National Eye Health Week

The purpose of National Eye Health Week is to raise awareness of the different kinds of eye conditions, point out how vital regular sight tests are and encourage you to speak to your optician should you have any eye concerns. 

While anyone can develop an eye condition, some factors can increase a person's risk of developing eye conditions, from our age to our family history as this can increase the likelihood of having an eye condition at some point in your life.

Our lifestyle can also be a risk factor, lack of exercise, bad diet, smoking and drinking have been linked to eye conditions later on in life.

You can find out more about your eye health risk using an eye health calculator. Please remember that this is only an estimate, and you should always seek professional help from your optician. 

Vision Matters have set out a week's worth of tips and vital information to help you look after your eyes; At Visioncall, we are always looking for new ways to raise awareness. We want to help shine a light on just how essential these things are.

Here are some key points from Vision Matters

• '2 million people in the UK are living with sight loss, which is severe enough to have a significant impact on their daily lives. Half of this sight loss is avoidable.'
• 'A sight test can detect early signs of conditions like glaucoma, which can be treated if found soon enough.'
• 'During a sight test, other health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure may be detected.'
• 'For healthy eyes, eat well, don’t smoke and wear eye protection in bright sunlight.'