What Is Normal Vision for a 5 Year Old
How to Keep Your Vision Healthy
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Scheduling annual eye exams are important to start doing at a young age. While the loss of vision is often associated with getting older, according to the National Eye Institute, approximately 11 million Americans age 12 or older could improve their vision through refractive correction. Age, though, does play a factor. Over 3.3 million Americans aged 40 or older are either legally blind or have low vision. Listed below are common vision problems that can occur, and tests and preventative steps that should be taken to keep vision healthy and sharp.
Vision Problems
Macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetes, retinopathy, and glaucoma are all age-related diseases and can lead to blindness. The refractive errors that many Americans under the age of 40 may face include near-sightedness, far-sightedness and distorted vision at all distances. These common vision problems can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or in some situations, surgery. It is important to regularly schedule eye exams as over the years, eyes change and so will the prescription.
Vision Tests
Those that are concerned about their peripheral vision and central vision may have to get a visual field test done. Through this test, doctors are able to determine where exactly your vision ends, where your blind spots are and if a medical condition, such as glaucoma, brain tumors or other brain or eye disorders, are playing a factor.
This test can be performed in a number of ways, but the most common visual field test is the Humphrey test. This is where patients focus on a center light and push a button when they see blinking lights in their peripheral vision. It is vital though that they stay focused on the light in front of them rather than to the sides as this will make it more difficult for the doctor to give an accurate prognosis.
Vision Plans
There are various vision plans available that some employers offer, but they can also be purchased through an independent company. Members of Blue Cross Blue Shield, for example, have access to Blue View, a vision plan. While plans vary from company to company, they often include annual routine eye exams and allowance for eyeglass frames and lenses every two years.
Those that have Medicare Part B will have some vision-related costs that are covered, but routine eye exams and any vision correction such as eyeglasses or contact lenses are not.
Eye Protection
There are many steps that you can take to keep your eyes as healthy as possible. Look into your family's eye health history and see if there are any diseases or conditions you should be looking out for as they can often be hereditary. If you are employed in a job that involves the possibility of small objects getting into your eyes such as welding or construction work, make sure to wear eye protection. Health care workers, laboratory and janitorial staff should also wear protection as they are often exposed to infectious diseases that can be acquired through blood splashes or by touching the eye with contaminated fingers.
You can take active steps to protect your eyes outside of the workplace as well. If it is a sunny day or if there is a lot of white snow, make sure to throw on the shades, ideally ones that can block out both UV-A and UV-B radiation. While most people just put them on as an added accessory, quality glasses can help save your vision. The sun can cause cataracts, which makes vision cloudy, macular degeneration, which is actually the leading cause of blindness in America, and Pterygium which can cause a stigmatism or blurred vision.
Eye Diet
On top of researching family vision history and wearing eye protection, what you put in your body can also affect your vision. Growing up, parents often tell their children if they eat enough carrots they will be able to see in the dark. While this may not be exactly true, carrots are great for keeping your eyes healthy. Having a mixed diet of fruits, vegetables and leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, and collard greens, are especially good to incorporate into your daily meals. Fish that are high in Omega-3 Fatty acids like salmon, tuna, and halibut, also contribute to healthy vision. Most importantly, try and maintain a healthy weight as obesity can lead to diabetes and other health issues, and can eventually cause vision loss.
What Is Normal Vision for a 5 Year Old
Source: https://www.life123.com/article/how-to-keep-your-eye-vision-healthy?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740009%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex