Drink plenty of water: It is important to drink water all year round, but with he changes in environments, going from cold, dry conditions to a heated car or building, your body can experience dryness, and hydration is essential for overall health, including eye health. Use a humidifier: As the days get colder, it is our instinct to pump the heating up or to get cosy by the fire. Unfortunately, this can affect both our skin and eyes due to the change in humidity. By adding a humidifier, you can help add moisture to the air, especially in heated indoor environments.

Protect Your Eyes from the Elements

Wear sunglasses: During the summer, we love to don our sunglasses and enjoy the heat of the sun’s rays. But it is important to remember that even on cloudy days, UV rays can cause damage our skin and eyes. To help protect our eyes, we should wear sunglasses that offer 100% UV protection, opting for polarised lenses when possible. Protect your eyes from wind and cold: Wearing sunglasses isn’t just for the sun’s rays, they also help to block wind and cold air that can dry out your eyes, leading to irritation. Consider wearing protective eye wear, such as goggles or sunglasses, especially when engaging in outdoor activities.

Choose the Correct Lighting

Dim lighting at home or work can strain our eyes. Sit near windows during the day for natural light and use task lighting, like a desk lamp, for activities like reading

Take regular breaks: We are spending more and more time looking at screens, whether it’s our smartphones, tablets, computers, and televisions. The blue light emitted from these screens can strain our eyes. It’s important that we take frequent breaks from screens and practice the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Use blue light filtering glasses: These glasses are specially designed to block or filter out a portion of blue light, reducing its impact on your eyes. These glasses often have lenses with a yellowish or amber tint, which helps to filter out the blue light. Benefits of Blue Light Filtering Glasses: Reduced Eye Strain: By filtering out harmful blue light, these glasses can help alleviate symptoms of digital eye strain. Improved Sleep Quality: Blue light can interfere with your body's natural sleep-wake cycle. By reducing blue light exposure, you can improve your sleep quality. Enhanced Vision Clarity: Blue light filtering glasses can help improve visual clarity and reduce eye fatigue.

Spend More Time Outside

Encourage children to spend time outside; it may reduce the onset of myopia. Adults can benefit from fresh air and natural light too!

Lubricate your eyes: To help avoid dry eyes, over-the-counter eye drops can help relieve dryness and irritation by adding moisture to our eyes.

Resist the urge: When our eyes become dry, they can start to feel itchy, but we must resist the urge to rub them. Rubbing your eyes can further irritate them and potentially damage the delicate eye tissue.

As well as using artificial eye drops, it is important that we remember to consciously blink. Blinking is important to keep our eyes lubricated.

It is important to schedule regular eye exams to monitor your eye health and detect any early signs of damage. a general guideline is to have an eye exam every two years. There are a number of groups that may require more frequent check-ups: People over the age of 60: Annual eye exams are often recommended to monitor for age-related eye conditions like cataracts and macular degeneration. People with diabetes or high blood pressure: These conditions can affect eye health and require more frequent monitoring. Individuals with a family history of eye disease: Regular eye exams can help detect early signs of hereditary eye conditions. People who wear contact lenses: Regular eye exams are essential to monitor eye health and ensure proper contact lens fit. Those with jobs that involve prolonged screen time: Frequent eye exams can help identify and manage digital eye strain. Ultimately, the best way to determine the appropriate frequency of eye exams is to consult with an eye care professional. They can assess your individual risk factors and provide personalised advice.

Consult an Eye Care Professional

If your symptoms persist or worsen, consult an eye doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

How to Protect Your Eyes

Post Date : December 11, 2024
- Eye Health
1 minute read

Winter can be a harsh season for our eyes, with cold, dry air and increased exposure to indoor heating. These factors can lead to a variety of eye problems, including dry eye, eye strain, and increased sensitivity to light.

Here are some tips to keep your eyes healthy during the winter months:

Stay Hydrated

Drink plenty of water: It is important to drink water all year round, but with he changes in environments, going from cold, dry conditions to a heated car or building, your body can experience dryness, and hydration is essential for overall health, including eye health.

Use a humidifier: As the days get colder, it is our instinct to pump the heating up or to get cosy by the fire. Unfortunately, this can affect both our skin and eyes due to the change in humidity. By adding a humidifier, you can help add moisture to the air, especially in heated indoor environments.
Protect Your Eyes from the Elements

Wear sunglasses: During the summer, we love to don our sunglasses and enjoy the heat of the sun’s rays. But it is important to remember that even on cloudy days, UV rays can cause damage our skin and eyes. To help protect our eyes, we should wear sunglasses that offer 100% UV protection, opting for polarised lenses when possible.

Protect your eyes from wind and cold: Wearing sunglasses isn’t just for the sun’s rays, they also help to block wind and cold air that can dry out your eyes, leading to irritation. Consider wearing protective eye wear, such as goggles or sunglasses, especially when engaging in outdoor activities.
Choose the Correct Lighting

Dim lighting at home or work can strain our eyes. Sit near windows during the day for natural light and use task lighting, like a desk lamp, for activities like reading
Reduce Screen Time
Take regular breaks: We are spending more and more time looking at screens, whether it’s our smartphones, tablets, computers, and televisions. The blue light emitted from these screens can strain our eyes. It’s important that we take frequent breaks from screens and practice the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Use blue light filtering glasses: These glasses are specially designed to block or filter out a portion of blue light, reducing its impact on your eyes. These glasses often have lenses with a yellowish or amber tint, which helps to filter out the blue light.

Benefits of Blue Light Filtering Glasses:
- Reduced Eye Strain: By filtering out harmful blue light, these glasses can help alleviate symptoms of digital eye strain.
- Improved Sleep Quality: Blue light can interfere with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. By reducing blue light exposure, you can improve your sleep quality.
- Enhanced Vision Clarity: Blue light filtering glasses can help improve visual clarity and reduce eye fatigue.
Spend More Time Outside

Encourage children to spend time outside; it may reduce the onset of myopia. Adults can benefit from fresh air and natural light too!
Use Artificial Tears

Lubricate your eyes: To help avoid dry eyes, over-the-counter eye drops can help relieve dryness and irritation by adding moisture to our eyes.
Avoid Eye Rubbing

Resist the urge: When our eyes become dry, they can start to feel itchy, but we must resist the urge to rub them. Rubbing your eyes can further irritate them and potentially damage the delicate eye tissue.
Blink Frequently

As well as using artificial eye drops, it is important that we remember to consciously blink. Blinking is important to keep our eyes lubricated.
Regular Eye Exams
It is important to schedule regular eye exams to monitor your eye health and detect any early signs of damage. a general guideline is to have an eye exam every two years.

There are a number of groups that may require more frequent check-ups:
- People over the age of 60: Annual eye exams are often recommended to monitor for age-related eye conditions like cataracts and macular degeneration.
- People with diabetes or high blood pressure: These conditions can affect eye health and require more frequent monitoring.
- Individuals with a family history of eye disease: Regular eye exams can help detect early signs of hereditary eye conditions.
- People who wear contact lenses: Regular eye exams are essential to monitor eye health and ensure proper contact lens fit.
- Those with jobs that involve prolonged screen time: Frequent eye exams can help identify and manage digital eye strain.
Ultimately, the best way to determine the appropriate frequency of eye exams is to consult with an eye care professional. They can assess your individual risk factors and provide personalised advice.
Consult an Eye Care Professional

If your symptoms persist or worsen, consult an eye doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

By following these simple tips, you can help protect your eyes from the harsh winter conditions and maintain optimal eye health. If you experience persistent eye discomfort or vision problems, consult with your Optician or GP.