Category: Eye health

Men are increasing less likely to attend to their eye health than women, according to the latest Medicare Report on the use of optometry services by age from 2013 to 2020.

In 2020, 42.27% of men used an optometry service compared to 57.73% of women. This is a figure that has been steadily dropping each year for the past ten.

It shows that men are continuing to neglect their eye health to the detriment of their overall wellbeing. They blame work or their busy schedule for not looking after their eye health.

As men’s eyes age, it is important that they are encouraged to look after them.

Eye Health Tips

As we get older, our eyes, like the rest of our body, ages, but there are things we can do to maintain good vision and healthy eyes.

1. Ageing Eye

We need to be mindful of the implications of our ageing eye.

When we move into our 40s, we have problems focusing on things up close and develop presbyopia. If dimming or clouding of vision occurs cataracts may be an issue. These are things your optometrist can help you with.

2. Food for Eye Health

Aside from wearing sunglasses, or safety glasses, to protect your eyes, men can look after their eye health by eating healthy – fish, nuts, wholegrain, leafy green vegetables, berries, and citrus fruits – foods pumped with vitamins A and C and omega-3 fatty acids are great foods for eyesight improvement.

3. Work the 20-20-20 Rule for Eyes

If you are spending hours on end looking at the computer screen, give your eyes a break by applying the 20-20-20 rule, simply look 20 feet in the distance every 20 minutes for 20 seconds.

4. Do Not Smoke

We know from the general health messages that smoking is bad for us in general. We know it causes heart disease and lung cancer. What you may not know is that studies highlight that smoking is a major contributing factor to the early onset of age-related macular degeneration.

Smoking also ages us quickly particularly around the eyes. Nicotine causes the blood vessels in the upper layer of your skin to narrow, resulting in a disrupted flow of blood, increasing wrinkles and dark circles around the eyes.

5. Stop Eye Rubbing

When our eyes itch our natural tendency is to rub our eyes, but rubbing your eyes is bad for your eyesight.

We would not rub our eyes up against a keyboard but that is basically what we are doing when we touch our eyes without washing our hands. Our unwashed hands carry hundreds of thousands of tiny bacteria.

When your eyes get itchy or you have something stuck in them, clean your hands for at least 20 seconds, using soap and clean water and dry them with a clean towel, then, wash your eyes out with sterile saline or a lubricant eye drop.

Artificial tears can help stop the itch that makes you want to rub your eyes and will keep them hydrated.

Encourage men in your life to book a regular eye examination with their local Eyecare Plus optometrist.

Men tend to adopt a “she’ll be right” attitude when It comes to their eye health, says Optometry Australia’s Chief Clinical Officer, Luke Arundel.

“They soldier on or tough it out when it comes to their health in general and their eye health is no different.”

According to the latest Medicare Report on the use of optometry services by age from 2013 to 2020, men are increasing less likely to attend to their eye health than women.

Last year 42.27% of men used an optometry service compared to 57.73% of women, a figure which has been dropping each year for the past ten.

It is a significant stat which highlights that men are continuing to neglect the health of their eyes to the detriment of their overall wellbeing.

Today, with more knowledge and awareness at our fingertips, men are still baulking at seeing doctors, following through on their appointments, and blaming work or their busy schedule for not looking after their eye health.

Men’s health advocates agree that men and their families need to have meaningful discussions about the factors that keep them healthy in body and mind.

A man’s eye health, in particular, his ageing eye, is an important part of that conversation.

Prevent Vision Loss

As men grow older, they need to be more diligent and take greater care of their eye health to avoid vision loss from preventable eye conditions such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

“Vision loss prevents healthy and independent ageing,” says Luke Arundel.

“When you consider that 90% of vision loss is preventable or treatable, having regular eye examinations by your optometrist should be part of everyone’s commitment to living their best life.

“It is simple, easy and painless to get an eye test, one that will help preserve good vision for life.”

Vision loss impacts our overall health, placing a person at a greater risk of developing depression and anxiety.

If a person’s vision is not managed correctly by having regular eye examinations, it can also negatively impact their sense of self-worth and social connectedness, particularly if they lose their driver’s license.

Eye Safety

Eye safety and eye injury are significant areas for men to be more mindful of.

Men who work in trades and as labourers are less willing to wear safety glasses or protective eyewear when working, and yet they are at the greatest risk of a foreign object damaging their eyesight.

In fact, men accounted for 83% of cases in which optometrists had to remove a foreign body embedded in the eye. And it is not just at work that men need to wear safety glasses to protect their eyes from flying shards of metal or timber, consider too work done in the backyard or garage.

It is important that men (of any age) to wear safety eyewear when gardening, doing home handyman work, mowing, basically anything where a small particle, flying object, or piece of dust could fly into the eye.

UV Protection for Eyes

Men’s eyes need to be protected when outside.

Sun protection is a message we constantly hear, however, even though men know the risk of sun exposure in Australia, 31 per cent do not own UV protective sunglasses and 32 per cent believe sunglasses are unnecessary.

Living in Australia it is critical for all of us to understand the consequences of sun damage to the eye.

Prolonged exposure to direct UV light from the sun and reflective light can significantly damage the eyes and can result in serious eye conditions including cataracts, macular degeneration, pterygium or photokeratitis.

When outside – in summer and winter (in fact all year round) – your eyes should be protected from harmful UV rays by wearing sunglasses with UV protection.

Clouds will not protect your eyes from these harmful rays, nor will shade as your eyes can be damaged by indirect light, from the side or reflected off those bright surfaces you find yourself squinting at, or looking away from, such as the footpath, snow, sand, or water.

Encourage all men in your life to book a regular eye examination with their local Eyecare Plus optometrist. It is the easiest way to combat preventable vision loss which could impact a man’s overall sense of wellbeing.

It has been just over a year since Australia identified its first case of the deadly coronavirus which at the time was responsible for 41 deaths from 1,320 cases reported globally. Now, a year later, deaths are soaring past 2.5 million.

It is an understatement that life has changed dramatically over this time with most of us making significant adjustments to how we live with the disease.

Eye Test Cancellations

Many people, particularly the elderly, have put off having an eye test because of fears or concerns about the safety of having an eye test. As a vulnerable group, the fear of contracting COVID-19 is very real.

During FY 19-20 optometrists provided 630,000 less consultations (7% decrease) than the year before. Alarmingly there was a drop of 20% for low vision consultations, the group most in need of eye healthcare.

As a result, optometry groups are concerned that if left untreated there could be a significant increase in the number of people who may possibly lose their sight, particularly those with vision-threatening conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy.

If treated, approximately 90 per cent of blindness or vision impairment is preventable.

It is important that people who have these debilitating conditions keep their eye health appointments as they require constant follow-up and monitoring. It is vital that regular eye examinations are maintained to prevent any vision loss.

Optometrist Hygiene Protocols

Optometry as a profession understands the concerns patients have about COVID-19 and have put in place protocols to protect patients.

These safety protocols, outlined by Optometry Australia for their members to use in practice, include:

1. Observing the ‘Five Moments of Hand Hygiene’ before touching a patient, before and after a procedure, after touching a patient and their surroundings.
2. Greeting patients with a wave instead of a handshake.
3. Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces between each appointment with an alcohol wipe or a pre-mixed alcohol/bleach solution.
4. Remaining 1.5m from patients whilst taking a patient history and speaking with a patient
5. Using slit lamp shields to reduce potential droplet transmission.

Furthermore, optical dispensing and other practice staff use alcohol wipes to clean all rulers, pupilometers, pen torches and other equipment before and after patient consultations. When patients try on frames they are separated and cleaned with an alcohol based solution.

Immediate Appointments Needed

You should see your optometrist immediately if:

• your eyes are sore, swollen, or red
• your eyes are unusually sensitive to light or glare
• you feel sudden or severe eye pain
• you experience sudden vision loss
• there is a green or yellow discharge from your eyes

Our eyesight plays a major role in our lives, a fact that cannot be neglected. It is important that we look after them to maintain proper eye health.

Book an Eye Test Today

Book an eye test today to see your local Eyecare Plus optometrist, particularly if you have macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy.

Most of us understand that the best way to look after our heart is to reduce cholesterol, eat a balanced healthy diet, do regular physical activity, get a good night’s sleep, and avoid smoking and drinking.

We know that if we do these things over weeks, months, and years, we will reap the rewards and reduce the risk of having a heart attack and developing heart disease.

What you may not know is that by having a healthy heart you are also reducing the risk of eye disease.

It is true: the eyes really are the windows to the heart.

The Heart and Eye Study

A recently published study states that if we look after our heart, by leading a healthy lifestyle, we are much less likely to develop eye diseases, particularly diabetic retinopathy.

There is an “association between eye diseases and individual lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity, or hypertension,” explained lead investigator Duke Appiah, PhD, Texas Tech University, USA.

“It is known that these metrics of ideal cardiovascular health do not work alone and may interact additively to result in diseases. However, prior to our research, no other studies have comprehensively evaluated the association of all the metrics of ideal cardiovascular health with ocular diseases.”

At least one billion around the world suffer from moderate to severe eye diseases as a result of refractive error, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, trachoma and near vision impairment caused by unaddressed presbyopia. Eye problems that could be prevented or treated.

The study highlighted that “primary prevention and early detection approaches of ocular diseases are important, considering that over half of all deaths from ocular diseases and cardiovascular diseases are known to be preventable,” commented co-investigators Noah De La Cruz, MPH, and Obadiah Shabaneh, MPH, Department of Public Health, Texas Tech University, USA.

A Healthy Heart Equals Less Eye Problems

People with the best possible heart health have a 97 per cent lower chance of getting diabetic retinopathy compared with those with poor cardiovascular health. Healthy lifestyle practices also reduced the risk of getting age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma.

It can be difficult to know whether you have any form of eye disease as many symptoms do not show up in the early stages. As a result, people may not seek treatment even though options are available.

It is important that patients have regular eye checks to screen for eye diseases. Because there is a substantial connection between eye health and cardiovascular diseases, it is important to incorporate eye health appointments with your optometrist in with all other clinical appointments, especially those relating to screenings for any form of heart disease.

Hopefully, the results of this study will encourage people to adhere to healthier lifestyles and behavioural habits to help reduce the impact of age-related heart and eye diseases.

Book a regular appointment with your local Eyecare Plus Optometrists so they can detect and treat preventable eye diseases.

A healthy diet, active lifestyle and regular eye examinations can provide immediate and long term benefits to your eye health.

It is important to have a regular comprehensive eye exam so that your optometrist can detect vision problems or eye disease long before you are aware that a problem exists.

A recent report however stated that a high proportion of people feel that they should only see their optometrist if they have obvious problems such as not being able to see objects far away (82%) or up close (81%).

Many others (31%) believe that eating carrots is good enough to improve their eyesight.

Whilst carrots are high in antioxidants beta carotene and lutein, which have several beneficial effects on our eye health, there are many other vegetables which contain lutein and zeaxanthin which are better for our eyes. These include corn and leafy greens such as spinach, turnip greens, broccoli and kale which are full of antioxidants.

As well as these vegetables there are a number of other foods which can give our eyes a nutrient boost including fresh fruit, nuts and whole grains which contain vitamin E and omega-3 found in fish which can help reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and slow the progress of cataracts.

Eating nutritious food for eye health can also help slow down or prevent the progression of many other diseases, aside from AMD and cataracts, including:

Dry Eye

This is caused by a chronic lack of moisture and lubrication on the surface of the eye. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, tuna and sardines or flaxseed oil supplements can help to reduce dry eye symptoms.

Retinal Vein Occlusion

This occurs when one of the veins in the retina becomes blocked. High cholesterol and diabetes are two diseases that can cause this eye condition.

Retinitis Pigmentosa

This is a genetic degenerative eye disease that can lead to blindness. A report has shown that people with the disease, over a four to six year period, who stick to a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids experience a slower decline in distance and visual acuities.

Diabetic Retinopathy

This is an eye disease in people who have diabetes which can cause vision loss and blindness. Exercise, a healthy lifestyle, and diet, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption can help prevent this eye disease. Regular eye check-ups help to detect early symptoms, which may not be obvious. Avoid sugary drinks and foods with added artificial sugar such as processed and fast foods.

Eating for Eye Health

The Macular Disease Foundation Australia’s (MDFA) ‘Eating for Eye Health’ cookbook by Ita Buttrose and chef Vanessa Jones is loaded with delicious recipes made up of the foods we should eat to keep our eyes healthy.

The book features more than 90 recipes, carefully selected to make it easy to prepare delicious, nutritious meals that are good for our eye health featuring fish, yellow and dark green leafy vegetables, fresh fruit, and nuts.

Contact your local Eyecare Plus optometrist to book your next eye examination.

https://www.eyecareplus.com.au/Although lockdown restrictions are slowly easing, the COVID-19 environment has caused most of us to change the way we live our lives and look after our vision.

Traditionally May is known as Macula Month, the time of year we focus on helping you understand the risks of macular disease – the most common being age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

AMD is the single biggest cause of severe vision loss and blindness in Australia. Many people do not know they are at risk.

A comprehensive eye examination with your optometrist to check your macula will help you identify whether you are at risk of macular disease.

AMD Risk Factors

An easy way to remember AMD risk factors is to keep your vision S.A.F.E:

1. Smoking

Smoking causes you to be four times more likely to develop AMD

2. Age

One in seven people over the age of 50 have signs of AMD

3. Family History

A family history is the main risk factor for AMD

4. Eye Exams

A comprehensive eye exam is the only way to ensure AMD is picked up in its early stages

Healthy Vision Tips

While spending a lot more time at home, and out of your normal routine, it is important to know how to care for your eyes.

Here are four tips for keeping your eyes healthy and knowing the warning signs for when you need to seek help.

1. Keep AMD Appointments

If you have already been diagnosed with a macular condition like wet AMD or Diabetic Macular Edema, and you are receiving eye injections or laser treatment, it is important to attend those appointments. Missing an urgent appointment for an eye injection or laser treatment can cause irreparable vision loss.

2. Identifying Eye Emergencies

If you experience sudden changes in your vision, have eye pain or discomfort, new red eye symptoms, flashes of light or new floaters in your vision, recent eye trauma or new onset double vision – call your optometrist for advice immediately.

If you are concerned about leaving your home to go to an eye appointment, be assured that your local optometrist has put in place extra sterilisation and distancing protocols to ensure patient safety.

3. The Amsler Grid

Use an Amsler Grid to help you detect changes in your vision. If you are over 50, use an Amsler grid once a week. It takes a minute or two. If you already have a diagnosed macular disease, use it daily. Your local optometrist will be able to provide you with an Amsler Grid.

4. Have an Eye Healthy Diet

We encourage you to have an eye healthy diet that is rich in nutrients to support a healthy macula. It is as simple as eating oily fish a couple of times a week, eating plenty of dark green leafy vegetables and fresh fruit daily, and having a handful of nuts a week. Choose low glycemic index carbohydrates and limit your intake of fats. You can find recipe ideas by downloading a free Macula Menu from the Macular Disease Foundation.

If you have any questions about macular disease and whether you are at risk, or how to keep your vision safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, contact your local Eyecare Plus optometrist or the Macular Disease Foundation.

MDFA has a range of free publications, covering everything from disease information, to diet and supplements to support macular health. The National MDFA Helpline is 1800 111 709.

As restrictions ease, now is a good time to book a comprehensive eye examination with your local Eyecare Plus practice so they can check your macula to help you identify whether you are at risk of macular disease.