20 Steps You Can Take to Maintain Healthy Vision: Women’s Eye Health & Safety Month 

In our first blog post celebrating Women’s Eye Health & Safety Month, we looked at eye conditions that commonly affect women and the reasons behind prevalence of eye disease and vision loss in women. In this post, we identify 20 ways women can address their eye health and vision proactively.

1. Monitor your vision regularly and contact your eye doctor if you notice any changes in your vision: This can lead to early diagnosis and treatment if you are developing eye problems.
2. Receive an annual dilated eye exam: This can lead to detection of eye problems that you may be unaware of.
3. Live a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly: Good overall health is good for eye health.
4. Maintain healthy weight and control diabetes closely: Cardiovascular health is important for eye health, and diabetes can lead to increased risk of eye disease such as diabetic retinopathy.
5. See your primary care physician (PCP) regularly for routine physical examinations: Checkups with your medical doctor can lead to early detection of diseases that can affect general and eye health.
6. Eat a healthy diet rich in water, leafy green vegetables, oily fish, and fruits and low in sodium and caffeine: Water, leafy green vegetables, oily fish, and fruits can contribute to eye health, while sodium and caffeine can detract from it.
7. Take nutritional supplements, including vitamins C and E, lutein, omega-3 fatty acids, and zeaxanthin, as recommended under the supervision of a doctor: These have been recommended by the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) as part of an eye-healthy diet.
8. Do not smoke: Smoking affects overall health, as well as eye health.
9. Be aware of vision changes that can occur with pregnancy and during / after menopause and discuss with your eye doctor: Hormonal fluctuations during and after these life events can affect eye health and vision. Your eye doctor can help you understand important warning signs and develop a schedule for routine checkups and exams.
10. Visit your eye doctor regularly during pregnancy and discuss any vision changes immediately: Changes such as gestational diabetes can affect vision and lead to vision loss, making it important to see your eye doctor regularly during your pregnancy and immediately if changes occur for early diagnosis and treatment.
11. Understand how medications and therapies such as birth control, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), fertility treatments, and breast cancer-related therapies can affect your eye health: Each of these can lead to dry eye syndrome and vision changes / impairment, and knowing warning signs is vital to maintaining healthy vision.
12. Get to know your family’s history of eye disease: Certain eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma are hereditary, and if any of your relatives have a history of hereditary eye disease, you may be at increased risk.
13. Learn your risk for developing hereditary eye disease, the symptoms to be aware of, steps you can take to minimize your risk, and when to contact your eye doctor: This will empower you to make choices and decisions that will help you maintain your eye health and vision.
14. Discuss other health conditions you may have with your doctor and eye doctor, including autoimmune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), rosacea, and Sjogren’s syndrome, diabetes, and gestational diabetes: These diseases can increase your risk of developing eye problems and vision loss.
15. Contact your eye doctor if you develop dry, watery, scratchy, itchy, or puffy eyes, your sensitivity to light increases, or you experience any changes in eyesight, including floaters and flashes: These can be signs of eye disease and should be evaluated by your eye doctor immediately.
16. Wear UV-blocking sunglasses and a brimmed hat outdoors: UV rays from the sun can damage eyes, so keeping eyes protected is important to maintaining eye health.
17. Use cosmetics safely: Cosmetics can lead to eye irritation, inflammation, or infection if not used properly. PreventBlindness.org provides recommendations on safe use of cosmetics.
18. Use contact lenses safely: Contacts can lead to eye irritation, inflammation, or infection if not used properly. PreventBlindness.org provides recommendations on safe use of contacts.
19. Take SeeJaneSee.org’s Adult Vision Risk Assessment: This can help you understand your risk for developing eye disease and be a resource for you and your eye doctor.
20. Visit SeeJaneSee.org for more resources for women and caregivers: SeeJaneSee has many useful resources for healthy eyes and publishes helpful relevant news regularly. 

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Of course, eye health should always be undertaken under the care of an eye doctor. If you have questions about your eye health or any of these recommendations, we are here to discuss them with you. Please contact us to schedule an appointment, checkup, or routine dilated eye exam with your eye doctor. 
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