Winter Eye Care Tips
Winter is here and there’s no reason to be less excited about it. But let us not forget that with all the winter fun comes a responsibility to take care of yourself. While you must be protecting your body by wearing ample warm clothes, you should not forget to care for your eyes.
As the temperature drops, the air becomes dry and loses moisture. With the moistureless air, your eyes tend to get dry and could cause irritation. Just like in the summertime, you need to care for your eyes and protect them in winter too.
Here we are sharing some simple yet effective tips to take care of your eyes during winter and to keep them happy. But before that, let us understand the reasons that cause irritation in the eyes or impact your vision during winter.
What are the factors that could impact your Eyes in Winter
Harmful UV Radiation
You must be aware of how harmful the UV (Ultraviolet) radiation from the Sun is. In winter, you need to be careful about UV radiation, especially if there is going to be a lot of snow around. If you live in an area that gets snowfall in winter or if you travel to the hills for snowfall or to enjoy snow adventures, you should be protecting your eyes. The snow reflects a lot of light from the Sun along with the UV rays that can cause damage to your eyes.
To protect your eyes from excessive UV rays’ exposure it’s highly recommended to wear Sunglasses when indulging in outdoor activities. Also, do not forget to protect your skin with sunscreen lotion.
Dry Air (Indoor and Outdoor)
As the outdoor temperature drops, the capability of the air to hold water (humidity) also drops. The cold, dry air dries out your skin and evaporates the moisture from your eyes. This loss in moisture from the surface of your eyes could lead to irritation.
As soon as you get inside your home, although the air is warm because of the heating appliances, the moisture is still missing. Moreover, the re-circulating air carries dehydrating agents, such as bacteria. This could be equally irritating for the eyes and could impact your vision.
Eye Care Tips for Winter
Now that you are aware of the reasons that could be affecting your vision, let us check out some tips that will help you maintain healthy eyes through harsh winter times.
Stay Hydrated
Beginning from the basics, you should keep yourself hydrated. This means consuming a healthy dose of water and other beverages such as green tea and lemon water, which will not only keep your body hydrated but also your eyes. It would help if you didn’t consume excessive caffeine-rich drinks like coffee and tea, which could lead to dehydration.
Use Moisturising Eye Drops
The dry and cold weather causes dryness in your eyes along with irritation. To avoid any impact on your eyes, you could apply moisturising or lubricating eye drops to keep them moist. You could get these drops or ointments easily from your optometrist or pharmacist.
Use a Humidifier
The heaters and radiators sure keep you warm indoors during winter. Still, with all the moisture in the air gone, your eyes are bound to run dry. Using a humidifier in such a situation will help you keep the indoor air full of ample moisture. This will prevent dryness in your eyes, along with moisturising your skin.
Protect your eyes from UV
As stated earlier, exposure to UV rays could damage your eyes. If you are engaging in outdoor activities, especially if there’s a lot of snow around, make sure to wear appropriate sunglasses with UV protection.
Eat Healthy
Along with drinking a lot of water, make sure to eat a healthy, leafy, and green diet. Also, you should eat food that is packed with Omega-3 fatty acids. Such foods include cold-water fish (Tuna, Salmon, & Mackerel), Walnuts, Flax seeds, Chia seeds, and plant oils (soybean oil, canola oil, and flaxseed oil).
Avoid using Contact Lenses
If you use Contact lenses for vision correction, you might notice more irritation in your eyes than usual. If that’s the case, you should resort to wearing eyeglasses in the winter season.
Or better yet, if you do not want to worry about wearing contacts or eyeglasses at all, you should consider getting your eyes treated for refractive correction.
At Planet LASIK, our team of experienced eye specialists will help you get rid of your vision-related issues in no time. Get a free consultation at Planet LASIK today and get winter ready.
