Maintaining optimal eye health can help you enjoy a better quality of life as you age. There are several proactive steps that you can take to prevent certain eye problems that may limit your vision and even lead to blindness. Here are some of the most effective ways to keep your eyes in excellent health.

Get the Right Vitamins and Nutrients

Eating foods or taking supplements that contain vitamins and nutrients that are known to promote eye health can help enhance your vision for life. Vitamin A, which is found in tomatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes, has long been known as one of the best vitamins for vision. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish are also good for the eyes. Healthline.com further recommends eating foods that are high in zinc, lutein, and beta-carotenes.

Wear Safety Eyewear

Sunglasses can be worn to shield the eyes from the harsh sun rays that may harm vision, but there are other types of safety eyewear that should be used at certain times. If you work in an industrial environment where projectile objects might fly at any time, wearing safety goggles can prevent anything that’s sharp or otherwise harmful from getting into the eyes. Safety eyewear can additionally be worn while engaging in sports like hockey, racquetball, and paintballing.

Get Properly Screened

Getting regular exams from a trusted eye doctor can help prevent potential eye problems from becoming more serious conditions. During your exam, your optometrist can check for conditions like glaucoma that might be developing without you realizing. There are also genetic tests that can determine whether you’re more at risk for developing age-related macular degeneration and other conditions that are known to be hereditary. With an accurate diagnosis, you and your optometrist can work together to try to cure or at least delay the onset of any conditions.

Follow Recommended Treatments

If your optometrist has recommended a treatment plan to correct vision problems or an eye disease, it’s important to follow the advice. Cataract surgery along with FDA-approved sustained release cataract surgery steroids to alleviate postoperative inflammation can work well in treating cataracts if you’ve been diagnosed with the condition. Wearing eyeglass lenses or contacts that have the correct prescribed strength will also be important for maintaining optimal vision for the long term.

Protecting your eye health should be one of your main priorities in life. If you follow the right steps, you may be able to avoid some of the problems that can decrease your vision permanently.