By Jan Engoren
Pooja Garg, an ophthalmologist and retina specialist at Delray Medical Center, has a simple warning for people: “Don’t take your eyesight for granted.
“Your vision is part of your overall health — be preventive and proactive,” she says. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
The National Eye Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health, says vision loss can hurt people’s quality of life, creating challenges in everyday life and causing fear, stress and anxiety.
Eye health is of particular interest this month since Oct. 10 is World Sight Day, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
Some serious eye conditions, including glaucoma, macular degeneration and retinal diseases, do not display noticeable symptoms until significant damage has already been done.
Among her older patients, Garg said cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy are most common. Symptoms of retinal diseases may include spots or floaters in vision.
To maintain eye health, Garg recommends getting annual checkups; eating green leafy vegetables and fatty fish such as tuna and salmon; avoiding tobacco use; and wearing UVA and UVB eye protection to block harmful sun rays, which may cause cataracts.
She notes that wearing wraparound sunglasses or polarized lenses can reduce glare and she touts the benefit of contact lenses with UV protection, something she uses herself.
As a vegetarian, Garg doesn’t eat fish, but takes an omega-3 supplement that can promote eye health and help with dry eyes. She also recommends wearing protective eye gear if you’re playing sports, or working in construction or with dangerous chemicals that might splash in your eyes.
She advises using a blue light filter for computer screens and setting your phone screen on the night setting to reduce the blue light. Using any digital devices, including TVs, computers, phones or tablets, can cause dry eyes and eye fatigue.
“If you are spending a lot of time on your computer, rest your eyes periodically and add any over-the-counter brand name of artificial tears,” Garg said, noting it’s best to use a reputable brand name and not a generic or store brand.
According to the American Foundation for the Blind, vision loss falls within a spectrum, ranging from total blindness to so-called low vision, which can’t be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, medication or surgery.
More than 50 million American adults experience a degree of vision loss, as indicated in the government’s 2022 National Health Interview Survey. Of these, 3.89 million adults have trouble seeing, even when wearing glasses, and 340,000 cannot see at all.
By 2050, the National Eye Institute expects the number of people with visual impairment or blindness to double.
Besides a healthy diet and annual checkups, what can you do to maintain eye health? Here’s some advice:
• See your ophthalmologist when you have flashers or floaters.
• See your doctor if you experience sudden blurry or fuzzy vision (especially in one eye). This can be a sign of age-related macular degeneration or a detached retina.
• If straight lines suddenly appear to be wavy, check with your doctor. This is also a sign of ARMD.
• If you experience double vision, especially in both eyes, call your doctor. This may be an indication of a stroke, or, if you are also experiencing sudden eye pain, a symptom of glaucoma.
Visit nei.nih.gov or retinaeyedoc.com to learn more.
Jan Engoren writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to jengoren@hotmail.com.
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