Steps to Eye Care
Determine your visual acuity. A colleague of mine- an Ophthalmologist was sitting on the passenger side while the husband was driving. She read the plate number of a motor car about 6meters ahead and the husband wondered how she could see the plate number without using binoculars. He got a pair of myopic (short sighted) glasses that week. You can practically become an eye doctor of sorts by placing a calendar on the wall of your house and looking at the small prints from the other end using one eye at a time. The correct chart for doing this is a Snellen’s chart placed 6meters ahead of you.
You need to wash your face every morning with your sponge and soap to remove dirt and potential unseen foes like bacteria, viruses and fungi. You also need to wash your hands properly.
When applying eye drops, make sure the tip of the bottle does not touch your eyes to prevent re-infection. Drop it from a small height.
Immunize children against Measles and Whooping Cough to prevent future blindness. Children’s diet, fortified with vitamin A, is best for your children.
Many people go about their daily chores without knowing whether one eye is seeing better than the other until when the doctor shows them so. Close each eye and check how far the other can see regularly.
If you wear glasses you need to check once a year to know if things have changed. Do not assume. This is because the eyeball and structures within grow throughout life.
Never apply native medication or any form of self medication, like camphor, urine, breast milk, sugar water, acid, battery water, onions, e.t.c because they have been shown to make simple eye conditions worse and cause blindness.
Food substances that promote eye nutrition are those rich in vitamin A such as; carrots, green leafy vegetables, yellow fruits, palm oil, egg, milk,
Avoid injuries and foreign bodies in the eye by wearing protective goggles at work, supervising children at play, school, and in carrying out domestic chores.
Be careful when removing carbonated drinks from the fridge or freezer as they may explode and cause serious eye injuries.
Use glasses with ability to filter ultraviolet light to prevent development of cataracts and pterygium in the eyes.
