As seniors age, their eyesight tends to get weaker, and their eyes have a harder time focusing, seeing colors, and adjusting to light. However, there are several easy things you can do to promote your senior loved one’s eye health. Check out these tips that can help seniors maintain healthy eyes.
Focus on Nutrition
Eating healthy foods is the first step seniors can take to maintain good eye health. Alcohol and foods that are high in saturated fats can harm senior eyes, leading to the risk of cataracts and damage to their corneas. Fish and green leafy vegetables, which are high in vitamins and antioxidants, can prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Help your loved one promote his or her eye health by serving baked fish along with a spinach salad.
Some seniors need help preparing nutritious meals. Whether your elderly loved one needs part-time assistance with basic household chores or you need a break from your caregiving duties, the Oklahoma City Respite Care experts at Lifestar Home Care are here to help. All of our home care services are backed with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, there are no hidden fees in our contracts, and we never ask our clients to sign long-term contracts.
Avoid Smoking
While you already know smoking isn’t a healthy habit, you might not realize it’s also bad for the eyes. Studies show smokers are more than four times more likely to go blind in old age than nonsmokers and that secondhand smoke can more than double an individual’s chance of developing AMD. So whether your loved one is a smoker or spends time around people who smoke, encouraging your loved one to eliminate cigarette smoke from his or her life can significantly decrease his or her risk of eye damage.
Exercise
Though it might seem strange at first to encourage seniors to exercise to promote eye health, cardio exercise can actually enhance vision. Exercise that raises the heart rate gets the blood flowing, which in turns leads to more oxygen going to the eyes and bodily toxins being cleared from the system. By exercising, your loved one is getting healthy oxygenated blood to the eyes and flushing toxins out. If your loved one has mobility challenges that make cardio exercises difficult, you might also consider hiring a caregiver to safely assist your loved one with an exercise routine.
At-home care professionals can be a wonderful boon to seniors. Whether they require around-the-clock supervision or just need assistance with exercise and household tasks a few days a week, seniors can enjoy a higher quality of life with the help of trusted in-home caregivers.
Protect the Eyes while on the Computer
If your loved one is tech savvy, he or she might spend several hours at a time in front of a computer screen. While being connected can yield cognitive benefits for your loved one, staring at a computer for a long time can hurt his or her vision. To protect your loved one’s eyes from bright computer screens, make sure he or she keeps the screen slightly below eye level and at least 20 inches from his or her eyes. Also encourage your loved one to take 20-second breaks every 20 minutes to give his or her eyes a rest.
While health advice for aging adults tends to focus on brain and heart health, it’s also important to keep senior vision in mind. If your loved one experiences impaired vision, he or she may also benefit from having a professional caregiver assist with completing everyday tasks, such as navigating the home and reading medication labels.
Eye-related diseases can impact a senior’s health, wellbeing, and overall quality of life. If you have a senior loved one who needs help maintaining a high quality of life while aging in place, reach out to Lifestar Home Care, a leading provider of Home Care Oklahoma City families can trust. Our caregivers help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and we offer mentally stimulating activities that can boost cognitive health and delay the onset of dementia. Call us today to talk to one of our compassionate Care Managers about our high-quality home care services.