Senior Vision Care
As you age, chances are your vision is going to change. Thankfully, this is normal. Although, even though normal eye changes happen, they’re still likely to be a nuisance.
Taking good care of your eyes can allow for a better quality of life. Being able to read things, see things with detail, drive, and more are all things that can be affected by poor eye health. Taking advantage of any possible solutions and/or preventative measures to ensure that your eyes are always top-notch.
Poor Eyesight
With retirement comes a new way to see things, both literally and metaphorically. You now have the time to enjoy your retirement and that means doing, and seeing, more of the things you enjoy. Spending time with your family, seeing their smiles and accomplishments, taking the trip with the independent living or assisted living community to the beach to see the ocean, and more. You want to be able to see the things that the extra time in retirement has for you to see. Poor eyesight can prevent that. Something as simple as sitting in the independent living and assisted living library to read can become more of a chore than it should be. Doing crafts with the rest of the residents in the senior living community can be difficult if you’re having trouble seeing things in focus, especially close-up.
Tips for Eye Health
- Regular Eye Exams – First and foremost, get to an optician. That way you can get an eye checkup and find out what can be done to immediately improve your seeing quality. It may be something like glasses or contacts. Then, once that’s done, continuing to get regular checkups is essential. This is because your eyes will change throughout time. One year you may not need glasses, the next you may need them, then, the following year, you may need a different type of glasses. Staying on top of these changes can ensure that you’re always seeing the best you can see.
- Eat Healthy – Most likely you’ve heard that eating carrots is good for your eyesight. While there is some basis of truth to this, eating a variety of healthy fruits and vegetables is even better. A varied diet, especially including dark, leafy greens, like spinach, can maintain or even improve eye health. When you’re living in a Bonaventure Senior Living Community, be it independent living, assisted living, or memory care, the food is always packed full of nutrition. We want you to eat healthy so that you can enjoy your retirement to the fullest. This includes fruits, vegetables, grains, and more.
- Weight – Surprisingly, the weight of your body can affect your eyes. Not in the way you may think, though. When you’re overweight, your chances of developing diabetes increases, and with that can come diabetic eye loss or glaucoma. Maintaining a healthy weight with diet and exercise can ensure that you not only stave off diabetes, but are also giving your eyes a good chance.
- Sunlight – Sunlight is a wonderful thing. It warms the body and rejuvenates the soul. It can also, unfortunately, damage eyes. Overly bright light, of any kind, but especially sunlight, can damage the eyes. This is mainly due to the ultra-violet (UV) rays it emits. The best defense against this is to wear eyewear that protects. Sunglasses are good, but making sure that they block out UV rays is very important. You not only want to look good in your sunglasses, you want them to do their main job: protect your eyes.
- Reduce Screen Time – This day and age there are screens everywhere. From the TV to your phone, screens rule. These screens can put an overwhelming amount of strain on your eyes and cause them to weaken. Simply reducing the amount of screen time can significantly increase your eye health.
Other Eye Issues
Being able to cry during a sad situation, shedding a tear during a happy moment, or even crying when you cut onions may not be as easy as it once was. A condition known as Dry Eye Syndrome is, typically, a benign syndrome that begins to affect people around age 40-50, and continues to worsen the older one gets. Basically, seniors lose the ability to produce tears. This is not only an inconvenience, it can also be painful.
Tears help lubricate the eyes, remove dust and other particles, and more. Without them the eyes become dry and that’s when pain can set in. While this syndrome is more common in senior women, it is prevalent with any gender, race, and age.
Over-the-counter medication is the only way to supplement a lack of tear production, as there’s no cure for the syndrome. The medicine is commonly known as artificial tears. Generally available in a small bottle and dropped into the eyes directly to moisten and rehydrate the eyes. Some people can simply use a humidifier to help with this, but being this only works when the person is around the humidifier, it’s not fully effective. Sometimes, the syndrome is so extreme that a doctor may prescribe a medication for it. Even more extreme, a person may require surgery to help decrease dry eyes, although this is rare.
Conclusion
Seeing is believing. During your retirement you want to see the world around you, as crisp and clear as possible. Those in independent living, assisted living, or memory care have a lot to take in: activities, outings, food, musical performances, etc. Being able to see all of those things happening can allow for a better outlook on life.
Bonaventure Senior Living
At Bonaventure Senior Living, we have Retirement Perfected, Living Perfected, and Dining Perfected. The best way to see for yourself is to Book-A-Tour today and discover how you can live life on your own terms. We specialize in Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care, that way, no matter what your current situation is, we have all levels of care covered if your needs ever change.
Independent Living
With Independent Living, we want you to enjoy Simplified Living, allowing you to have the freedom to do what makes you happy. Our Independent Living is designed to accommodate the exceptional senior lifestyle that you’ve earned. What’s even better, is that with Independent Living we offer whatever supportive services that you may need at any time you may need them. Now that’s Retirement Perfected.
Assisted Living
Assisted Living at Bonaventure Senior Living is simple: all the lifestyle benefits of our Independent Living, but with any extra support that you may need. Our philosophy is based on three simple things: choice, independence, and dignity. Now that’s Assisted Living at its finest.
Memory Care
Every senior is a unique person, and our Memory Care approach is no different. We tailor our Memory Care by connecting with family members and taking time to understand each person’s specific circumstances. This includes mental, emotional, and physical health. Our Memory Care creates an honorable and professional plan to make sure that each person lives their life to the fullest. That’s the way Memory Care should be.
