9 tips to keep your eyes healthy for as long as possible

The risks of eye disease (and what you can do to reduce them).

In general, you can say that growing older brings an increased risk of eye diseases. So there is little you can do to change that. However, there are also a number of other things that further increase the risk of eye disease:

• Diabetes
• High bloodpressure
  • Click here if you have high blood pressure and want to read more about what you can do about it.
• Overweight and obesity
• Heredity – eye disease runs in your family

If one or more of these factors apply to you, I recommend that you read this blog carefully and follow my tips.

Risk of eye diseases? Which one then?

There are many different types of eye diseases and here I discuss four of them. They are very common and I think my tips will have the most effect on them.

Some of my tips – such as taking a high-quality omega-3 pill every day ( click here for our selection aid ) – support the healthy functioning of your eyes in general and therefore apply in all cases.

The four important eye diseases for which you can reduce the risk with a healthy lifestyle, diet and supplements:

• 1. Diabetic retinopathy
• 2. Macular Degeneration (AMD)
• 3. Dry eyes
• 4. Glaucoma

1. Diabetic retinopathy

What is diabetic retinopathy? Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that can cause reduced vision and even total blindness in people who have diabetes. This applies to all types of diabetes. So both type 1 and 2 and gestational diabetes. Many people with diabetes eventually suffer from diabetic retinopathy to a greater or lesser extent.

85% of people with type 2 diabetes are at risk of eye problems after 20 years. People with type 1 diabetes even has a 95% chance.

What happens in diabetic retinopathy?

The lens of the eye is behind your iris (the colored part around your pupil). Behind the lens is the vitreous and behind the vitreous is the retina.

There are two common eye problems in people with diabetes. The first is varying visual acuity. This is because the sugar level in the blood affects the strength of the eye lens and makes it unstable. This causes the sharpness of vision to fluctuate, which is annoying but not serious.

The second, much more serious problem is that the blood vessels in the retina become damaged. In many cases this is a very gradual process that does not even cause many complaints in the first phases of this eye disease. When diabetic retinopathy reaches an advanced stage, the blood vessels in the vitreous become permanently damaged and leak blood into this part of the eye. Dark spots and scars that cause permanent damage are the consequences. Immediate treatment can stop this process but not reverse it.

Diabetic retinopathy and omega-3 fatty acids

2. Macular Degeneration (AMD)

What happens with macular degeneration?

The macula is located in the center of the retina and is also called the yellow spot named. This part of the eye contains cells that play an important role in the ability to convert light into images and therefore see clearly.

Once these cells become damaged, the center of the field of vision becomes clouded and images you see become less sharp and darker. Although fortunately your vision will not disappear completely, AMD will:

• You are less able to distinguish faces
• It becomes more difficult to participate in traffic
• It becomes more difficult to cook or do chores

Your eyesight is therefore strongly affected and clearly deteriorates.

When are you at extra risk of AMD?

Although aging is the main risk factor for macular degeneration, there are a number of other factors that make you more likely to develop AMD:

• Smoking
• It runs in the family

Macular degeneration and omega-3 fatty acids

3. Dry eyes

With dry eye disease (or Dry Eye disease), there is either insufficient tear fluid in your eyes, but it may also be that the tear fluid present is of insufficient quality. If your eyes are not protected by the correct ratio of water and oil in the eye fluid, you can develop dry eye disease. It can permanently damage your eyes.

What happens with dry eyes?

The mucous membrane of your eyes, the tear gland and the sebaceous glands in your eyelids produce tear fluid, the so-called tear film. The tear film is important for protection and healthy functioning of your eyes.

The tear film consists of 3 layers and protects your eyes against dirt, dust and infections. A healthy tear film ensures that you can see clearly and clearly. If the composition of the tear film is disturbed, dry eye disease occurs.

Causes of this disruption can be:

• The tear film dries too quickly due to evaporation.
• The composition of the tear film is disturbed, so it cannot properly protect your eyes.
• The sebaceous glands in your eyelids do not function properly, for example due to inflamed glands on the edge of the eyelid.

Maintaining the healthy functioning of the glands in your eyelids is particularly important. These glands provide the outer layer of tear fluid, which also contains healthy fats and fatty acids such as omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. And this outer layer determines the evaporation rate of your tear film.

If you have dry eyes, you probably have one or more of the following complaints:

• A burning sensation
• Red eyes
• Troubled by light
• Not being able to see clearly
• Watery, slimy eyes
• Feeling like there is sand in your eyes
• or as if wind is blowing across the surface of your eyes.

This can cause permanent damage to your eyes. A stinging feeling as if something is in your eye

Do you have one or more of these complaints? Take them seriously and have your eyes examined by an ophthalmologist. Are you in?

How is dry eyes treated?

Fortunately, there are a number of treatments that can help with dry eyes:

• Use artificial tears in the form of drops, gel or ointment
• Sufficient blinking
• Clean the eyelid margins well
  • The Rotterdam Eye Hospital has made an information video about this. You can see this video here .
• Slow down the evaporation of tears
  • By wearing special lenses
• Slow down the drainage of tears
  • By placing plugs in the tear drainage
• Watch your diet

Dry eyes and omega-3 fatty acids

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is the name for a number of eye diseases and eye conditions that can cause vision loss and even blindness. In most cases, this eye disease is caused by excessive eye pressure. The blood supply to the eye and optic nerve also plays an important role.

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness worldwide. It is estimated that approximately 80 million people in the world suffer from this. According to the WHO, 7.7 million people are severely visually impaired or blind because the disease was left untreated. This number is only expected to increase. Unless something improves in the prevention and treatment strategies.

What happens in glaucoma?

In glaucoma, the optic nerve and the nerve fibers contained within it are affected.

This is usually a result of increased eye pressure, but this is not necessarily the case. So you can also have increased eye pressure without having glaucoma. The other way around is also possible. That you have glaucoma without increased eye pressure. There are also other causes that can affect your optic nerve. For example, poor blood flow to the optic nerve.

The course of the disease is gradual. Most people have no complaints in the early stages and therefore do not know that they have glaucoma. And that is what is so dangerous about glaucoma. Because even if you have no complaints, your optic nerve is becoming increasingly damaged.

At a certain point you will increasingly suffer from a reduced field of vision. Initially you will be less able to perceive your surroundings, but the center of your vision will still be clear. The moment you notice that your surroundings are becoming less clear, there is already a significant loss of nerve fibers.

When are you at extra risk of glaucoma?

Anyone can get glaucoma, but the risk increases as you get older. About 1% of the population aged 40-50 has glaucoma. For people over 70 years of age this is 4% and for people aged 80 and over this percentage is 6%.

Affected nerve fibers can no longer recover. That is why it is important to have your eyes checked regularly. Eye exams can identify glaucoma at an early stage so you can have it treated.

Glaucoma and omega-3 fatty acids

Eye examination

Having your eyes examined regularly can reveal eye diseases at an early stage. There are various eye examinations, but you will benefit most from a comprehensive eye examination in which your pupils are dilated.

Extensive eye examination

During a comprehensive eye examination, your eyes are tested and examined for a number of things.

The research consists of the following parts:

• Visual acuity is measured (how well you can read letters)
• The visual field examination (how large is your field of vision without moving your eyes, peripheral vision)
• The muscles of your eyes are tested (how quickly do your eye muscles respond to slow and fast movements)
• The eye pressure is measured, tonometry (this is done with a puff of air or a small device)
• Retina and optic nerve examination (to inspect this, you will receive drops in your eyes to dilate your pupils.)

The tests don't hurt.

Eye diseases should be treated at the earliest possible stage. This prevents worsening of vision loss. After all, with many eye diseases you have no complaints in the beginning. The only way to be sure of your eye health is to have regular, comprehensive eye exams.

How often should you have your eyes examined?

How often you should have an eye exam depends on your risk of eye disease. I recommend that you have your eyes examined at least once a year if:

• You have diabetes
• You are in menopause
• You are over 60 years old
• You have high blood pressure

Ask your doctor how often you should have your eyes examined. Only through examination will you know whether your eyes are healthy. Hopefully they are and you can safeguard your eye health by following the following tips to maintain your eye health.

10 tips to reduce the risk of eye disease and keep your eyes healthy for as long as possible

Practical lifestyle and nutritional tips that you can follow immediately and that can reduce the risk of a decline in the healthy functioning of your eyes.

Tip 1. Wear sunglasses

Protect your eyes from the sun and wear sunglasses that block at least 99% UVA and UVB radiation. Also wear these on cloudy days because the sun also emits radiation.

Tip 2. Wear eye protection goggles

As soon as you start exercising or doing chores in and around the house, wear glasses that protect your eyes against external influences.

Tip 3. Handle contact lenses hygienically

Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before touching your lenses. It is also smart to regularly renew and disinfect your lenses. Hygienic handling of your contact lenses can prevent eye infections.

Tip 4. Ensure a good healthy lifestyle

Make sure you maintain a healthy lifestyle. For example, eat healthy food, green vegetables and healthy fats. This contributes to good eye health.

Read more about this in our blood pressure blog.

Tip 5. Stay active

By actively exercising you reduce the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

Read more about cholesterol here and how to lower cholesterol levels without medications.

Tip 6. Quit smoking

Smoking is not only bad for your lungs. Smoking increases your risk of macular degeneration and other diseases. Do you find it difficult to quit smoking? Ask your doctor for support.

Tip 7. Make sure you get enough sleep

On average, a person needs seven hours of sleep. Try to achieve this and stop looking at your (phone) screen when you are in bed. Staring at your screen just before you go to sleep is not good for your sleep or your eyes.

Tip 8. Use computer, tablet and phone screens safely

Although the use of screens is almost unavoidable, it is wise to use them safely. To protect your eyes, do the following things when you work behind a screen:

• Hold the screen 50-60 cm away from your eyes
• Make sure the top of the screen is slightly below eye level
• Adjust the screen brightness so that the brightness is not harsh
• Blink your eyes regularly
• Every 20 minutes, look intently at something far away from you

Take a screen break.

Tip 9. Take omega-3 daily

Finally

I hope you found this blog useful. Leave your comment (tips or tops both welcome) under the blog or post a review via the pink bar or button. And take action immediately!