5 Steps You Can Take to Prevent Glaucoma
Proactive measures, such as regular comprehensive eye exams, avoiding serious eye injuries, and following your doctor’s treatment plan, can help preserve vision and lessen the risk of blindness. Eat a diet rich in leafy greens and colorful vegetables. Exercise moderately, but avoid exercising to exhaustion, as this could overload the auto-regulatory system and raise intraocular pressure. Here are 5 steps you can take to prevent glaucoma diagnosis.
Get Regular Eye Exams
People often only realize they have glaucoma once it is too late, which is why regular comprehensive eye exams are essential. By administering pupil-dilating drops to the eyes during examinations, doctors can assess whether the pressure has reached levels sufficient to cause damage to the optic nerve and peripheral vision.
Take Early Diagnosis & Precautions
Glaucoma treatment techniques and plans typically involve administering eye drops multiple times daily. You should help your elderly loved ones set and adhere to a schedule for taking eye drops regularly, as this will reduce permanent vision loss and may even help decrease pressure in their eyes. You could also encourage exercise as this increases blood flow to their eyes, potentially decreasing pressure.
Stay Connected With Your Doctor
Inform your ophthalmologist of any medications you are taking, especially steroids, which can increase eye pressure. Switching to non-steroidal options whenever possible would be recommended. Head-down positions, such as using an inversion table or sitting in a recliner for extended periods, can further exacerbate eye pressure issues.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
A healthy weight reduces your risk of glaucoma by reducing eye pressure. Moderate exercise and eating healthily will help you achieve or maintain this goal, as will opting for moderate exercises like walking or lightweight training to lose or maintain a healthy weight.
Work Out Properly
Be wary of high-intensity workouts that increase heart rate and blood pressure; opt for more low-impact activities like brisk walking or light weight training. Also, avoid exercises that lower the heart rate, such as headstands, handstands, inversion tables, etc.
Regular exercise and diet can also help lower eye pressure. Brisk walking, moderate-intensity aerobic exercises, and eating plenty of leafy greens and fish are healthy habits that may support eye health.
Be sure to inform your ophthalmologist of any medications, such as steroids or high blood pressure drugs, that could increase eye pressure. Sleeping well is also crucial and can reduce glaucoma symptoms. Here is everything you need to know about Glaucoma Surgery.
Get Enough Rest
Staying well-rested can also reduce your risk of glaucoma by helping to regulate your blood pressure and practicing good oral hygiene (i.e., brushing twice daily and flossing). Furthermore, seeing your dentist regularly to prevent gum disease that may contribute to glaucoma is also recommended.
Take Healthy Diet
Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and nutrients such as vitamins C and E, carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, copper, and zinc has all been linked with improved eye health and decreased risks for glaucoma.
Avoid Smoking
Although not guaranteed to prevent glaucoma, quitting smoking will improve eye health. Smoking reduces blood flow to the optic nerve, increasing eye pressure. Furthermore, smoking increases your risk for other medical issues like cardiovascular disease, which could worsen glaucoma further.
Smokers must avoid engaging in contact sports such as racquetball or squash and power tools without appropriate eye protection since injuries from such activities could potentially cause short-term or permanent structural changes leading to glaucoma years later.
Get Regular Medication Checks
Due to glaucoma’s unpredictable nature, it’s essential that once your eye doctor prescribes treatment plans for you, you adhere to them exactly. This could involve multiple doses of eye drops per day or pills to lower intraocular pressure; additionally, rubbing your eyes should be avoided, and specific activities such as vigorous exercise and yoga poses that invert your head may also be advised against.
Follow Your Prescribed Medications
As part of your medical regimen, always take your medications at their prescribed times and inform your physician of any other health conditions such as high or low blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, or prolonged corticosteroid use (which can increase eye pressure). In addition, it’s wise to avoid smoking, sleeping with one eye on a pillow, or using contact lenses if you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.
As with anything, eating healthily and staying physically active are also key to managing cancer risk. Studies have demonstrated that eating leafy green vegetables, colorful fruits, and berries and exercising at a moderate pace can significantly lower risks.
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Get a Comprehensive Eye Exam
As part of your strategy to prevent glaucoma, scheduling regular eye examinations is vital. An exam can detect early symptoms before noticeable problems develop – this is especially essential if there is a family history or over 40 risks.
Your eye care specialist may use various tests to evaluate your eyes, such as an air-puff test to measure eye pressure. They may also conduct other eye pressure measurements like gonioscopy and serial tonometry, which take multiple readings at various points over time to check for changes. Other assessments could include visual field tests, corneal thickness and angle tests, and optic nerve imaging.
If you have glaucoma, medication may help lower eye pressure and slow its progression; in severe cases, surgery or other treatment may be required. To protect your eyes, avoid rubbing them and contact with irritating materials like dust and chemicals; wear high-quality polarized sunglasses when exposed to sunlight; and sleep in an optimal position recommended by your ophthalmologist (for details).
Conclusion
Proactive measures such as regular comprehensive eye exams, avoiding severe eye injuries, and following your doctor’s treatment plan can help preserve vision and lessen the risk of blindness. These steps can significantly reduce the risk of glaucoma and help maintain healthy vision. If diagnosed with glaucoma, early detection, and proper management can slow its progression and preserve vision loss and blindness.
Call Bagan Strinden Vision For Glaucoma Treatment & Surgery
Experience top-quality eye care with Bagan Strinden Vision! From glaucoma treatment and general eye care to eyelid procedures, laser eye surgery, and cataract surgery, we are dedicated to preserving and enhancing your vision. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and see the world more clearly!
