8 ways you don't realise you're putting your eyes at risk

A lot of us are guilty of taking our sight for granted but no one stays young forever and whether you're lucky enough to have perfect vision, or already have glasses or contacts, there are some very simple things to be aware of.

We spoke to David Ruston, an expert at Johnson and Johnson for his advice on how you may be putting your sight at risk...

1 NOT EATING ENOUGH LEAFY GREENS

'Green leafy vegetables are really good for the eyes. The best is kale, and the old stories about carrots are true, carrots are good for the eyes, and also in nutritional terms, oily fish.

2. NOT WEARING SUNNIES

People know with the skin to not be out in UV rays too long but very few people know that ultra violet light is a major cause of cataracts, and also it is believed to be a cause of retinal disease.

It actually isn’t about protecting your eyes at the middle of the day like you do your skin, but when the sun is lower, like it often is in the UK.

3. WEARING THE WRONG SUNGLASSES

If you buy sunglasses with a C mark on them they should have good UV blocking. The only problem with sunglasses is that if they aren’t wrap around, the UV gets in round the side and actually it gets focused by our own eyes, on a certain point of the eye.

4. SMOKING

The major risk [for the eyes] is something called macular degeneration, which is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, so it is the centre part of the vision, basically gets very poor, so people can still find their way about but can't read or watch TV. Smoking is one of causes of this.

5. NOT TAKING ENOUGH SCREEN BREAKS

It is obviously very tiring; people tend to complain about eye problems if they are doing a lot of screen things all day long. The usual advice we give to people is to make sure they are blinking regularly, otherwise it dries your eyes out and makes them uncomfortable and make sure your blinking once every 10 seconds or so. Take little breaks, look away from the screen, across the office to change your focus now and again.

6. THE WRONG ANGLE OF YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN

Make sure the screen is slightly down, you should be able to look over the top, so when looking at the screen you’re looking slightly down and that will be a more comfortable and natural for the eyes.

7. NOT TAKING OFF YOUR MAKE-UP

If you get the glands around your eyes, by the tear glands, blocked up it can lead to dry uncomfortable eyes as you get older. If you look at older people, the way their eyes look from the outside, you may notice they have missing eyelashes, they have red eyelids and the white bit has gone dull and red, they don’t look so pretty. If you were to use makeup and block those glands, there is a chance you could get that.

8. DOING SPORT WITHOUT PROTECTION

If you’re playing a sport like squash, my god your eyes are at risk, so definitely wear eye protection. Squash is about the worst possible sport for eye damage, you must wear proper eye-protecting eyewear, with properly contact-resistant lenses.

I would advice anyone that goes swimming to use well fitting goggles, so you can see properly and keeps them out of the water. I would also say to any contact lenses wearer not to wear your contact lenses as there are risks with water and contact lenses - there are risks to a very rare infection, ideally don’t expose with contact lenses.'

Source: womenshealthmag.co.uk/health/female-health/2604/8-ways-you-dont-realise-youre-putting-your-eyes-at-risk#ixzz3U0xmVHxP