The eyes with which you are born are the only eyes you have, so it is important that you take very good care of them. If you neglect your eye care, you could experience many different problems with your vision. For some great advice on caring for your eyes, keep reading.

When going for eye exams, only consult with a skilled professional. You can either ask around or look at online consumer reviews to see which optometrists are the best in your area. This helps to increase the chances that you will receive proper care.

When you go out on a sunny day, be sure that you wear a pair of sunglasses that offer UV protection. The rays from the sun can be damaging to your eyes if they are exposed to the sun too long. Make sure that the lenses are from a reputable manufacturer.

A wide-brimmed hat can be your best friend when outdoors, especially when the sun is shining. A hat offers a lot of protection for your face, including areas like your eyelids where sun can sneak in around the edges of glasses. Eyelids are a fairly common place for melanoma to develop, so cover up outdoors with a stylish hat whenever you can.

Make sure you always have adequate lighting when you work or read. Your eyes will be straining all the time if you’re trying to see things without sufficient illumination in the room. Over time, this can cause serious damage. Increase your wattage or the number of lighting fixtures in any given room to solve the problem.

Know if your family has a history of any eye problems so that you know what you might expect down the road. Diseases need to be brought to the attention of your optometrist. If your eye care professional is aware of these conditions it can go a long way in treating any potential problems in the future.

If you’re going out into strong sunshine for any length of time, make sure you wear a hat with a wide brim. Although sunglasses do protect your eyes to a certain extent, a hat will keep the sun out of them completely. Your eyelids can be particularly vulnerable to melanoma, something that you can avoid simply by sporting a hat.

If you regularly wear contacts, keep a pair of backup prescription eye glasses. When experiencing irritation in the eye, you should remove the contact and wear a pair of prescription eye glasses. Keeping a contact lens in your eye while the eye is irritated can turn this seemingly small problem into something much larger, such as corneal ulcer.

Drink plenty of water. As with the rest of your body, your eyes require adequate hydration. If you consume adequate amounts of water, it will help you. Consider talking to your health care professional to find out how much water you need to consume each day based on your weight and activity levels.

Always wear safety goggles when coming in contact with hazardous materials, regardless of if you are at work or at home. It is best to keep a pair of these goggles in both locations, just in case you are faced with a situation where you need them. Do not take the safety of your eyes for granted.

If you are a smoker, butt out! Of course, smoking will lead your eyes to yellow and the skin around them to wrinkle and thin. On top of that, smoking is linked to a high risk of macular degeneration, cataracts and even damage to the optic nerve, all of which can lead to blindness.

Always wear proper eye protection. Every year, thousands of people end up blinded due to improper protection gear at work. Whenever you are working with chemicals or machinery that can cause small debris to fly, protect your eyes. A simple set of protective glasses can mean the difference between seeing and being blind.

People who have allergies often have red and itchy eyes. Be careful to avoid rubbing them because that will only make the problem worse. If you have seasonal allergies you can take medication to prevent the symptoms, and you can also use allergen-reducing eye drops. Make sure to follow the directions for the eye drops to avoid future problems.

Eat foods that promote good eye health. Foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins E and C, as well as foods that contain lutein, are excellent choices. Some foods that contain those substances are wild salmon, citrus fruits, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables. Have these foods every day so that your eyes continue to be healthy.

Now that you have read this advice, you should understand why it is so important to care for your eyes. If you ignore these tips, your vision could quickly worsen and you could have other problems as well. Make sure that you start using this advice right away to keep your vision strong.

What You Didn’t Know About Eye Care was originally published on Spring