Get a clear view
Start taking care of your eyes, especially your retinas, today.
This week, September 19 to 25, we are celebrating World Retina Week.
The week places the spotlight on the importance of looking after your eyes and in particular your retinas.
Bernadette Campbell, group nursing service manager at Clinix Health Group, explained that the retina is a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye.
It is near the optic nerve and its purpose is to receive light that the lens has focused, convert the light into neural signals, and send these signals on to the brain for visual recognition.
“The retina plays a vital role in vision so any damage to the retina can cause permanent blindness,” she said.
Conditions such as retinal detachment, where the retina is abnormally detached from its usual position, can prevent the retina from receiving or processing light.
This prevents the brain from receiving this information, leading to blindness.
“Preventative care is the best way to steer clear of any eye damaging conditions.
“The most important thing to remember is regular eye screening.
“The early stages of eye disease often have no symptoms.
“However, an annual eye exam with an optometrist or ophthalmologist can provide early detection of eye disease.
“Early detection and proper treatment, may prevent long-term damage and in some cases restore vision impairments,” said Campbell.
Wearing sunglasses to protect the tissue of the eyes is also important.
“Try to always wear sunglasses when outside to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays,” she said.
Campbell added that living a healthy lifestyle and eating the correct foods can assist in keeping your eyes healthy.
“There is definitely some truth in the saying ‘eat your carrots so you can see in the dark’ because certain foods contain vitamins and minerals that help keep our eyes healthy,” she said.
She said that the cells of our bodies, eyes included, need antioxidants to protect against disease.
A diet containing vitamins A, C and E, as well as the minerals selenium and zinc offers protection against age-related health concerns, cataracts and other eye diseases.
“Try to eat mainly fresh vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, nuts and seeds and avoid refined sugars, fried foods and highly processed foods,” Campbell said.
“Vitamin A, which can be found in liver, eggs, carrots, spinach and milk, for example, is essential to retina health as it aids the eyes in adapting from light to dark, helping to prevent night blindness.
“Selenium and zinc help the body absorb and use antioxidants to protect against disease.
“These are also important for good eye health and can be found in nuts, proteins like fish, beef and chicken, as well as chickpeas and ginger, to name but a few.”
Campbell urged parents to teach their children about caring for their eyes and to take their children for regular eye checks.
“Prevention is better than cure.
“Let’s get pro-active this month and make sure our eyes remain healthy,” she said.
Other articles you may be interested in:
World Retina Week in September
