Site for Sore Eyes Salutes Healthy Vision Month

Well, the title of today’s blog pretty much says it all. Happy 10^th Anniversary to Healthy Vision Month, readers! This week, the staff of Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley is going to hammer home some points that we've brought up in the past, but still bear repeating.

In honor of this month, here are some suggestions of how to maintain the health and strength of your vision:

1.       Consider making your annual eye exam a New Year’s resolution. We are almost at the halfway point of 2013 (where does the time go?!), and if you haven’t made your annual eye eye exam appointment yet, come in today!

2.       Take care of your vision accessories on a daily basis. Consider this: you brush your teeth and comb your hair as part of your daily ritual. If you wear eyeglasses, make it a point to polish them each day. Make sure that the frames are sturdy and that they are securely holding each lens. If contact lenses are your thing, keep the cases and solution safely and neatly stored, and be sure to follow the prescribed rules of how long you can or should wear them. Oh, and as was covered in the blog from April 19^th, avoid going to sleep while you are wearing your contacts. Get into this habit of “vision vigilance” and it will become second nature – sooner than you think.

3.       Eye drops. Keep a small, over-the-counter bottle on hand. You never know when your eyes may start to feel dry or irritated, particularly if you frequently use a computer, which brings us to point…

4.       Take breaks from looking at the computer screen. Follow the 20/20/20 rule: for every 20 minutes spent looking at a computer monitor, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to maintain your eyes’ focusing system.

5.       Wear those sunglasses. This one may sound too basic, but keep those shades ready to shield your eyes from harmful UV rays of the sun. Definitely keep them on hand when driving. Squinting as you maneuver the roads is not only uncomfortable for the eyes, but can be hazardous for safe driving.

So, these five rules don’t sound too difficult, do they? The hardest part will be incorporating them into your routine. If you apply them, however, you will be doing your vision (and thus, yourself) a huge favor.

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley would like to give a shout out to the National Eye Institute (NEI), who is the sponsor of Healthy Vision Month. Ten years ago, NEI established May as the month for promoting the education of good vision health. To learn more about NEI and its mission of spreading healthy eyesight, click here, and find educational materials and resources.

To echo the thoughts of Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. and Director of the National Eye Institute: make the most of your vision and make it a priority. Thank you, Dr. Sieving.