Tips To Look After Your Eyes During The Holiday Season!

Christmas is on the way, and so is the time of the year when you can spend time with your loved ones in the warmth of your home. But this holiday season can bring a change of routine that can cause risk to your eye health.

At Eyes on Brickell, we want to ensure you enjoy your Christmas without compromising your eye health or visual discomfort. So, our experts have listed the best eye care tips to help you maintain your eye health this holiday season. Let’s dig into it.

Drink Plenty Of Water

As you know, water plays an essential role in keeping your body hydrated and toxic-free. Along the skin, eyes also need water to keep them lubricated and moist so that eyes can remove the bacteria, dust particles, and other small particles that get in throughout the day.

But when you limit your water intake and your eyes won’t get adequate hydration, your eyes may feel dry and appear dark, hollow, or sunken. To avoid these eye issues, drink plenty of water, especially after eating over-salty food or dehydrating beverages like coffee and soda.

Wear Sunglasses

People may believe they only need sunglasses during the summer when sunlight and heat peak, and they don’t need sunglasses during winter. But they forget that in winter, their eyes may have to face:

• UV rays (as the sun sits lower in the sky and in the winter months, the UV rays are just as intense as in summer).
• Glare (due to lower sun sitting, it can shine directly into your eyes).
• Debris, Wind, and Dust in the cold air.
• Dim or extremely bright lighting effects.
• Snow blindness and more.

You only need to wear sunglasses while driving or walking on the road to protect your eyes from these issues.

Book an appointment with Dr. Antoine Copty, click here.

Take Care When Putting Up Decorations

The holiday season brings many chores like Christmas tree decorations, lighting, and more. But these chores also come with eye hazards. To prevent eye injuries:

• Dust off those safety glasses before tackling that majestic tree. Branches can spring back, and pine needles have a knack for aiming for eyeballs.
• Use a sturdy tree stand and avoid overloading your evergreen friend with ornaments. A toppling tree is no one’s idea of a holly jolly time!
• Keep delicate ornaments out of reach of curious little hands and playful paws. Remember, a shattered bauble can mean more than just broken dreams.
• Opt for shatterproof ornaments, especially near walkways or areas where clumsy feet might wander. Nobody wants glass confetti in their eggnog!
• Choose LED lights – they’re energy-efficient and generate minimal heat, reducing the risk of burns and keeping your Christmas cool.
• Consider sharp edges, projectile parts, and choking hazards when choosing toys. Remember, a happy holiday means safe play for everyone.

Manage Your Screen Time

Every person knows that screen time can cause many eye health issues. But when holidays come, we forget everything and utilize our free time watching movies, browsing online for after-Christmas sales, and most of the time, catching up with friends and loved ones on social media. In short, we spend most of our time on our screens, leading our eyes to cut the blinking rate by half, causing dry eyes.

Does that mean you should avoid screens all day? That is impossible, as screens have become essential to our lives.

You can follow the 20-20-20 rule to protect your eyes from dryness. In this rule, the first 20 represents the device’s distance from your eyes. Keep your screen 20 inches away from your eyes. The second 20 means you can start at a screen for up to 20 minutes, and the third 20 says that after staring at the screen, you will need to look at an object 20 feet away.

You can also wear blue light-blocking glasses or contact lenses to prevent digital eyestrain.

Get Enough Sleep

Yes. Good sleep positively impacts our eye health. During the deep sleep phase, our brain indicates our eyes to increase the blood flow to receive the essential nutrients and flush out harmful toxins. In this process, our eye cells are restored and repaired for healthy eyes. Also, the eyes produce tears during sleep, essential for lubricating and nourishing them.

But when you get less sleep, it disrupts ​​​​​​the whole eye care and repair process. These disruptions may lead to dry eyes, strain, blurred vision, and more. Not only this but if the person has chronic sleep deprivation, he or she may face severe eye conditions like glaucoma.

That means good sleep = Healthy eyes. So, if you want healthy eyes, get a good night’s sleep up to 8-9 hours.

Prefer Foods That Are Good For Your Eyes

We usually forget our healthy diet habits as holidays come and fall for unhealthy foods. This is the time of year when we can forget our health goals and go with the flow of delicious, hearty foods without feeling guilty.

But you can make delicious and nutritious choices to keep your eyes healthy. For example, you can choose eggs, carrot pudding, turkey, salmon, and Brussels sprouts, as these foods are packed with nutrients that help maintain eye function, such as omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

Use Eye Drops

As you know, winter is one of the most dry seasons, where you will lack moisture in the air. Moreover, when you enter the home, your heating system will make it worse. These conditions lead your eyes to dryness and eye dryness, may cause other eye problems, including:

• Eye inflammation
• Abrasion of the corneal surface
• Corneal ulcers
• Vision loss
• Eyelid problems, such as the lids turning outward (ectropion) and the lids turning inward (entropion) and more.

If you are struggling with eye dryness, consider using eye drops like Blink GelTears® Lubricating Eye Drops to maintain your eyes’ lubrication and alleviate discomfort.

Moreover, if you wear contact lenses, consult an eye-care professional like Dr. Antoine Copty, one of the best and most patient-friendly Eye Doctors in Brickell and southern Florida, who will determine which eye drops are right for you. Led by Dr. Copty, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive eye care services in a friendly bilingual environment. Book an appointment at Eyes on Brickell and let us help you maintain your eye health.