The Importance of Eye Health for Seniors

 You’ve heard of the Ides of March, but have you heard about the Eyes of March? March is “Save Your Vision Month” (named by the American Optometric Association) and a great time to evaluate and improve your eye health. The American Optometric Association created "Save Your Vision Month" to bring awareness to eye health and important practices to maintain throughout the year. Although eye health is extremely important to everyone, seniors must take extra precautions to have optimum eye health.

As everyone may be aware, eye health decreases as we age for various reasons. Many seniors have issues with age-related macular degeneration or cataracts. If left untreated, these could lead to vision loss and blindness. With nutritional changes and regular eye exams, health problems can be avoided.

Here's a couple tips for better senior eye health. If you'd like to know more about UMH's health initiatives, see our Healthy Living page.

Eye Health Tips

Diet

• An overall healthy dietwill improve all body functions.
• Eat colorful fruits and vegetables like broccoli, kale, oranges, and tangerines; they contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin which are good for your eyes.
• Essential fatty acids such as fish, eggs, and whole grain foods will supply a good amount of these nutrients.
• Vitamin C is important and can be found in vegetables and mainly fruits like oranges, grapefruit, and papaya.
• Don’t forget about Vitamin E which is found in vegetable oil and nuts like almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds.
• Lean red meat, beans, and whole grains all have good amounts of the mineral Zinc, which is needed for good eye health.

Lifestyle Changes

• Always wear sunglasses- Protecting your eyes from damaging UV rays is extremely important.
• When reading, take a break every 30 minutes- This will reduce strain on your eyes, and relieves eye fatigue.
• Check your blood pressure- High blood pressure could be damaging your eye blood vessels.
• Exercise your eyes- Regularly "exercise" your eyes by rolling and moving them side to side
• Visit the eye doctor regularly- Not only does the eye doctor check for health issues, but your prescription may change as you age. If you don't change your prescription as needed, extra stress can be added to your eyes.

Need More Help?

If you'd like more information about healthy activities for seniors, or United Methodist Homes, contact us. We'd be happy to hear from you!