Importance Of Family Eye Health History
It may seem irrelevant but knowing the health of the eyes of the family is very important. Why? Because this will help you understand the condition of your eyes, the potential eye disease that you are at risk of, and how it might affect your family.
Preventative eye care routine and regular visits to the eye doctor will help in maintaining a healthy pair of eyes. This allows the family to have clear vision and eyesight.
Collecting Information
Ideally, the eye doctor will collect data about the family health history, specifically if the parents have eye problems and health issues. Next, the collected information will be discussed with the family. Each member will be examined to see if they are at risk of any eye diseases, whether hereditary or not.
Hereditary Eye Health Issues
Oftentimes, doctors look into the available medical records of patients to gather vital information. But not everyone is fond of asking their relatives about eye problems that might run in the family.
Just like any other health issue, a lot of eye problems are hereditary as well. Here are some of the genetic eye diseases:
- Glaucoma
- Optic Atrophy
- Retinitis pigmentosa
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Aniridia
- Albinism
- Colorblindness
- Keratoconus
- Retinoblastoma
Overall, there are over 350 eye diseases that can be genetically inherited. As a matter of fact, even fundamental eye problems like farsightedness and astigmatism can be inherited by children.
Managing Eye Health
After knowing and understanding your family’s eye health history, what should you do next? The most logical thing to do with the gathered information is to inform your doctor about them. Moreover, the information that you collected will be of great value in preserving your own eyesight.
Eye doctors can design a customized treatment plan according to their patients’ needs. Most likely, he or she will you a list of things to not do to ensure the health of your eyes. You will also be advice on how to promote eye care for the whole family properly.
Vision And Eye Care
Here are some of the tips in keeping your vision as clear as water:
Healthy and balanced diet
Be sure to eat foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals for eye health. Green leafy vegetables and yellow fruits are suitable for the eyes. Types of fish high in omega-3 are also beneficial for vision care.
Exercise regularly
Physically health, eye health, dental health, and mental health are linked with one another. It’s essential to stay physically healthy to ensure overall health.
Protect your eyes
If you spend most of your time under the heat of the sun, it’s advisable to wear protection against sun rays. Too much exposure to the sun might harm the eyes and cause irritation.
Avoid smoking
Smoke from cigarettes can cause significant damages to the eye. This is usually the cause of macular degeneration and cataracts.
Get in touch with your doctor.
Doctors suggest preventative eye examination at least every two or three years.
Let your eyes rest
The most common cause of eye health problems these days is too much exposure to UV light. Mobile phones and televisions can affect our eye’s health. Make sure to let your eyes rest for plenty of hours every day. You can ask the eye specialists from Mornington Eye Peninsula’s clinic today if you have issues with your eyes.
References:
Why Knowing Your Family’s Eye Health History Is Important – Gordon Wong (https://www.gweye.com/blog/2018/07/09/why-knowing-your-family-s-eye-191889)
Hereditary Ocular Disease –University of Arizona Board of Regents (https://www.rpbusa.org/rpb/resources-and-advocacy/resources/rpb-vision-resources/hereditary-ocular-disease/)