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Boozman
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Save Your Vision Week
Rep. Boozman's Column for the Week of March 1, 2004

Washington, Mar 1 -

As an optometrist, I have seen firsthand why good eye care is so important. For fourteen million Americans, eye problems can interfere with daily activities and inhibit the enjoyment of life. In fact, visual impairment represents one of our country's ten most frequent causes of disability. To raise awareness and promote good eye care practices, Congress and the President have dubbed this week “Save Your Vision Week.”

Healthy vision is especially critical to our children's ability to receive a good education and establish a strong foundation in life. According to the American Optometric Association, eighty percent of learning depends on vision, yet eighty-six percent of children entering school have not had a thorough eye examination.

The eyes can tell many things about a person’s health and wellbeing. Good eye care can be used to help detect diseases (such as diabetes) in its earlier stages allowing good time to seek treatment before a worsening of the condition. Taking care of your eyes and frequent visits to the clinic can keep your vision strong and detect signs of eye deterioration or ailments before they start.

Here are some steps to promote healthy eye care:

§ Keeping the eyes clean is the first requirement of healthy eyes. You should wash your eyes everyday with lukewarm water to prevent dryness caused by pollution. To clean your eyes thoroughly, wash them with cold water. Splash water into your eyes for best results.

§ Strong light and ultraviolet rays from the sun are harmful, and should be protected using good quality sunglasses.

§ Rubbing the eyes cause irritation as well as infection, and hence should be avoided. If your eyes are strained, soak cotton balls in chilled water or milk, and keep one on each eye for ten minutes.

§ Hair dandruff can cause inflammation of eyelid margins, therefore keeping you hair dandruff-free is beneficial. For treating dark circles around the eyes, cut slices of cucumber or potato, and keep them on your eyes for 15 minutes.

§ It is essential that you have proper lighting and ventilation in a room to avoid eyestrain; it is always better to have light behind you. Do not read in dim light, or while lying down.

§ Take care to maintain a distance of fourteen inches when reading, and makes sure a room is well lit when watching TV.

§ Good diet is also essential for healthy eyes. Consume a diet rich in vitamin A. This includes a lot of green leafy vegetables like spinach, carrots, papaya, eggs and milk in your food.

§ Exercise your eyes daily. Simple exercises like looking at a distant object and looking at an object at arms length can be done.

§ If you suffer from headaches frequently, get your eyes checked for any defect in vision.

These tips are not only good things to remember for “Save Your Vision Week,” but good habits that can improve the quality of life for a lifetime. With the proper care, you can prevent diseases and enjoy a good quality of life. For more information visit the National Eye Institute at http://www.nei.nih.gov/.