Despite being the granddaughter of an optometrist, I have only had one single eye test this millennium. Which isn't great.
Eye health, for most of us, is not at the forefront of our minds. Unless you have glasses, or contacts, it's likely you've kind of forgotten about it altogether. In fact, even if you've got contacts or glasses, there's a fair chance you might have forgotten about it too. In fact, according to new data from the NHS, it's reckoned 14% of us haven't had a check-up in the last five years and at least a third of us are overdue.
Despite that, plenty of people complain about having eye problems; how often does your co-worker moan about how dry and tired and sore her eyes are? And how often do you see someone squint at their screen and go "Oh gawd I'm getting old, I need glasses"?
So yeah, probably book an eye appointment but also perhaps it's time we learned a little about eye health. We decided (for our good and yours) to speak to an optometrist to find out about one of the most common problems people experience: dry eyes. Click through to find out what to do about them, and when you need to be worried.
So according to Sejal Desai, an optometrist at Kite Eyewear, the most likely cause of having dry eyes is age. But recently, there's been another reason: screen usage. "When we look at a screen for a prolonged period of time, we blink less frequently, and often not completely."
Sejal recommends artificial tears to help lubricate your eyes but also says you should consider taking flaxseed oil. "It's a good source of omega-3, which is a polyunsaturated fat and can be used as an effective treatment option as part of a healthy diet." If taking flaxseed oil doesn't appeal, then other sources of omega-3 include oily fish, walnuts, eggs and soybeans.
Perhaps your eyes feel dryer in the morning? It's a fairly common problem, Sejal says. "Believe it or not, not fully closing your eyes when sleeping can leave a small area of your cornea unprotected from the environment around you." To help combat this, she recommends a warm eye mask to help retain the moisture on the front of the eyes.
For those of you who work at desks, not looking at a screen all day is going to require a major lifestyle change. Luckily, Sejal says, intense screen staring won't cause any long-term damage but it will lead to something called "digital eye strain", which could be what's behind your dry eyes and discomfort.
"The best way to overcome this is to take regular breaks and use the 20/20/20 rule," she says. According to this rule, she explains, every 20 minutes, you should take a 20-second break while staring at something 20 feet away.
If you're not good with remembering things, set reminders on your phone.
Apart from, you know, not booking optometrist appointments, there's one other big mistake Sejal sees people making all the time. And that is going to town on rubbing your eyes. "This can cause damage to our eyes in a number of ways," she explains. "Germs from our hands can transfer to our eyes, causing conjunctivitis, or damage or thinning of the cornea in extreme cases."
She says the best way to stop rubbing is to invest in some artificial teardrops to help keep your eyes hydrated. "A cool compress (like a flannel) also works pretty well."
So what else should we be doing to help keep our eyes healthy? "Protect your eyes from UV exposure with sunglasses!" she says, adding that, shockingly, our eyes can be up to 10 times more vulnerable to UV light than our skin.
A balanced diet is extremely beneficial to eye health so Sejal also recommends some supplements for people who can't get all their nutrients through food alone. "Lutein and zeaxanthin are two carotenoids that act as antioxidants which are beneficial for eye health." In food, they're available in dark green, leafy veg like kale and spinach.
Most importantly though, she stresses not to delay on seeing an optometrist! So go on, make that appointment.
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