The Connection Between Eye Health and Overall Wellbeing

The health of your eyes and vision is directly related to your overall physical well-being. In fact, physical health and eye/vision health are so intricately connected that optometrists are often the first to notice an underlying, undiagnosed health issue in our patients.

What Your Eyes Tell Optometrists About Your Physical Health

Here are some of the most common issues we may detect during an eye exam, which may prompt us to suggest scheduling a visit with your primary care physician or specialist.

Dehydration

Did you know that while our bodies are about 60% water, our eyes are 99% water? As a result, the eyes are among the first organs to suffer when we are dehydrated. The most common symptoms of dehydration affecting the eyes include:

• Feeling like your eyes are dry.
• Red or irritated eyes.
• Blurred vision.
• A burning or gritty sensation.
• Excessive tearing (the eye’s way of trying to compensate).
• Light sensitivity.
• Increased eye fatigue.

Not surprisingly, these are the same symptoms associated with dry eye, which can become a chronic issue without early and consistent treatment.

Most of the time, increasing fluid intake and using preservative-free eye drops throughout the day are sufficient to ward off these symptoms. However, recurring incidences or chronic dry eye symptoms should be evaluated by your optometrist.

Issues with liver function

If the liver is suffering, the eyes may be one of the first indicators. Your eyes may be one of the first visible indicators that your liver isn’t functioning properly or that there could be an underlying disease. For example, jaundice (yellowing of the tissues due to a buildup of bilirubin) also affects the whites of the eye (the sclera). This change can be so gradual at first that you don’t notice it, but we’ll notice a difference at your routine eye exam.

Other ways liver disease can affect the eyes include dry eyes, fatty deposits on the eye, dry eye, or issues with night vision.

Vision issues related to diabetes

Did you know that vision loss is one of the most significant risks of diabetes? This is why preventing diabetes - or managing it well - is one of the best things you can do to proactively protect your eye health and long-term vision.

There are several eye conditions linked to diabetes, including:

• Diabetic retinopathy.
• Cataracts.
• Macular edema.
• Glaucoma.

In the early stages of these diseases, particularly glaucoma, vision may not be affected. However, your optometrist will pick them up during your eye exam and will inquire further to determine whether an underlying health condition - like diabetes - could be the cause.

High blood pressure also affects vision

Blood pressure takes its toll on your entire vascular system, and that includes the delicate capillaries and veins that nourish your eyes. Our patients with high blood pressure are particularly prone to a condition called hypertensive retinopathy. The chronic extra pressure on the vascular walls begins to weaken them, and this causes fluid to leak out of the vessels, swelling the retina or causing blood to hemorrhage into the eye.

Without making lifestyle adjustments focused on wellbeing, hypertensive retinopathy leads to permanent damage. Patients with high blood pressure are also at risk for optic neuropathy, which affects the optic nerve that sends signals back and forth between the eye and the brain to make sense of the images you see. The simple act of managing your blood pressure through healthy diet and lifestyle choices, and medication management if necessary, is one of the best things you can do to prevent legal blindness.

Age-related eye conditions are supported by overall well-being

There are so many factors that affect your lifetime eye and vision health, including those that cannot be avoided. For example, some conditions are directly linked to your genetics, and other eye diseases or vision loss can be part of the aging process.

Adults 65 and over have a higher risk of developing things like:

• Difficulty seeing at night (called nighttime vision loss).
• Cataracts.
• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
• Glaucoma.
• Increases in near/far sightedness or astigmatism.
• And so on.

Be Proactive About Healthy Lifestyle Choices & Disease Management

There are two major factors that influence the connection between eye health and well-being. The first is being proactive about your health, which helps prevent or delay the onset of common conditions that affect eye and vision health. However, once you’ve been diagnosed with a disease - any disease - you can do your body a tremendous favor by following your specialist’s instructions when it comes to disease management.

In most cases, that includes:

• Observing an anti-inflammatory diet not only prevents and manages common diseases but also slows down their progression and can minimize any inflammation-related side effects.
• Take any medications as prescribed by your doctor.
• Understanding how pregnancy can affect eye health, ensure you see your optometrist during your first trimester to have all of the information to support your vision health throughout your pregnancy.
• Always discuss current medications/doses with your optometrist so we can view them through the lens of long-term eye and vision health. Some high-risk medications can negatively impact your eyes, so we may want you to come in for more frequent exams.
• Get into a regular daily routine that incorporates some form of exercise that inspires you, which can be anything from hitting the gym or walking the dog to water exercises, yoga/pilates classes, or dancing to your favorite playlists.
• Prioritizing healthy sleep habits is one of the least talked about ways to boost your health, immune system, and overall well-being. A good night’s sleep is one of your body’s greatest allies when it comes to self-healing.

Eye to Eye Family Vision Care Helps Patients Connect Lifestyles & Eye Health

Here at Eye to Eye Family Vision Care, we take a full-spectrum approach to your family’s eye health. That includes discussing healthy lifestyle choices that support overall well-being, which keep your eyes as healthy as possible.

Schedule your next eye appointment with us, and we’ll help you create a plan for overall well-being that supports your eye and vision health.