20's and 30's Eyes

The single best way to protect your vision is through regular professional Eye Examinations. You may be at special risk for eye problems if there is a family history of eye disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or poor vision. In between examinations, if you notice a change in your vision – or you think your eye may be injured in any way – contact your eye care professional as soon as possible.

Getting enough rest, eating foods rich in antioxidants^1^, taking special care in applying cosmetics and hair spray, and – most of all – washing your hands often to help keep your eyes free of germs and bacteria that cause infections are some healthy habits that are important to maintain proper eye health.

At this age, you’ve got a lot on your plate. But you also have more Vision Correction options than before to address long-sightedness (hyperopia), short-sightedness (myopia) or astigmatism. Which means it’s also a good time to learn more about how your eyes work, to understand why you have good vision today – and what changes you may begin to see as you reach your mid- to late 30s.

A regular eye exam is the best way to protect your eyesight - and an easy precaution to take. It is particularly important if you notice a change in your vision, if your eye is injured in any way, or if you have a family history of eye disease.

What to expect at an Eye Exam

Each optometrist is different, but most eye exams follow a similar pattern. First, your optometrist will review your personal and family health history – checking for special risk factors like eye disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or poor vision. 

Then, they’ll conduct tests to check for:

• Vision - The optometrist can check for short sightedness (myopia), long sightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism and presbyopia. While you look at an eye chart, the optometrist will assess your vision for long distance and reading, and, if necessary, determine a prescription for corrective lenses.
• Coordination of eye muscles - The optometrist will assess how well your eyes work together by asking to you to look at different objects while they cover and uncover your eyes.
• Visual fields test- The optometrist will use a piece of equipment called the visual field screener to assess the full horizontal and vertical range and sensitivity of your vision, which can be a good indicator to the health of your visual system.
• Pupil response to light - The optometrist will shine a light in your eyes and watch the pupil's reaction.
• The health of the front and the back of your eyes - The optometrist will use either a handheld torch called an ophthalmoscope or a table-mounted microscope called a slit lamp to look for any abnormalities.
• Measurement of eye pressure - The optometrist will release a puff of air onto your eye using an instrument called a tonometer.  This tests the pressure inside the eye, an early indicator of Glaucoma.

A regular eye exam is the best way to protect your eyesight – and an easy precaution to take. Here are more tips for maintaining proper eye health – as well as a healthy lifestyle.

Are you in a high-risk category?

• A family history of eye disease or congenital eye disorders
• Diabetes or hypertension
• A visually demanding or eye-hazardous job

If you are in a high-risk category, there are things you can do to help minimise your risk. Eat a balanced diet, avoid smoking, protect your eyes in the sun and get plenty of exercise.

Eat a balanced diet

As part of your healthy diet, choose foods rich in antioxidants, like Vitamins A and C; foods like leafy, green vegetables and fish^1^.  Many foods – especially fish – contain essential omega-3 fatty acids that are important to the health of the macula^2^, the part of the eye responsible for central vision. An inadequate intake of antioxidants, consumption of alcohol or saturated fats may create free-radical reactions that can harm the macula – the central part of the retina. High-fat diets can also cause deposits that constrict blood flow in the arteries^3^. The eyes are especially sensitive to this, given the small size of the blood vessels that feed them.

Don't Smoke

Smoking exposes your eyes to high levels of oxidative stress. While the connection has not been clearly identified, it is known that smoking increases your risk for a variety of health conditions affecting the eye. To help you quit, visit the NHS smoking cessation website NHS - Stop Smoking.

Exercise

Exercise improves blood circulation, which improves oxygen levels to the eyes and may help protect the retina^4^.

Wear Sunglasses

To protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light, choose sunglasses with both UVA and UVB protection. Also, wearing a hat with a brim will greatly reduce the amount of UV radiation slipping around the side of your sunglasses.

Pregnancy and Vision

Some women experience changes in their eyesight when they are pregnant^5^. Hormone levels during pregnancy can change the thickness of your cornea temporarily causing blurred vision.  You may need different or additional vision correction for a few months. If you wear contact lenses, you may find that your eyes are uncomfortably dry during your pregnancy. The good news is that your eyes will return to normal shortly after your baby arrives.

Most people know their eyesight is precious, but at this age they don’t think as much about protecting their eyes as they should. Eye safety means taking proactive measures to ensure the same quality of eyesight you currently enjoy.

If your eye is injured you should get immediate medical attention. 40% of US hospital admissions for eye injuries are related to sports^6^ and 71% of those injuries happen to people under the age of 25^7^.

Sports safety

Goggles and shields do much more than protect your eyes from injury. Many goggles or safety glasses come with tints to reduce sun glare, light filtering capabilities that make it easier to see certain colours (like yellow tennis balls), and polycarbonate lenses that stand up to sudden, sharp impact.  Choose the right goggles or shield for your sport.

Work and Home Safety

Two of the most common places for eye injuries to occur are home and work8. Often, people in industrial settings are susceptible to projectiles that can injure the eye. And at home, many household cleaners can cause injury to the eyes – in addition to various home improvement projects that have a potential for danger. The best advice we can give is to use your common sense – if you’re working on a project that can cause harm to your eyes, make sure you’re safe with the proper protective eyewear. Visit your local opticians and ask to speak to a Dispensing Optician for further advice^9^.

Sunglasses

Sunglasses not only look good, they’re good for you. Protect yourself from harmful UV rays today to help prevent damage tomorrow. Choose sunglasses with both UVA and UVB protection. A hat will help block indirect sun, which can come into the eyes around the edges of sunglasses.

At the Computer

Computer images are created from thousands of tiny dots – so there is no distinct image for your eye to actually focus on^10^. You have to focus and refocus to keep the images sharp – and after two hours you end up with the same kind of repetitive stress in your eye muscles that the keyboard causes in your wrists. It won't cause permanent damage, but here are some tips to minimize eye stress:

• Keep your computer screen within 50-60cm of your eyes
• Keep the top of your computer screen slightly below eye level
• Minimize the distance between your computer screen and any documents you need to reference while working
• Adjust lighting to minimize glare
• Use the 20-20-20 rule and take a break every 20 minutes to focus on an object over 20 feet away
• Blink frequently

First Aid

If your eye is injured, it’s tempting to think you can just flush it out with some cold water and it will be fine. However, it’s not easy to judge the extent or severity of any eye injury, so you should always get immediate, professional medical attention. Here are some steps you can take in the event of an eye injury:

• Trauma to the eye - if you are hit in the eye, rest a protective shield – such as a Styrofoam cup – on the bone around your eye. Make sure there is no pressure on the eye itself. Seek immediate, professional medical attention.
• Foreign body - if an object has entered your eye, do not try to remove it; you may tear delicate tissue or force the object in deeper. Rest a protective shield – again, like a Styrofoam cup – on the bone around your eye, making sure there is no pressure on the eye itself. Seek immediate professional medical attention.
• Black eye - if you are hit in the eye area, place an ice pack or cold cloth over your eye. Get immediate, professional medical attention.
• Chemical Burn - if your eye has sustained a chemical burn, rinse it with fresh water for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Hold your head under the tap or use a clean container to pour water into your eye. As you rinse, use your fingers to hold your eye open as wide as possible and roll your eye to ensure the greatest possible coverage. Get immediate, professional medical attention.

It’s not easy to judge the extent or severity of any eye injury, so you should always get immediate, professional medical attention.The following symptoms may signal serious eye injury:

• Obvious eye pain or vision problem
• Cut or torn eyelid
• One eye that does not move as completely as the other
• One eye that protrudes more than the other
• Abnormal pupil size or shape
• Blood in the white of the eye
• Something imbedded in the eye
• Something under the eyelid that cannot be easily removed

To be competitive on the playing field you need peak performance from your entire body – and your eyes are no exception. Sports vision is "full-scope," and primary eye care can help you optimize these three key visual skills:

• Contrast Sensitivity lets you see fine details from a distance – like the subtle contours of a golf course.
• Dynamic Visual Acuity keeps your vision as clear when you're running as when you're standing, so you can see every obstacle.
• Focus Flexibility keeps a ball in sharp focus as it moves toward or away from you.

What visual skills do you need?

Every sport has unique demands: depth perception, peripheral vision, eye-hand coordination. And every sport poses unique challenges: glare, wind, haze, and close encounters with moving objects. To win, you need to conquer them all.

Make every sport a contact lens sport

Contact lenses are ideal for athletes. They offer a more natural vision correction option than spectacles. Contact lenses can increase peripheral vision. You can wear protective eyewear over them – such as goggles or sunglasses. And you can quit worrying about broken frames or lenses. Plus, contact lenses won’t fog up, slide down, or fall off. All of which adds up to better vision when you need it most.