Eye health resource
5 Practical Steps for Healthy Eyes
Healthy-eye habits include appropriate eye exams, knowing your family history, managing overall health, protecting your eyes from UV and injury, and using screens and contact lenses safely.
Reviewed for accuracy by Justin Bazan, OD on .
There is no single food, supplement, lens coating, or eye exercise that guarantees healthy vision for life. The habits with the best evidence are more ordinary: get eye care at an interval that fits your risks, know your family history, manage your overall health, protect your eyes from injury and ultraviolet light, and use contact lenses and screens sensibly.
1. Have Eye Exams at the Right Interval for You
A comprehensive eye exam does more than measure whether you need glasses. It can evaluate the health of the front and back of the eyes and identify findings that may be present before you notice symptoms.
There is not one examination interval that fits every patient. Age, symptoms, contact-lens wear, family history, eye disease, diabetes or other systemic conditions, medications, previous eye surgery or injury, and high or changing prescriptions can all affect how often an examination is appropriate.
For children, useful milestones include eye assessment during infancy and a comprehensive eye exam before school. Symptoms, a failed screening, known risk factors, myopia, an existing prescription, contact-lens wear, or another eye concern may make earlier or more frequent care appropriate. Your eye doctor can recommend an interval based on the examination findings and individual risk.
2. Know Your Family and Medical History
Family history can influence risk for conditions such as glaucoma, myopia, retinal disease, and some inherited eye disorders. Tell your eye doctor about significant eye disease in close relatives even if your own vision seems normal.
Your medical history matters too. Diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease, thyroid disease, and some medications can affect the eyes or change how often they should be monitored.
3. Take Care of the Rest of Your Health
Eye health is connected to cardiovascular and metabolic health. Work with your medical team to manage diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, and other conditions that can affect blood vessels and nerves.
A varied diet that includes vegetables, fruit, whole foods, and appropriate sources of nutrients supports overall health. Smoking increases the risk of several eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and cataract, so avoiding tobacco is an important eye-health step as well.
Supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet or eye care, and high-dose eye vitamins are not appropriate for everyone. Specific formulations such as AREDS2 are intended for selected stages of macular degeneration when recommended by an eye doctor.
4. Protect Your Eyes From UV and Injury
Choose sunglasses that block 99–100% of UVA and UVB radiation. A brimmed hat can add protection from overhead and peripheral sunlight.
For sports, home projects, yard work, construction, chemicals, or other activities with impact or splash risk, use protective eyewear designed for the activity. Ordinary prescription eyeglasses are not a substitute for safety glasses or sports goggles when impact protection is needed.
5. Use Screens and Contact Lenses Safely
Long periods of screen use can be associated with dryness, fatigue, blur, headaches, and neck or shoulder discomfort. Regular breaks, full blinking, comfortable viewing distance, appropriate lighting, and a current prescription can help. The 20-20-20 rule is one simple reminder to interrupt prolonged near work.
Blue-light-filtering glasses are not required to protect the eyes from proven screen-induced damage. If screens are uncomfortable, it is more useful to identify whether dry eye, prescription, focusing demands, contact-lens wear, ergonomics, or another factor is contributing.
Contact-lens wearers should also follow the prescribed replacement schedule, wash and dry hands before handling lenses, keep lenses away from water, use the recommended cleaning system, and never reuse a daily disposable lens.
Healthy Habits Reduce Risk — They Do Not Eliminate It
Even excellent habits cannot prevent every eye disease, and not every vision change is caused by lifestyle. New flashes or floaters, a curtain or shadow in vision, sudden vision loss, significant pain, marked redness, or a meaningful new visual change deserves timely evaluation rather than waiting for the next routine exam.
If you are due for a comprehensive eye exam or have a medical eye concern, book an appointment with Park Slope Eye.
Originally published . Substantially updated .