Tweens and Teens

 


Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

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It is important that your eyes stay healthy because you’ll need good vision for just about every activity you choose—and you want to keep your 20/20 vision for many years to come.  When you see well, you can perform well—on the ball field, in class, behind the wheel or at your desk.  That’s why it’s important to take a few simple steps to make sure you keep your eyesight at its best.

Just like you visit the dentist to maintain your teeth, the best protection for your vision is through regular professional eye examinations.  You may be at special risk for eye problems if there is a family history of eye disease.  Of course, if you notice a change in your vision —or your eye is injured in any way— you should contact your eye care professional.

Nutrition, Exercise and Rest

  • Eat foods rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids.  These two classes of vitamins and minerals are important for healthy eyes.  Most of the foods that contain antioxidants—Vitamins A and C, zinc, selenium and others—and the good kind of fats in essential fatty acids are things you would choose anyway: a wide selection of fruits, nuts, and crunchy vegetables.  Take a look at the US Department of Agriculture’s new food pyramid, making these suggestions part of your healthy, balanced diet.  No time to eat a balanced meal?  Grab some of these fruits and nuts to carry with you and munch on the way to your next class, rehearsal or practice.

  • Avoid junk food - high-fat diets can cause deposits that constrict blood flow in the arteries. The eyes are especially sensitive to this, given the small size of the blood vessels that feed them. 
  • Exercise improves blood circulation, which improves oxygen levels to the eyes and the removal of toxins.
  • Get a good night’s sleep.  It’s tough to fit everything into your schedule, but you’ll feel the difference when you get the sleep you need.  You’ll look great, you’ll perform better in class and on the go—and your vision will last longer. 

 

Wash your hands 

You hear it on commercials and from your parents and it sounds like they’re just nagging… but your hands pick up germs from everything you touch.  Think about the number of things you’ve come into contact with in the last 24 hours:  door handles, railings, counters, wastebaskets, telephones, computers, shopping carts, the ATM machine, the touch-pad at the supermarket checkout lane—not to mention other people! 

Keeping your hands clean becomes more important than ever when it comes to your eyes, especially if you’re a contact lens wearer. When you touch your eye, whatever is on your fingers goes right onto your eye’s surface.  This is one of the most common ways that people catch colds, by rubbing their eyes while they have cold virus germs on their hands.

Some germs and bacteria that come from your hands can cause eye infections, like conjunctivitis (pink eye).  Before you touch your eye—and especially before you put in or remove a contact lens—wash your hands with a mild soap and dry with a lint-free towel.  

Hairspray and Cosmetics

When eye shadow and mascara flake into your eyes, it hurts—and it can scratch your eye in ways that can affect your vision. Here are some simple rules to help you keep your eyes safe while you’re working on your look.

  • If you wear contact lenses, be sure to put them in after you use your hairspray. 
  • Put in your contacts before applying your make-up, to avoid contaminating your lenses with the residue from foundation or powder on your fingers.  Of course, it’s also much easier to apply your make-up when you can see clearly! 
  • Lotions, powders and gels with bits of glitter look cool—but those tiny, shiny specks can get into your eyes and cause irritation and problems with your contact lenses.  After applying glittery gel, be careful not to touch your eyes—and wash the glitter off your hands right away.

On the computer

You’re doing most class assignments on a computer, looking at the screen for hours at a stretch. Once your homework is done, you’re IM-ing friends, chatting on MySpace, watching YouTube videos, or participating on your favorite discussion board.  Maybe you’re hitting the arcade to play video games, or you’re watching TV or playing computer games on your Wii or Gameboy.

These computer images are created from thousands of tiny dots—so there is no distinct image for your eye to actually focus on. You have to focus and refocus to keep the images sharp—and after two hours you end up with the same kind of repetitive stress in your eye muscles that the keyboard causes in your wrists.  It won't cause permanent damage, but it is—literally—a pain.  All of these things take a toll on your eyes—and maybe you’ve already noticed that your eyes feel dry and gritty by the end of the day.

Here are some tips to help:

  • Keep your computer screen within 20"-24" of your eye.
  • Keep the top of your computer screen slightly below eye level.
  • Minimize the distance between your computer screen and any documents you need to reference while working.
  • Adjust lighting to minimize glare on the screen.
  • Blink frequently.
  • Take a break every 15 minutes to focus on a distant object.