How to protect your eyes this winter

Winter can leave our eyes feeling dry and itchy however, there are many ways that you can combat the winter weather to protect your eyes and keep them in the healthiest state!

Hydrate

In winter our eyes can often become dryer then usual giving us many of the symptoms of dry eyes including, sensitivity to light and blurred vision which if our dry eyes are left untreated can lead to more serious issues. One of the easiest ways to prevent dry eyes developing is to stay hydrated. Our main hydration actually comes from beverages that we drink, therefore making sure we are drinking lots of water will help our eyes not be as dry as well as helping our skin which is always a good thing!

Have a healthy diet

It’s common knowledge that what we put into our bodies is what fuels us! Therefore, starting at the core and having a healthy diet is so important to help make your organs work properly. As eyes are the second most complex organ after the brain we need to be fuelling them correctly!

Knowing what we should be eating to keep our eyes healthy is a great start. Eating lots of fish and nuts as they are high in sources of Omega 3 and oranges as they are high in Vitamin C will help our eyes. So go ahead and eat carrots with hummus as you stay inside this winter as actually, they’re doing you good!

Practice good hygiene

Although it is ALWAYS important to be practicing good hand hygiene, in winter as conjunctivitis is more common, making sure that we are not touching or rubbing our eyes will help reduce the spread of this virus. Remember to wash hands before eating, or touching your face and use hand sanitizer as a refresher clean for your hands during the day.

Use a humidifier

During winter as we are spending more time inside all wrapped up, using a humidifier in your home will help add some more moisture to the air that will in turn help hydrate the skin and your eyes.

Remember the 20:20:20 rule

As the weather in winter is often bleak and cold, we tend to stay indoors a lot more than other months, and if we are addicted to the latest TV shows we will be spending a lot more time looking at screens. To combat the increased strain on our eyes, and dryness from the lack of blinking from screen watching it is important to remember the 20:20:20 rule.

Every 20 minutes you spend looking at a screen, take a 20-second break and focus on something 20 feet away so that your eyes can have a rest!

In turn, making sure that you take a little extra care of yourself in winter will help your eyes significantly.

However, If you are feeling that your eyes are dry and you do want to talk to a specialist simply click the request an appointment button on the right-hand side of this page.