You should take care to see an eye doctor, an ophthalmologist or optometrist, at least once every two years, preferably once a year, to check for any eye conditions. The eye doctor should place dilating drops into both eyes to check your pupil. This is the only way to check for some illness such as diabetic retinopathy that has no early signs or symptoms. After the drops have been placed, it’s very important for you to not go out in direct sunlight without sunglasses as it could be damaging for several hours afterwards.

You should also have your vision tested to see if you need assistive lenses or if you already wear them than you should have them tested to make sure that your prescription is still accurate. If your eyes begin to feel dry, or burn, or itch, and as long as they show no signs of discharge, than you can get artificial tears, such as Visine, to help with the irritation. It can be bought over the counter, but if that does not help it may be worth seeing your eye doctor if it doesn’t go away to make sure that it’s not an infection. At any signs of discharge, especially if your eyes take on a pink colouring to them, make sure that you do not touch your eyes and wash your hands immediately if you do.

Do not have contact with other people’s eyes and get to the doctor quickly as it may be a very contagious condition known as ‘pink eye’. While it is more irritating than anything, it is very contagious and can be very uncomfortable. Other conditions that should bring you immediately to the doctor are eye pain, discharge of any colour, double vision, redness, or swelling. Some eye infections can eventually lead to blindness if not treated so you should take them seriously. If you start seeing spots or lines in your vision, especially when accompanied with a headache, it should be check quickly. It may just be eye strain, which can be caused by reading too long in a poor lit environment, or spending too much time looking at a computer screen, but it could be an early sign of something more serious.

Preventive care for your eyes is simple. Wear sunglasses when you are outside to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays which can raise the risk of you getting cataracts, which is a cloudy film over the eyes that can make sight difficult. If you are reading or watching television, make sure to turn a light on so that your eyes don’t have to strain to focus and take a moment to look away from the screen of the television or computer for a few minutes every now and then to give them a break. Getting a good amount of sleep every night is another way to protect your eyes from over use, and give them the break that they need.