwise, bacteria may form underneath your contact, causing serious eye infections.
14. Not Properly Cleaning Your Contact Lenses
When you got your contacts, your eye doctor likely instructed you on the proper care that they will require. This includes washing your hands before taking them in or out, storing them in a sealed case with solution, and disinfecting them. Not following these guidelines can lead to eye infections or worse conditions.
15. Overusing Daily Contact Lenses
Daily contact lenses are meant to be used for a single day and then discarded. Throughout the day, the lens is collecting bacteria and germs, as the material is not resistant to these things. If you continue using the same pair of lenses, these bacteria could get into your eyes, causing harm.
16. Buying Over-the-Counter Contact Lenses
You may get excited when you see colored or regular contact lenses that you can purchase without a prescription, but do not buy them. These lenses are not fitted to your exact prescription and therefore should not be placed in your eyes. Consult a licensed medical professional if you are interested in purchasing colored or regular contact lenses.
17. Not Removing Eye Makeup Before Bed
No matter how tired you are before bed, you should take the time to remove all your eye makeup. If not, the makeup may end up scratching the surface of your eyes. Try using cotton swabs to remove the tough to reach eye makeup.
18. Not Referring to the FDA Approval List Before Buying Makeup and Scheduling Procedures
When something is FDA-approved, it is reasonable to assume that it is safe to use. If you purchase cheap eye makeup with questionable chemical compounds, you run the risk of having a bad reaction. The same can be said for certain non-FDA-approved procedures such as eyelash lifts.
19. Not Getting Regular Vaccines
Certain vaccine-preventable diseases can cause severe damage to the eyes if they get a chance to progress that far. This includes shingles and measles, both of which have vaccines that should be accessible to you.
20. Neglecting to Attend Eye Checkups
When your eyes are dilatated at the optometrist’s office, they can check for signs of disease or abnormalities. Otherwise, certain eye diseases can sneak up on you and catch you unawares because they have no obvious symptoms. Adults who are 18-60 years old should have an eye exam every other year, and older adults should go in annually.
