We’ve all heard it at some point in our lives: Carrots are good for our eyes. While that may not have enticed you to eat them, there was truth in the myth because of the valuable vitamins contained in those vegetables. Children’s eye care research has proven that eating certain vegetables supports your eye health throughout your lifetime.

1. Beta Carotene

The reason that carrots are highly touted to youngsters is because they are rich in Beta Carotene. This powerful antioxidant helps prevent major eye issues such as Cataracts and Macular Degeneration as you age. Sweet potatoes are another food that is rich in Beta Carotene, and you’ll also find this antioxidant in spinach.

2. Vitamin C

Another amazing antioxidant, vitamin C, supports the collagen in your body. Your cornea is comprised of collagen fibers so vitamin C intake is very beneficial to the health of that important eye structure. You may equate fruits with vitamin C but you may not realize that veggies such as raw broccoli and peppers are very high in the vitamin. Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and spinach are additional veggies high in vitamin C. Children’s eye care specialists know the likelihood of your child voluntarily eating these foods may be minuscule, so you may need to get creative or sneaky.

3. Lutein

Age Related Macular Degeneration and cataracts can steal your sight as you age, but lutein is a vitamin that combats both diseases. Lutein is a substance found in the pigment of your eye, and is theorized to help filter light and prevent sun damage within your eye. Lutein-rich vegetables are kale, spinach, corn, broccoli, and squash and are most effective when part of a high fat meal, such as with red meat.

4. Vitamin E

Yet another vital antioxidant, Vitamin E protects your eyes from a thing called a free radical, which is a byproduct of your metabolism known to damage healthy cells. Nuts, especially almonds and sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, and some enriched cereals are a good source of vitamin E. A diet rich in Vitamin E also helps in the fight against cataracts and macular degeneration.

Children’s eye care specialists recommend giving your child’s vision a healthy and strong foundation by incorporating as many of the foods above as your child will tolerate. For picky eaters, consult your child’s eye doctor for advice on supplements that will fill in the dietary gaps.

Eye safety is an important issue for both children and adults. Since a child’s coordination and logical thinking have not fully developed, children are more vulnerable to eye injuries that can have a tragic and permanent result on their lives. Preserving your child’s vision requires a common-sense approach to life.

Eye Strain
Just as you can feel the effects of intensive computer work, your child’s focus on television and video game systems can have the same impact. Eye strain can cause headaches, fatigue, redness, drying, or watering of the eyes. To help your child avoid eye strain, require them to take a break after 20 minutes of video games or reading. For 20 seconds, have them look out the window or into another room.

Sports and Play
Children in sports typically receive better grades, live healthier lifestyles, and build confidence and self esteem. Considering all of those benefits, it can be easy to forget the dangers of sports and playtime. Children at play should be supervised, especially when children of mixed ages are within a group. Age-appropriate toys are a must, and toys that involve projectiles of any sort should be avoided. When participating in sports, children should wear eye safety equipment such as goggles or safety glasses since sports injuries are the most prevalent cause of eye injury in children.

Sun Protection
Whether a day at the beach or a day in the snow, your child’s eyes must be protected from the sun’s rays. Ultraviolet rays can damage young eyes, creating painful sunburn to the eye’s surface. Even in winter, sunbeams reflect off of snow and result in twice the UV exposure. Purchase property fitted sunglasses with UV blocking for your child and enforce their wear whenever activities take your family outside. Protecting young eyes can fend off cataracts and other degenerative vision issues in the future.

Working Safely
Children love to help mom or dad around the house and aid with projects like building or repairing the home. These activities are excellent for family bonding and developing a child’s coordination and confidence, but can be detrimental to their eye safety. Set an example by always wearing your safety glasses, and require your child to do so as well.

Teaching your child about eye safety is critical in ensuring healthy vision for their lifetime. Consult your Phoenix eye care professional for more ideas for protecting your child’s eyes today.

Vision issues in children can be difficult to diagnose since they may not have the capacity to verbalize a problem or know that they do not see normally. Colorblindness can be even more tricky to discover and can lead to misdiagnosis of learning delays or disorders. A children’s eye care specialist can identify colorblindness, but knowing some facts and symptoms may help you act more quickly.

Color vision is possible due to three “cones” in the nerve structure of the eye. Colored light strikes the appropriate red, blue, or green cone, deactivates the cones not in use, and transmits color information to the brain. For the colorblind, these cones may not have developed or have become compromised.

Most commonly occurring is red-green colorblindness, in which those two cones are unavailable and the person cannot process red and green.  Objects that are red or green may appear to be all the same shade. Very rarely complete colorblindness occurs, and the patient sees in black and white. Colorblindness is highly hereditary so if other family members are colorblind, chances are good that your child is too. Likelihood of colorblindness is also higher in boys than girls.

Symptoms of Colorblindness in Children

• The child struggles with learning colors or calls two different colors the same name.
• When coloring pictures, the child chooses odd colors for typical objects. For example, using a green crayon to shade in a person’s face could be an indicator of colorblindness.
• If the child selects an outfit to wear, the colors may clash horribly.
• The child cannot see text or shapes that are drawn against a certain color background, such as a green chalkboard.
• The child withdraws from activities that involve color identification, including any sport that has colored boundary lines drawn on the ground.

In small children, it can be difficult to identify colorblindness since they are still learning colors and numbers. To mitigate this, children’s eye care providers use a test employing animal shapes instead of numbers to discover if a child sees colors normally. A field of colored dots is the background for shapes in varying colors. If the child cannot pick out the shapes, this indicates a color vision issue.

Colorblindness in children can result in bullying, difficulty learning, and socialization issues. If you suspect that your child is colorblind or having any vision issues, consult a children’s eye care specialist promptly.

October is Home Eye Safety Month and that means now is a good time to read up on how you can protect your eyes and eye-sight.

Eye injuries can affect a significant part of our lives, from work performance to family life. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that almost 50 percent of all eye injuries happen in the home from daily activities such as cooking, cleaning or home repairs. Other eye injuries can take place outside the home; mowing the lawn, barbecuing, or automotive repairs.

Here are seven tips to make sure you mindfully protect your eyes in and outside the home.

1. Safety glasses are key for eye health when using a lawn mower, edging tool or weed trimmer. If you’re using hazardous products such as an oven cleaner, or bleach, safety glasses can protect your eyes from volatile splashes.
2. Regular prescription glasses don’t provide enough protection. If you wear prescription glasses, many safety goggles will fit over your regular glasses.
3. You can find three types of safety lenses that meet the requirements for protecting your eyes. Glass lenses can be used around harsh chemicals. Plastic lenses are lighter weight and not likely to fog. Polycarbonate lenses are stronger than glass or plastic.
4. Using grease shields will prevent hot oil from splattering up into your face and eyes. And keeping your kitchen tools in good shape, such as knives routinely sharpened, will prevent any breakage or flying material or hard foods into the eye.
5. Wear sunglasses with protective lenses that block out those damaging UVA and UVB rays.
6. If you have children, make sure that they also are fitted with sunglasses to protect their eyes from sand, dirt and debris outside, as well as from those harmful UV rays.
7. Finally make sure that all of your tools and cleaners are locked away and out of reach of children.

Prevent Blindness America offers information on eye-care both in-home and at work, including first-aid for eye injuries. They also provide a list of common eye myths, such as thinking there is nothing you can do to prevent sight loss. Regular eye exams and proper safety eyewear can save your sight.

Remember to keep up on proper eye health during October Home Eye Safety Month. Proper eye health should include a regular scheduled exam, whether or not you’re experiencing eye trouble.