How to Keep Your Eyes Healthy This Fall
As the weather cools down, children prepare to go back to school, and autumn holidays approach, don’t forget about your eye health. Common fall eye problems such as dry air, UV exposure, and Halloween costume mishaps can have lasting effects on your vision. Here are 6 easy steps you can take to protect your eyes this season.
1. Use Eye Drops to Alleviate Dry Eye Symptoms
As the air gets dryer and cooler you may suffer from symptoms of dry eye including itchiness, redness, blurry vision, excess tear production, and more. Try using a humidifier, wearing wraparound sunglasses, or using eye drops to alleviate these symptoms. Click here to learn more about reducing symptoms of dry eye.
2. Prepare for Back-To-School with a Comprehensive Eye Exam
From the classroom to the playground your child’s eyes play an important role in their development. Receiving an annual comprehensive eye exam will ensure your child’s vision is healthy and their eyes are functioning properly so that they can excel in school, sports, and other activities.
3. Keep up the UV Protection
With summer winding down you may be getting ready to store away your sunglasses. However, UV rays can still cause serious permanent damage to your vision, no matter the season. Whether you opt for clear, self-tinting or polarized lenses make sure they offer 100% UV protection to keep your vision clear and your eyes healthy.
4. Only Wear Costume Contacts Prescribed by an Optometrist
Decorative contacts are a popular accessory when it comes to Halloween. However, whether corrective or decorative, contact lenses should always be prescribed and fitted by an eye care professional. Wearing non-prescription contacts can result in corneal scratches, allergic reactions, infections, and even blindness. If you are considering using decorative contacts in your costume this year, protect your vision and talk to your optometrist about which costume contact lens options are right for you.
5. Wear Protective Eyewear When Doing Yardwork
Raking, blowing leaves, or performing other yard maintenance can fling dirt and debris into your eyes causing eye injuries, infections, and possible vision loss. The best way to avoid these injuries is to always wear safety eyewear when doing any yard work. To learn more about our safety eyewear program, click here.
6. Wash Your Hands and Avoid Touching or Rubbing Your Eyes
As fall allergy season approaches, touching or rubbing your eyes can transfer spores, pollen, and allergens to your eyes. This can irritate your eyes and increase your risk of developing an eye infection. If you wear contact lenses, this is especially important as the moist surface of your contacts can cause these irritants to build up over time. Make sure you are properly cleaning and disinfecting your contact lenses regularly or talk to your eye doctor about switching to a daily replacement option.
While fall is full of festive events, the season also poses many potential risks to your eye health. Taking simple steps such as wearing protective eyewear while raking, avoiding touching or rubbing your eyes, and only using contacts prescribed by your optometrist can help you avoid unwanted eye infections and injuries this fall.
