Safeguard your Eyesight

Last Updated: July 1, 2003

Here are five steps that will help protect your eyesight:

1. Have regular physical exams by your doctor to check for diseases like diabetes. Such diseases can cause eye problems if not treated.

2. Have a complete eye exam with an eye care professional every one to two years. The eye care professional should put drops in your eyes to enlarge (dilate) your pupils. This is the only way to find some eye diseases, such as glaucoma, that have no early signs or symptoms. The eye care professional should check your eyesight, your glasses, and your eye muscles.

3. Find out if you are at high-risk for vision loss. Do you have a family history of diabetes or eye disease? If so, you need to have a dilated eye exam every year.

4. See an eye care professional at once if you have any loss or dimness of eyesight, eye pain, fluid coming from the eye, double vision, redness, or swelling of your eye or eyelid.

5. Wear sunglasses and a hat with a wide brim when outside. This will protect your eyes from too much sunlight, which can raise your risk of getting cataracts.

Source: National Institute on Aging

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