Healthy Vision Month

Here is a list of ways you can take care of your eyes and prevent them from harm:

1. If you are a handyman at home, it makes sense to invest in a safety wrap-around goggles whenever you are operating any heavy-duty machinery or equipment.

2. Use eye lubricants if your eyes start to dry out due to environmental conditions. You can use what is known as artificial tears at your local pharmacy or drug store.

3. Use air purifiers to keep the dust away from your eyes.

4. Get an eye checkup every two years when you hit forty and above.

5. If you are dark-skinned, suffering from severe myopia or has a family history of eye disorder such as AMD, consider getting regular eye examination with an optometrist even though you may not be forty yet.

6. Here's another good reason to quit smoking. Research has revealed that smoking harms the delicate tissues of the eyes and increases your chances of developing cataracts and AMD. Great reason to stop smoking!

7. Obesity has been linked to a number of eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. It also increases your risk of developing diabetes, another potential eyesight destroying disease. So by keeping your weight under control you don't just fit better into your old clothes, you also prevent the onset of ocular disease.

8. If you are suffering from diabetes or high blood pressure, you should go for regular, frequent eye screening as advised by your physician.

The following list here will hellp you get ideas on how YOU can get INVOLVED in promoting HEALTHY VISION and increase awareness in your community:

1. Include information about eye health and who is at higher risk of various eye diseases in your newsletter or on your website during Healthy Vision Month.

2. Hang posters about eye health in your hallways or other public spaces.

3. Partner with your local Lions Club or invite local eye care professionals to offer free eye exams during the month of May. Keep track of how many people have been examined for free, and submit a press release to your local paper about Healthy Vision Month, eye health, and the support provided by local eye care professionals or Lions Club.

4. Add a link to the Healthy Vision Month Website

5. Visit the Healthy Vision Community Programs Database to learn what other organizations are doing and to get ideas for eye health education programs you can do in your community. You can also submit your program to the database.

6. E-mail the NEI Healthy Eyes Bulletin to your listserves and colleagues to help people learn more about taking care of their eyes.

7. Start an e-card campaign by encouraging employees, members of your organization, and people in the community to send the NEI e-cards to friends and loved ones.

8. Issue a proclamation in May about the importance of encouraging people to schedule a comprehensive dilated eye exam with an eye care professional. Proclaim "Healthy Vision (Day, Week, or Month)" in your community.

9. Partner with local manufacturers, construction companies, laboratories, hospitals, and other groups with employees at higher risk for eye injuries to educate workers about proper eye safety practices and the importance of protective eyewear.

10. Work with local senior centers, YMCAs, and other organizations to educate older adults about eye health and the importance of comprehensive dilated eye exams.