We make our way through life using our senses. And of all of them, our sense of sight is considered the most important one for managing around. Without sound, or smell or taste, etc. we can still see if something is coming towards us, we can describe most of the things we encounter, and above all – we can read and quickly learn new things.
But our eyes and their whole nervous system are very fragile and must be taken care of. Because if our eyes get damaged they are either impossible or extremely expensive to recover, not to mention how much our whole quality of life would go down. So eyecare is for more than just looking pretty in pictures – it’s for living life to its fullest.
The World View
When looking on the large scale we are not doing so great. Almost a third of the world’s population has some sort of vision impairment, many of which could have had their sight fixed if they had been given glasses early enough. And with bad eyesight comes a lot of other problems, especially if it happens during youth.
The solution to this is a systematic approach of widespread and regular sight checks that can discover problems early on, as well as a culture that encourages people to wear glasses and other forms of help. And not only as a personal burden, but vision impairment has severe economic consequences too, numbering in the hundreds of billions of dollars lost annually due to less work done, or expenses to solve it.
Eyeglasses And Eyecare
However simple they may seem, eyeglasses are a wonderful work of technology and craftiness and are a leading tool for solving hindered sight. And if you click here you can see for yourself how easy to get a pair can be today. It used to be a hassle even a few decades ago, where good producers were scattered far and wide, so getting a new pair meant having to either try tens or hundreds of models until the right one came up.
Eyeglasses, of course, serve a dual purpose – at the same time, they will correct our shortened or lengthened sight with their specific curvature and thickness, and at the same time protect our eyes from physical harm. Shrapnel from metal while grinding, dust when the wind is blowing, UV radiation from the Sun, and so forth. All of these things can cause severe damage to our eyes if we’re not careful enough.
Visiting an Ophthalmologist
Going to the doctor for a check-up should be a regular habit of all people, but even if you do go once or twice a year you will probably be examined for your major organs – the heart, lungs, stomach, maybe your spine, and posture. Having your eyes checked is a different story and usually requires a specialist, but it’s worth going to at least once a year.
The ophthalmologist will easily be able to see if you have any advancing eye sickness, such as cataracts or glaucoma, and will know how to react accordingly. Using a phoropter they will quickly measure the refractive error and determine what eyeglass number is needed for normal vision. Developed health issues are usually impossible to correct and may even lead to total blindness one day, so don’t wait to visit a doctor as soon as you are ready.
Don’t Stare at the Sun
“I swear, doctor, I always wear protective goggles and just took them off for one second…” is heard far too often at the hospital. It may seem redundant to say this again but always protect your eyes.
- Wear protective goggles while in the workshop,
- Use glasses as they were prescribed,
- Wear a mask while fencing, and
- Don’t stare at the Sun (or any screen for too long)!
Reckless behavior can easily lead to losing one eye, or both, and except for a convincing glass replacement or an eye patch – modern medicine cannot do much more in such a case. That is why everyone needs to have a good habit of taking care of their sight in every situation, even if it means taking breaks from work or studying to look away from the screen for a few minutes and let the eyes relax.
So as this organ of our sense of sight is so important it seems strange that nature hasn’t given it more protection except for a pair of lids to cover them from time to time. But seeing how we have to deal with this delicate matter actively – just having a safe routine and a good pair of glasses can go a long way to having perfect sight even when we grow old.