New Years Resolutions for Healthier Eyes in 2019

As you set your health and wellness goals for the new year, make sure you don’t forget about looking after your eye health. Since healthy eyes can improve the quality of your life — take a look at our 8 tips to improve your vision and eye health for 2019:

1. Book your Laser Vision Correction

Make a resolution to start the New Year with new and improved eyesight!
The New Year is an excellent time to proceed with laser eye surgery for a variety of reasons. For starters, it’s a New Year’s resolution that can have life-long beneficial results!

To give you a helping hand to help achieve this goal, we are currently offering a Summer Laser Eye Surgery Discount! This amazing discount is applicable across all of our world-class laser vision treatments (including SMILE and Lasik). Get in quick as this special offer will only be available this  January through till the end of  February 2019, where all our laser eye surgery procedures will cost: $2744.00 per eye ($5488.00) for both.

To kick-start 2019 off with great vision, call 0800 63 93 93 to book your FREE initial assessment with our specialist team. It could be your best decision of 2019!

2. Schedule a Comprehensive Eye Exam

Many eye conditions – including those that are potentially blinding – don’t have early symptoms. Therefore, to maintain your vision and keep your eyes healthy into your senior years, we recommend that you have a comprehensive eye exam every one to two years for adults ages 18 to 60 and annual exams for people aged 61 and older.

However, if you have a family history of glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetes, high blood pressure or have had an eye injury, you should make sure you have a comprehensive eye exam more frequently (at least once a year) to protect your vision unless otherwise instructed by your doctor.

3. Maintain a Healthy Balanced Diet

Healthy vision begins with a balanced diet filled with lots of fruit and vegetables. Leafy greens and vegetables high in beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, such as spinach, sweet potatoes, kale and carrots, contain many nutrients and antioxidants that help to keep your eyes performing their best.

To help prevent dry eye, incorporating fish (which is a great source of omega-2 fatty acids) into your  diet can help to protect vision and assist in tear production. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like cold-water fish, walnuts and almonds can boost your eyes health; helping to reduce your risk of macular degeneration, glaucoma and more.

4. Wear Sunglasses

Our eyes need protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Overexposure to the sun has been linked to several eye conditions including cataracts. To protect your eye health, wear sunglasses that offer 100 percent UV protection. Remember, your eyes are at risk of sun damage year round, so be sure to wear sunglasses even on cloudy days and during the winter and fall seasons.

5. Look After Your Eyes at Work

In today’s highly digital world, digital eye strain is a phenomenon that occurs in people of all ages and primarily affects those who frequently use digital devices including, but not limited to, computers, tablets, smart phones, televisions and gaming devices. Therefore to prevent digital eye strain, make sure you follow the 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, take your eyes off your computer and look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 second.

6. Exercise

Frequent exercise is essential in maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI), which helps prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but it is also important for keeping your eyes healthy. Over the last decade, several studies have found a connection between sedentary lifestyle and an increased risk of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Therefore making the time for regular exercise each day in 2019 will help to boost your defence against serious health conditions in the future. You will find that not only will you have more energy and will feel healthier, but on top of that, you’ll also know that you’re doing a lot of good for your long-term vision health.

7. Stop Smoking

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in New Zealand, as it harms nearly every organ in your body — including your eyes. Studies show that smokers are at significantly greater risk of macular degeneration, uveitis, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye and infant eye disease (women who smoke during pregnancy transmit dangerous toxins to the placenta, potentially harming the unborn child).

It’s never too late to quit smoking and enjoy the benefits of a healthier lifestyle and ultimately, a healthier body. Quitting smoking at any age can reduce your risk of developing many sight-threatening eye conditions. For these reasons, if you are a smoker, we highly recommend you put this one at the top of your 2019 new years resolutions list! To get help and find useful support resources to achieve this goal, visit https://quit.org.nz/

8. Wear Protective Eyewear

Each year, thousands of patients visit the emergency room due to sports-related or workplace-related eye injuries. If you play sports like basketball or baseball, or work with heavy machinery, chemical or other objects/substances that can harm your eyes, it is essential that you wear the right eye protection to avoid potential injuries like trauma, corneal abrasions or fractures of the eye socket.

For more information on how to improve your eye health for 2019, schedule an appointment with Auckland Eye. Contact us by calling 0800 25 53 93.