Protect Your Vision

"While people are staying home during the pandemic, many are skipping important doctor visits, including eye exams. The good news is you may be able to get the eye care you need without an office visit.

About 93 million adults in the United States are at risk for vision loss. The COVID-19 pandemic may cause that number to increase because many Americans are delaying or going without care to avoid risk of exposure to the virus. Visits to the eye doctor have dropped by an estimated 80% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, staying home doesn’t mean your vision and eye health care has to suffer. Learn more about how you can protect your vision at home.

Receiving the Eye Care You Need

You may be able to use health care services such as telemedicine to get the care you need while social distancing. All you need is a phone or computer with an Internet connection to continue your medical care.

Telemedicine is an effective and safe solution to receive eye care to protect your vision. In fact, telemedicine has been used to diagnose eye diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Before the pandemic, about 30% of eye care providers offered telemedicine services. Since the pandemic began, that number has increased to almost 90%. Talk with your eye doctor to see if this is the right choice for you.

Did You Know?

Over 3 million Americans have glaucoma and roughly 4 million have diabetic retinopathy. Both can cause vision loss and blindness.

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that can damage the eye’s optic nerve.

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes caused when high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina.

Protecting Your Vision and Staying Safe

If you have an eye disease, your eye doctor may be able to monitor it without an office visit. They can provide remote care with an alternate care site where your testing can be done from a safe location such as your primary care provider or a Federally Qualified Health Center. Then your results are transferred directly to your eye doctor. Remember to continue to take any medicine or eye drops as prescribed and monitor any changes in your vision.

Your eye doctor may also provide other nonemergency services remotely, such as diagnosing and treating eye infections, prescribing or changing medicines, and rescheduling surgery (depending on the severity of your eye disease).

Not all vision problems can be managed using telemedicine alone. Talk to your eye doctor to find out the best plan for your eye care needs. If your eye care requires an in-person office visit,  you can help protect yourself and others from exposure to the virus by following CDC recommendations..."
Vision care 

Vision Health for Millennials

"Although eye problems can feel like a long way off, take simple steps today to protect your vision for the future. 

Vision problems develop most often in older people, so if you’re a millennial aged 25 to 35, eye trouble can seem like a long way off. But it may be closer than you think. In 2015, more than 12 million Americans over 40 had vision and eye problems, a number projected to double by 2050. Many millennials will find themselves included in that statistic. ¹ 

Whether you’re looking forward to the view from the corner office or setting your sights on the Eiffel Tower, take simple steps now to protect your vision for the future.

• Give your eyes a rest. Phones, television, computers – screens are all around us, all day long. Practice the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet in front of you.
• Protect your eyes – at work and at play. Wear protective eyewear that blocks 99-100% of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation when playing sports or doing activities outside such as yard work. Also protect your eyes from injury when doing work around the home, such as home repairs. To make sure you have the right kind of protective eyewear and you’re using it correctly, talk with your eye doctor.
• Eat right to protect your sight. Eat plenty of dark, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or collard greens and fish that is high in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, albacore tuna, trout, and halibut.
• Quit smoking or never start.
• Use contact lenses safely. Wash your hands before handling your contacts and keep them clean to avoid infection.
• Get plenty of physical activity to boost your mood, reduce stress, and help you stay at a healthy weight. This can prevent the development of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, which can lead to diabetic eye diseases and vision loss.
• Know your family’s eye health history. It’s important to know if your parents, grandparents, or others in your family have been diagnosed with an eye disease or condition, since some are hereditary.
• Get eye exams as recommended by your eye doctor..."
  Millennials and vision

Healthy Vision: Make It Last a Lifetime

"Taking care of your eyes can be a priority just like eating healthy and physical activity. Healthy vision can help keep you safe each day. To keep your eyes healthy, get a comprehensive dilated eye exam: an eye care professional will use drops to widen the pupils to check for common vision problems and eye diseases. It's the best way to find out if you need glasses or contacts, or are in the early stages of any eye-related diseases..."
Healthy Vision