Posted by: Aker Kasten Eye Center in Macular Degeneration on September 30, 2015
A lot of us do a lot of things to keep up and even improve our appearance. We try to exercise regularly. We try to eat more of the healthy foods and less of the bad ones. We replace eyeglasses with contacts – or with cooler looking glasses. But wouldn’t most of us do that and more if we knew it could save our vision? For most people, that is an easy question to answer. So let’s decide to take action today. And if you already have the disease, some of the things you’re doing (or not doing) every day may be making the disease worse and putting you at risk for additional vision loss in the future.
Certain lifestyle choices may help prevent macular degeneration
Even if you are older or have a family history of this vision-stealing disease, there are things you can do to slow down, maybe even eliminate, its effects. Some of these lifestyle changes are ones you’ve heard before because they’re recommended to improve overall health and longevity. Now you’re going to see why changing some of your daily habits could also save your sight:
1.) Stop smoking. Completely.
Statistics show that smoking increases your risk of developing macular degeneration two to five times. If you have a family history of macular degeneration, smoking could increase your risk by up to 200 times.
2.) Protect your eyes from ultra violet light. Even on cloudy days.
Whenever you go outside, wear sunglasses (and a hat or visor) that screen 99-100% of ultraviolet A and B rays and blue light that can damage the retina. This damage may increase the chance of developing macular degeneration and speed up its onset.
3.) Get healthier. Inside and out.
What’s good for your body is good for your eyes. So eat foods high in antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids; reduce sugar intake; control your blood pressure and cholesterol; exercise regularly and maintain a health weight.
To learn more about macular degeneration, talk to us at your regular eye exam (another way to help prevent the disease). Call today: (561) 338-7722.