Our eyes put up with a lot. Hours in front of the TV or computer, ambient low lighting in a restaurant, squinting into the sun while driving (even with sunglasses)—the list goes on and on. And despite how important our eyesight is, we tend to take it for granted.
There are certain habits, in particular, that we continue to put our eyes through that are actually quite damaging. If any of the following sounds familiar, now’s the time to stop. You’ve only got the one pair after all.
1. Rubbing or Touching Your Eyes
Whether they’re dry, itchy, or maybe an eyelash got in, touching or rubbing your eyes with your fingers and hands is not advised.
Right off the bat, picture all the things you touch and handle throughout the day and really think about how often you’ve washed your hands. Probably not a whole lot. When you start rubbing and touching your eyes, all the things you touched that day can now become transferred to your eye. That includes germs, bacteria, and anything else that can make you sick or cause infection.
Worse yet, the more that you rub your eyes, the more that minor tears in the tissue can occur. They can break and damage capillaries, and you might end up with visible veins (which can make you look older) or with dark spots around the eye.
When your eye is feeling itchy, keep your eyelid closed to avoid any germs from entering your eye and be gentle with rubbing. It can damage blood vessels and cause inflammation. Overall, keep your hands away from your line of vision, and wash them before rubbing or touching your sensitive eyes.
2. Skipping an Eye Exam
You may think that as long as you can see your surroundings, you have no problems with your vision. (If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.) So you continue to put off that eye exam appointment because you feel your eyes are fine. Not good!
Just because you can see alright doesn’t mean there aren’t any issues developing. Whereas the rest of your body will cause you pain when something is wrong, your eyes do not have pain receptors and, therefore, symptoms reveal themselves in different ways.
An ophthalmologist or optometrist has the expertise and the equipment to give you an accurate diagnosis and the best advice for your eye health. They can spot any issues, minor or major, and help to resolve or prevent anything that may put your vision at risk.
Don’t wait until you notice a difference in your vision to see an eye doctor. By that time, it may be too late. Regular visits are a must, especially as you get older.
3. Using Expired Eye Health Products
Do you have a habit of holding on to medications, eye drops, or solutions? Well, if you’ve been looking at the same bottle for quite some time, it’s probably past its expiry date and should be thrown away. Just because drops and solutions aren’t something you ingest through your mouth, they are still being absorbed into your body and can be dangerous once they expire.
