ABCNews published an article on the worst eye care mistakes you are probably making without realizing it and that have resulted in your frequent visits to the optometrist. These are very simple eye care mistakes that we all make every day, but we get the worse for them because they cause us to lose large amounts of money in eye care to eye clinics. You will find out from the list below that as a trendy woman, or man, you are guilty of one or more of these eye care errors:
i. Sleeping in contact lenses
Since contact lenses have become a thing of fashion to many people, rather than lenses designed to cover the cornea in order to correct vision impairment or deliver medication, many ladies have found themselves sleeping with the “device”. Many women are too lazy to remove their contact lenses before hitting the sacks in the evening, and many others find themselves too tired to have to put them on again the following morning. Top medical optometrists advise that it is better you remove them before sleeping in the evenings, and never to sleep in your contact lenses for any prolonged period of time.
ii. Touching and rubbing your eyes
Almost everybody rubs his or her eyes when there is dust or some other foreign bodies in them, and some become so careless as to even touch their corneas – this is very dangerous because this act introduces germs and infections to the eyes. It is also no use trying to remove particles from the eyes with your fingers or that of your partner because of the unseen germs on them. You must also be mindful of the fact that the mucous membranes covering your eyes are for protection, and irritating them could be very harmful to the eyes.
iii. Not getting annual eye exams
The least you can do if you don’t have any eye defects or suffer from any visual impairment is to see your eye doctor once in a year. Some other people may have to see their optometrists or ophthalmologists every month or every quarter because of their peculiar eye conditions; but for you who doesn’t have any reasons to visit these eye experts, there is nothing stopping you from doing so at least once in a year. Don’t forget that some eye conditions give no symptoms nor present any pains or discomforts, but the sooner they are discovered and treated the better it is for you.
iv. Staring at devices all day/night long
With the influx of iPads, iPhones, Tablets, and other communication digital devices in the market, it is getting harder to sleep at nights and during the day. Youths and adults alike keep their eyes peeled on the screen until their visions become blurred and they develop chronic headaches from intentional sleep deprivation. Your eyes suffer from this self-imposed pain and punishment, and your overall health also deteriorates from this indulgence. Stop staring all day and night long at digital devices and learn to rest your eyes.
v. Applying eyeliner to your waterline
No one says you shouldn’t use make-ups and complement them with eyeliners, but be mindful of the fact that eyeliners placed on your waterline could be quite harmful. Most of these eyeliners might mix with tears or contact lenses and harm your eyes with dangerous coating particles. And some other women or ladies also go to the extent of sleeping in their facial make-ups only to start noticing skin irritations and inflamed corneas. Avoid applying eyeliners to your waterline and also avoid sleeping in your facial make-ups, it harms your eyes and face.
vi. Using expired solution, lenses, or drops
Do you bother to check for the expiry dates of eye-drops and cleaning solutions for your lenses before using them? Do you think it shouldn’t really matter if you used any of these things just two-weeks after their expiry? Well, it does matter. Do not use expired cleaning solutions for your lenses and immediately do away with eye-drops that have passed their time.
vii. Relying on redness-reducing eye-drops
It is bad enough that you had irritated, red eyes, but it is also bad enough that you just went ahead to buy a redness-reducing eye-drop from some over-the-counter none-prescription store to treat your red eyes. Instead of engaging in self-medications by treating your sore and red or pink eyes with redness-reducing eye-drops, why don’t you visit the eye specialist to know if there are other underlying factors contributing to your conditions?
viii. Not wearing sunglasses
It is true that sunglasses make you look trendy, hot and chic, but they go beyond being a fashion accessory. It is not also a fashion accessory that is limited to summer vacations and dusty destinations; they are made to typically protect your eyes against the harsh realities of the sun. Sunglasses are largely designed to protect your eyes against harmful sunlight, and to offer protection against UVA and UVB rays. You will be doing your eyes a world of good by wearing them always in bright sunlight, and a lot more good if you wear dark goggles as a welder and factory worker working with bright light flares.