Healthy Eyes for Kids & Adults: 5 Tips for Good Family Eye Health! by Donna John

Keeping eyes healthy is important at any age, beginning with young children.  Lighthouse Guild, the leading not-for-profit vision and healthcare organization, advises everyone to schedule regular screenings and comprehensive eye examinations and offers these five tips!

• Speak up if your vision changes. If you notice blurry spots, blurred vision, halos surrounding lights, eyes that itch or burn, black spots or "floaters," double vision, tearing or watering eyes, or if you find yourself squinting or having trouble reading or watching TV, it's time to make an appointment. An eye doctor should be made aware of any gradual changes in your vision so the necessary actions can be taken to maintain eye health.

• Get regular exams. Your eye doctor will tell you how frequently you should have a dilated eye exam if you have risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension or a family history of eye disease. Otherwise, the American Optometric Association recommends an exam every two years, if you're younger than 60 and are not experiencing symptoms of eye or vision problems, and once a year if you're over 60 and not experiencing symptoms of eye or vision problems.

• Seek urgent care. Seek urgent care if you experience sudden and/or severe eye pain, sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes, light flashes, or if your eyes turn bright red. Any of these could indicate a severe problem and should be addressed immediately.

• Get UV-protected sunglasses. Tinted glasses will not protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.

• Give your eyes a rest from the effects of digital eye strain. This type of eye strain – also known as computer vision syndrome – doesn't permanently damage eyesight, but symptoms could include burning or tired eyes, headaches, neck pain, fatigue, blurred or double vision. To rest your eyes, it's good to look up from your work every 20 minutes, focus on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds (the 20-20-20 rule).

Learn more about eye health by visiting LighthouseGuild.org. 

The information on 30Seconds.com is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered medical advice. The information provided through this site should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, and is not a substitute for professional care. Always consult your personal health care provider.