Myopia Control: How to Protect Your Eyes from Myopia
Do you know how important your eyes are? Even as tiny body parts, the eyes play a significant role in improving the quality of life. That said, taking care of your eyes should not be something you do solely because of an appeal by Dr. Allyson Tang optometrist. All by yourself, you should enjoy taking care of yourself. Only then can you protect your eyes from eye conditions like myopia.
What is Myopia?
It is a common eye condition commonly known as nearsightedness. Most of the people with impaired vision under the age of 40 suffer from myopia. The condition makes it hard for patients to read things that are far from them. This means that driving can be difficult for such patients, having that they have problems reading road signs and other far-off objects.
What Causes Myopia?
As you seek aid from an optometrist in Vaughan, it is important to understand why myopia occurs. Usually, the eyeball is longer than it should be. This is regarding the focusing ability and power of the cornea. The impact of this is that light refracts differently. The light rays will focus on one part of the retina, instead of the surface directly. In other cases, the cornea of the patient is too curved, relative to the length of the eyeball.
This eye condition begins in childhood. With age, it progresses. In some cases, the progression will stabilize in early adulthood but it is not always the case.
What is Myopia Control?
Myopia control in Vaughan focuses on slowing down the progression of the condition. A Vaughan optometrist will incorporate different treatment options that can help control the effect of myopia. This will slow down the progressions, reducing the chances of high-risk myopia with age.
Some of the treatment options for myopia control include the following:
- Topical atropine drops
- Outdoors exposure – spending more time outside during your young age reduce nearsightedness. The exposure to the sun rays can help maintain the normal shape of the cornea.
- Peripheral defocus modifying contact lenses
Can You Protect Your Eyes from Myopia?
Ultimately, prevention is always better than cure. This means that if there is something you can do to better your health, it is worth trying. When it comes to myopia, you have to start protecting your eyes at an early age. Some of the tips to help you protect your eyes include the following:
- Regular eye checkups – it cannot be emphasized enough the importance of eye checkups. They are not a prescription for people who have eye conditions. Even when your eyes are healthy and you can see just fine, consider regular checkups. They allow your doctor to detect any eye problems way in advance. This ensures you get the right treatments to cure it and reduce any chances of progressions.
- Control your overall health – people do not realize that they or the overall state of health can affect their vision. Some chronic conditions like diabetes can have a significant impact on the health of your eyes. It is why you should consider controlling your chronic health problems.
- Protect your eyes from the sun – while researches think that time outside can slow down myopia progression, you still have to protect your eyes. The UV rays of the sun are harsh in your body, let alone your eyes. Wear protective eyewear like sunglasses when outdoors.
- Avoid injuries – eye injuries are the worst. They can quickly deteriorate your eye health, even causing permanent vision loss. Consider wearing protective gear for your eyes when indulging in some risky activities like high-contact sports.
- Choose healthy foods – the vitamins and nutrients you gather from foods ultimately affect the health of your eyes. Keep up with a lot of veggies and fruits. Besides, consider foods high in fish content like salmon and tuna. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which benefit your eyes significantly.
- Use good lighting – do not encourage eye-straining situations. They put a stretch on your eyes and can lead to myopia and other eye conditions. Instead, increase and decrease lighting appropriately to help with your vision both during the day and at night.