By S Porter
The third decade of my life has been very interesting with all of the bodily changes that are taking place. I never used to even think about my teeth or my eyes, but these days invincibility is starting to slip away. My eyes have always just worked for me and I took for granted the 20/20 vision I was born with; but now things are starting to get a little fuzzy if they are too small or too far away. I know it’s only a matter of time before I have to get an exam, and eventually join the less than perfect portion of population. Vision correction has advanced a long way in the last 100 years, and today we have many choices to fix the problem. It’s a matter of opinion which is the best but I’ve been told that the solution depends on the person.
Glasses are the oldest form of vision correction, but they don’t really correct vision; they just alter the light that reaches the eye. People do judge you, at least a little, based on what you look like, and glasses alter how other people see you. Good or bad depends on how you want to be seen, and you can change your glasses to be seen a little differently. Glasses are easy to put on and take off, and they don’t need to be sterilized; they are also inexpensive and don’t need to be thrown away like contacts do. On the down side, glasses make your field of vision smaller and they can fog up in colder weather.
Contacts are a newer technology that basically put glasses directly on your eyes. The principle is the same; alter the light that reaches the eye so the picture is in focus. Unlike glasses though, contact don’t alter your natural appearance to other people. Some people look very good in glasses, and other people just can’t find a set that look right on them. Contacts need to be sterilized frequently and putting them in and taking them out is more of a hassle than glasses. They won’t fog up or shrink your field of vision, but they are more expensive because they need to be thrown away and replaced. I don’t know how I would react to contacts because I have never been comfortable with things in my eyes, but I suppose everyone says that until they try them.
LASIK eye surgery is the newest form of vision correction and it actually permanently corrects eyesight rather than just temporarily altering it. It’s able to fix most common vision problems, but it is surgery and carries a small level of risk. Corrective eye surgery is also expensive compared to glasses, but some insurance plans and discount plans like Ameriplan can help lower the cost. Eyesight continues to degrade as we age, so an option like surgery is best used after your eyesight has gotten bad enough to no longer be ignored. If you have it done early in your life, you will most likely need to have it done again later on. There is also a period of down time for your eyes while they get used to the changes and heal from the surgery.
Most people in my situation will eventually use all three of these options. In my late thirties I will start with a basic pair of glasses for reading and driving at night. Ten years from now, I will need to use them all of the time so I will switch to contacts. Then in my fifties it will be time to get corrective surgery which will hopefully keep my eyesight in good shape until my seventies. If you are more adventurous than I, then your schedule for healthy eyesight may be different; but all of us will feel the effects of time on our eyes. Count your blessings if your eyesight is still perfect; who knows what the future will bring for your eyesight and vision technology.
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Showing posts with label Ameriplan Vision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ameriplan Vision. Show all posts
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
How to Keep Your Vision Healthy
By S Porter
Health vision is something many of us take for granted, and if your eyesight has always been good, you may have never been to an optometrist. As we age though, the body requires more and more maintenance and this includes your eyes. People with bad eyesight are familiar with seeing an eye doctor, but everyone needs to take care of their eyes so they last as long as you do. There are many ways to take care of your eyes and most of them are just common sense, like don’t stick things in them. Other things are not so obvious but can have long lasting effects.
Diet can have an affect on healthy vision, although there is some argument as to how much. Vitamin C and E, along with calcium and folic acid can help you avoid macular degeneration and cataracts. There are also many different types of eye drops that do various things, like helping cataracts and glaucoma, but many optometrists say that regular eye drops bought off the store shelf can actually hurt your vision. Swimming can have an adverse affect on your vision, but it depends on the individual and most doctors agree that it takes years of constant exposure. Other environmental concerns include airborne pollution and other chemicals in enclosed spaces, which can also slowly degrade your vision over time.
Seeing an eye doctor is also a part of good vision health and is also the most overlooked by people with good eyesight. Newborns are usually checked at birth and again at 6 months. Children are due at ages 3, 6 and 13, but they will need to go more often if there is a family history of vision problems or if a problem is found during a routine checkup. Adults older than 18 need to go every 3 years until they turn 40; then they need to go every 2 years or as often as the optometrist recommends depending on how fast their sight is diminishing. Many late vision problems can now be corrected with LASIK surgery if you have the money or the insurance and you are looking for a more permanent solution than thicker glasses.
To offset the cost of vision care, especially if your eyesight is bad, many people have some type of vision plan. Health insurance usually includes some type of vision benefits, but they don’t cover much or there is a large deductible. Discount plans like the Ameriplan dental plan are also an option, and they can also provide savings on expensive procedures like LASIK eye surgery. You can also get a vision plan directly from some vision providers which can be the perfect solution if you only need vision insurance. If your eyesight is good and you only need regular checkups, you may not need to get a vision plan at all.
Preventative checkups and a good diet will keep your eyes seeing things as they should be seen. If your eyes are good now, don’t wait until they aren’t to take care of them. Like health care and dental care, waiting until you have a problem may already be too late to prevent permanent damage. If you have a more serious problem, such as glaucoma, and you ignore it; blindness and extreme eye pain will result. As with anything else, living well and taking care of yourself can add years of life and more importantly keep you happy longer into life.
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Health vision is something many of us take for granted, and if your eyesight has always been good, you may have never been to an optometrist. As we age though, the body requires more and more maintenance and this includes your eyes. People with bad eyesight are familiar with seeing an eye doctor, but everyone needs to take care of their eyes so they last as long as you do. There are many ways to take care of your eyes and most of them are just common sense, like don’t stick things in them. Other things are not so obvious but can have long lasting effects.
Diet can have an affect on healthy vision, although there is some argument as to how much. Vitamin C and E, along with calcium and folic acid can help you avoid macular degeneration and cataracts. There are also many different types of eye drops that do various things, like helping cataracts and glaucoma, but many optometrists say that regular eye drops bought off the store shelf can actually hurt your vision. Swimming can have an adverse affect on your vision, but it depends on the individual and most doctors agree that it takes years of constant exposure. Other environmental concerns include airborne pollution and other chemicals in enclosed spaces, which can also slowly degrade your vision over time.
Seeing an eye doctor is also a part of good vision health and is also the most overlooked by people with good eyesight. Newborns are usually checked at birth and again at 6 months. Children are due at ages 3, 6 and 13, but they will need to go more often if there is a family history of vision problems or if a problem is found during a routine checkup. Adults older than 18 need to go every 3 years until they turn 40; then they need to go every 2 years or as often as the optometrist recommends depending on how fast their sight is diminishing. Many late vision problems can now be corrected with LASIK surgery if you have the money or the insurance and you are looking for a more permanent solution than thicker glasses.
To offset the cost of vision care, especially if your eyesight is bad, many people have some type of vision plan. Health insurance usually includes some type of vision benefits, but they don’t cover much or there is a large deductible. Discount plans like the Ameriplan dental plan are also an option, and they can also provide savings on expensive procedures like LASIK eye surgery. You can also get a vision plan directly from some vision providers which can be the perfect solution if you only need vision insurance. If your eyesight is good and you only need regular checkups, you may not need to get a vision plan at all.
Preventative checkups and a good diet will keep your eyes seeing things as they should be seen. If your eyes are good now, don’t wait until they aren’t to take care of them. Like health care and dental care, waiting until you have a problem may already be too late to prevent permanent damage. If you have a more serious problem, such as glaucoma, and you ignore it; blindness and extreme eye pain will result. As with anything else, living well and taking care of yourself can add years of life and more importantly keep you happy longer into life.
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