It must be realized that like every other part of your body, your eyes must be taken care of too, in order for them to stay healthy and strong. Your eyes are not invincible and you need to look after them. Here are some of the common mistakes that people do that can have horrible consequences for their eyes:
Wearing Your Contacts For Too Long
Wearing contacts for too long can cause permanent scarring and loss of vision. While it can be tempting to stretch the wear of your contacts, it’s not worth the consequences. Why?
- Contacts rest on the top of your corneas, which don’t have any blood vessels to bring oxygen to them. Your tears do that, but because of the contacts acting as a barrier, the tears can’t reach the corneas as well.
- If not cleaned regularly, your contacts will build a film around them, which will also block the flow of oxygen to your corneas.
Because of this lack of oxygen, you run the risk of your corneas breaking down and becoming more vulnerable to germs. So, if you are a contact lens wearer, follow the guidelines to avoid any wear and tear on your eyes, as well as any eye infections.
Rubbing Your Eyes
This can be considered a seemingly harmless act, yet it’s one of the most common things people do to their eyes. If you are rubbing your eyes that means your eyes are bothering you and there is a reason for that. If you have something stuck on the surface of your eye, rubbing it will just make it go deeper, and can cause tears in your cornea, resulting in a trip to the doctor.
Resist the urge to rub your eyes and let your eyes naturally get rid of the obstruction. When you blink, the tears will likely wash the debris away. If that doesn’t work, trying using eye drops to flush your eye out.
Using a Tube of Mascara for Too Long
Mascara comes with an expiration date. Eyelashes are a breeding ground for germs, so every time you swipe your lashes with a mascara wand then put it back into the tube, you are just spreading those germs around. Be safe and throw out your eye makeup according to the expiration date, just to be on the safe side.
Leaving Your Sunglasses at Home
If you are out, and realize that you forgot your sunglasses at home, take the time to go out and buy a pair. Even if you don’t look directly at the sun, the glare bouncing off the floor, waves, sand etc. can result in photokeratitis (sun blindness). You are essentially giving your corneas a sunburn which can lead to a temporary loss of vision.
Repeated eye exposure without sunglasses can lead to long term problems like cataracts or skin cancer on the eyelids.
Wearing Your Contacts in Water
Whether you are swimming in the ocean, relaxing in a hot tub or taking a shower, try to avoid exposing your contacts to any kind of water. There is a reason why it is often advised to NOT put your contacts in water instead of a sterile saline solution. Water is a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites, which can lead to vision loss in its worst case scenario.
Doing DIY Projects Without Eyewear Protection
This could seem harmless but doing home improvement task without goggles can result in a visit to the hospital. Doing high intensity DIY work which includes hammering and building can cause an eye injury if one is not careful.
These are just some of the deadly sins that people commit that can be hugely detrimental to the health of their eyes. Avoid doing these six things mentioned above in the article, and make sure to do a routine checkup to the eye doctor, especially if you think there is anything wrong.