Just like the rest of your body, your eyes need care too
Can eating well help your eyesight?
Just like the rest of the body, your eyes benefit from a healthy balanced diet. So we’ve gathered tips on some great foods to help fuel your sight.
Vitamin A is beneficial in maintaining normal vision and helps ensure eyes don’t become dry. You can find it in:
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Milk
• Yoghurt
• Liver
• Yellow and red vegetables
• Yellow fruits like mangoes and apricots
Zinc protects our cells from oxidative stress and helps to maintain vision. You can find it in red meat, shellfish, cheese and certain cereals containing wheat germ.
Omega 3 DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) is a type of omega 3 that’s beneficial in sustaining normal vision. A daily intake of 250mg of DHA is recommended to help and can be found in salmon, mackerel and seaweed.
Finally, there’s vitamin B2 (found in milk, eggs, fortified breakfast cereals and rice) which helps maintain normal vision.
UV rays & your eyes
Your eyes are exposed to light from a range of sources like the sun. But what does this actually mean for our eye health?
Eyes can be up to 10 times more sensitive to UV damage from the sun than your skin, so protecting your eyes (and your children’s eyes) is really important. Whether or not you wear glasses, you should invest in a pair of sunglasses that help protect your eyes from UV rays.
Stop smoking
Smoking can significantly increase your chances of developing certain eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration. Take a look at our stop smoking services to find out how you can make the change today.
Help to soothe dry & irritated eyes
Air conditioning and regularly looking at screens can make your eyes irritated and dry, and sometimes lead to your eyelids becoming inflamed. Try using eye drops to help soothe irritated and red eyes, eye sprays for when you’re on-the-go or eye gels which can give your eyes extra relief before bed.
Ways to help with your vision
Whatever your age, if your eyesight is letting you down, you have plenty of options. Your optician can advise what to do based on your needs, so you can look and feel good.
Glasses are often the go-to when your vision is failing as they can be an immediate fix and also a great way to refresh your look as there are so many styles and colours to choose from.
Contact lenses are a great alternative if you don’t want to wear glasses, as they can be worn daily or you can switch it up between glasses and contacts. Choose from daily, monthly, reusable or extended wear lenses. Your optician will check if you’re suitable for contact lenses (as not everyone is), that they’re the right lenses for you, and that they fit well. They can also offer advice on hygiene and use.
What does your prescription mean?
So you’ve just had your eye exam and now you have a glasses prescription, but what do all the numbers and symbols on your prescription mean? We know how important it is to understand everything you can about your health, which is why we go through the symbols and their meanings below.
OS – you have a prescription for your left eye (Boots uses L rather than OS)
OD – this means your prescription is for your right eye (Boots uses R rather than OD)
OU – involving both eyes
Numbers – the higher the number, the stronger the prescription
Plus sign (+) – if you see a plus sign next to a number this means you’re long-sighted (so it’s harder to see things up close)
Minus sign (-) – this means you’re short-sighted (it’s hard to see things far away)
Prism – this is to help correct any misalignment of the eyes
Base – this is whether the prism directs light up, down, left or right
Add – additional magnifying power for near visions such as reading
S (Sphere) – this states the power of your lens for how long or short-sighted you are
C (Cylinder) – this may be added to help with any astigmatism (an imperfection in the curvature of the cornea)
Axis – a number between zero and 180 degrees, which shows the orientation of the astigmatism
