Healthy Eye Habits
What are some foods you should eat to keep your eyes healthy?
Leafy greens contain many essential nutrients for eye health. They are also packed with antioxidants that act as an internal “blue light filter,” helping protect the macula of the eye. Fried foods and foods with excess sugar can damage blood vessels, cause inflammation, and more
True or False: Is rubbing your eyes safe to scratch an itch?
False. Rubbing your eye can cause debris to scratch the surface of your eye, potentially causing more damage.
What are some signs you might need glasses?
Signs you need glasses include blurry vision (near or far), frequent headaches, eye strain/fatigue, squinting, difficulty seeing at night, double vision, and seeing halos or glare around lights.
What part of the eye makes the pupil bigger or smaller?
The colored ring around your pupil—known as the iris—makes the pupil bigger and smaller to allow less or more light into the eye (if its dark it makes the pupil larger and if it’s bright it makes the pupil smaller)
What is an Optometrist?
A doctor who examines eyes for vision problems and disease.
How does exercise benefit your eyes?
It can improve blood circulation and help your eyes get more nutrients and oxygen from the blood. It supports overall eye function, potentially preventing abnormal blood vessel growth and improving tear production, making your vision healthier and more resilient. It also reduces the risk of serious eye conditions.
Why do athletes wear eye gear when playing sports?
Eye gear can serve as a physical barrier between any unwanted debris or bacteria and your eyes to help prevent injury and infection.
What is myopia?
Nearsightedness! A person with nearsightedness has difficulty seeing things far away. Myopia is generally caused by light focusing in FRONT of the retina and not directly on top of it.
What's one part of the eye that helps bend light?
The cornea is the eye's clear, dome-shaped outer layer, acting as a protective barrier against germs and UV rays while also refracting (bending) light to help focus images on the retina.
The lens is a clear, flexible structure behind the iris and pupil that focuses light onto the retina, changing shape (accommodation) to focus on near or far objects, similar to a camera lens.
Name the Job: A person who helps people get glasses and contacts, takes measurements, and ensure proper fit and comfort
An optician is a skilled technician who fills eyeglasses and contact lens prescriptions, helping customers select frames and lenses, taking measurements (like pupillary distance), fitting them for comfort, and making adjustments, but they do not perform eye exams or diagnose/treat eye diseases
What is the 20/20/20 rule?
For every 20 minutes spent looking at a screen, look 20 ft away for 20 seconds. The purpose of the 20/20/20 rule is to prevent digital eye strain (Computer Vision Syndrome) by giving your eyes regular breaks from screens, reducing symptoms like dry eyes, headaches, and blurred vision, and helping to relax the focusing muscles
Why should you not look directly at the sun?
Too much sunlight directed onto your retina at once can cause damage. You can think about directing light with a mirror and it causing something to burn because the amount of light rays generates a lot of heat.
What is hyperopia?
Farsightedness! A person with farsightedness has difficulty seeing close-up objects. Hyperopia is generally caused by light focusing behind the retina rather than directly on it.
What is the purpose of the colorful dot patterns with hidden numbers that eye doctors sometimes show patients?
These images are called Ishihara plates and help doctors detect certain forms of color blindness. For example, someone with red/green color blindness may have difficulty seeing the number in the image
If you need surgery on your eyes, which type of doctor would you go to?
An ophthalmologist! Ophthalmologists are medical doctors (MDs or DOs) specializing in comprehensive eye and vision care, diagnosing and treating all eye diseases, performing eye surgery, and prescribing glasses/contacts.
Not sleeping enough can cause...?
Not sleeping enough can cause dryness, light sensitivity, and eye fatigue. Rest is crucial for tear production, cell repair, and lubrication, with chronic deprivation increasing the risk of infections and serious conditions like glaucoma.
How do we prevent our eyes from getting infected with unwanted bacteria and germs?
Washing your hands before touching your eyes helps prevent unwanted germs and bacteria that are on your hands from entering your eyes.
What is astigmatism?
It is a common eye condition where the cornea or lens has an uneven curve (like a football instead of a basketball), causing blurry vision at all distances, headaches, squinting, and eye strain, as light focuses improperly on the retina
What does 20/20 Vision mean?
What you see at 20 feet is what a person with average vision sees at 20 feet. 20/20 vision does NOT mean you have the best possible vision, as you can have even better vision than 20/20. 20/20 is a reference point eye doctors use to gauge whether corrective lenses are needed
True or False? An eye exam is only necessary if you're having vision problems.
False, an eye exam is not only necessary for vision problems; it's crucial for overall health, as it detects serious issues like glaucoma, cataracts, and even high blood pressure before vision changes occur.
Excessive screen time does *NOT* cause...?
Eye strengthening! Excessive screen time primarily causes Digital Eye Strain (Computer Vision Syndrome), leading to dry, irritated eyes, blurred vision, headaches, and neck pain due to reduced blinking and constant focusing.
What is the first thing you should do if you get something in your eye?
Tilt your head and gently rinse with a steady stream of clean, lukewarm water or sterile saline from a shower, faucet, or eyewash cup for several minutes, blinking often.
Why do polarized sunglasses help with eye health?
They reduce eye strain and harsh glare. Polarized sunglasses work by using a special chemical filter with microscopic vertical slits that block intense, horizontally polarized light (glare) reflecting off surfaces like water, roads, or snow, while still allowing vertical light waves (useful vision) to pass through.
How do the retina and optic nerve work together to help us see?
The retina detects light and turns it into signals. The optic nerve carries those signals to the brain, where they are interpreted as images.
True or False? You can get the same eye problems as the ones your parents have.
True! Many eye diseases have genetic components, making some people more susceptible. Knowing your family's eye health history helps you and your eye doctor monitor your eyes more closely, allowing for earlier detection and management of potential hereditary conditions