Our eyes do a lot for us. They allow us to easily navigate the world around us, enable us to explore and enjoy the beauty of nature, art and the written word, they allow us to fully live out lives, right? So, it is really important that we take the time to take care of them as best we can. Here are seven eyecare tips that will help you protect your eye health.
1. Hydrate from the inside
Your tear film is basically fancy salt water. Fail to drink enough and it dries faster than sun cream on Brighton beach. Aim for six to eight glasses of fluid daily. Water is obvious, but herbal tea, diluted squash, and the odd coffee all count. Fizzy drinks loaded with sugar do not qualify, unless your goal is to turn your bloodstream into syrup.
2. Blink like you mean it
When you stare at a laptop for hours, your blink rate drops from a sprightly twenty times a minute to about five. The result is sore, scratchy eyes by mid-afternoon. Train yourself with the 20-20-20 rule. Every twenty minutes, look twenty feet away for twenty seconds and blink several times on purpose. It feels daft for a week, then becomes second nature.
3. Deploy quality drops
Even model blinking can fall short on dry train carriages or aeroplanes. Keep a tiny bottle of artificial tears in your bag. Pharmacists rave about Thealoz duo eye drops because they combine trehalose with hyaluronic acid, giving long-lasting lubrication without the sting some preservatives cause. One or two drops restore comfort, and the bottle is small enough to pass airport security without a debate.
4. Outsmart the light
Ultraviolet radiation ages the retina as surely as it ages skin, so sunglasses are more than a fashion flourish. Choose lenses marked UV400 and big enough to cover the whole orbit. Polarised glass helps if you drive or sail, cutting glare so you are not squinting like a budget Clint Eastwood. Wide-brim hats add shade, plus they hide the questionable fringe trim you gave yourself during lockdown.
5. Feed them properly
Lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3s, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and E all support ocular tissue. In real food terms, think spinach, kale, eggs, oily fish, nuts, seeds, and bright orange veg. A lunchtime salad and a weekly salmon fillet are easier than swallowing heroic supplement tablets that look like chalky torpedoes. Your waistline and cholesterol will send thank-you notes as well.
6. Practice hygienic contact lens habits
If you wear lenses, wash hands first, use fresh solution, and ditch them before the wear period ends, not three weeks after. Sleeping in day lenses traps bacteria under a plastic saucer all night, practically an all-inclusive resort for infection. Give your corneas a break by wearing glasses one or two evenings a week. They can double as a statement accessory when you forget eyeliner.
7. Book the blinking optician
Eye tests are not just for updating prescriptions. Optometrists check eye pressure, peripheral vision, and the health of blood vessels at the back of the eye. That means early warning for glaucoma, macular degeneration, and conditions linked to diabetes or high blood pressure. Under sixty? Go every two years. Over sixty or driving for a living? Make it annual. The NHS covers many people, so money is rarely an excuse.
Your eyes are your window to the world, so take good care of them.
