Making just a few small changes to lifestyle, habits, and diet can make a big difference for aging adults in terms of protecting their vision. Home care assistance can offer a lot of help with many of these changes, too, making them even easier. Here are a few simple steps seniors can take to help protect their vision in the future.
Wear Sunglasses Outside
When seniors are outside, sunglasses help to protect their eyes from damage that ultraviolet rays can cause. UV rays can cause skin damage, but research proves that UV rays can also damage the eyes by causing oxidative stress that causes chemical reactions that affect the proteins in the eye. This leads to cataracts and other eye conditions.
Pay Attention to a Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet is helpful for so many health issues seniors face. It turns out that maintaining a healthy diet also helps seniors save their vision. Dark leafy greens and citrus fruits are high in lutein and zeaxanthin, which can lower the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. Foods high in essential fatty acids, like fish and eggs, can help support retinal health. Seniors should talk to their doctors about what changes they might want to make to their diets to support overall health. Senior home care providers can help aging adults make those changes.
Take Vision Breaks
When seniors watch TV, read, or concentrate on anything that requires vision, breaks help a lot. Every half hour or so it’s a good idea for seniors to look elsewhere and let their eyes relax. This reduces eye strain and eye fatigue, while also avoiding issues like headaches related to both eye strain and fatigue. Home care assistance can help seniors develop new habits around taking vision breaks in a way that’s easy to adapt to.
Stay on Top of Health Issues
Existing health issues as well as possible future health conditions, like high blood pressure and diabetes, have direct impacts on eye health. Making decisions that support good health overall can also help seniors to stay on top of maintaining their vision. Regular doctor’s appointments and following healthcare recommendations also contributes to vision health.
Schedule Routine Eye Exams
Visiting the eye doctor regularly is vital for vision health. Seniors need to visit their eye doctors at least once a year in most cases. These routine visits help eye doctors catch issues before they get worse. If seniors wear glasses or other corrective lenses, it’s also important to make sure that those prescriptions are still up-to-date to avoid eye strain.
Following even a few of these suggestions can go a long way toward helping seniors to experience better eye health overall. Home care assistance can help seniors look more closely at what they need and want to do in order to protect their vision. Making these changes is a lot easier with support, so seniors are more likely to experience success that helps them continue to keep their eyes as healthy as possible.
If you or an aging loved one are considering home care assistance in St. Paul, MN and the surrounding areas, please contact the friendly staff at CareBuilders at Home Minnesota. Call today 612-260-2273.
