Does swimming affect eyesight?

Swimming as a form of physical exercise is very good for improving the body's resistance and is also helpful for improving vision. However, you must be careful not to swim in dirty water and be careful of small swollen objects. Do not affect the cornea, otherwise it will affect your vision. As for daily behaviors that affect eyesight, you can learn about the top ten daily behaviors introduced below.

Top 10 everyday behaviors that can ruin your eyes

1. Going out without wearing sunglasses: Excessive ultraviolet radiation can easily burn the cornea and lens, and even cause cataracts and other eye diseases; in addition, the blue light component in the visible light of sunlight can also damage the macula, leading to diseases such as macular degeneration. Therefore, when outdoors, wearing sunglasses, wide-brimmed hats, blue light filtering glasses and other measures can protect your eyes well.

2. Not washing your face before going to bed: After a day of running around, your face will be covered with a lot of dust and germs. If you don’t wash your face before going to bed, it is easy to cause eye infection. In addition, the American Ophthalmological Association recommends that in order to avoid bacterial infection, eye cosmetics such as mascara should be replaced every three months.

3. The air is too dry: Wind, dry air, etc. will accelerate the loss of moisture in the eyes and easily cause dry and sore eyes. It is recommended to avoid rubbing your eyes with your hands as much as possible at this time, use a humidifier appropriately, and use artificial tears to moisten the eyes. Dr. Addis Montag, an ophthalmologist at Stanford University in the United States, reminds that artificial tears should be used less than 4 times a day. If the eyes are itchy, the artificial tears can be refrigerated before use, which can better relieve the itchy eyes.

4. Ignore symptoms of photophobia: Many people believe that flashes, photophobia, pain, blurred vision, or redness and swelling will subside naturally. However, these may be signals of eye disease sent by the body. If left untreated, the eye disease can easily worsen, making it difficult to restore vision, or even leading to more serious consequences.

5. Always use eye drops: Some eye drops can temporarily constrict blood vessels and eliminate red eye symptoms, but the inflammation still exists. Repeated use of these eye drops can cause the eye to become redder. Therefore, it is best to see a doctor in time when your eyes are red and swollen so as to treat both the symptoms and the root cause.

6. Staring at the computer: Under normal circumstances, you blink 12 to 15 times in one minute. If you stare at the screen for a long time, the number of times you blink will be significantly reduced, which can easily lead to dry eyes, fatigue, myopia and other eye diseases. Therefore, when using a computer, watching TV, or looking at a mobile phone, you should often look up and gaze into the distance to give your eyes a rest.

7. Wearing contact lenses while bathing: Do not wear contact lenses when showering or bathing, otherwise shampoo, shower gel, etc. will penetrate into your eyes, contaminating the lenses and causing eye discomfort. In addition, it is best to wear contact lenses less often in the hot summer and windy spring.

8. Swimming without goggles: When swimming or repairing furniture, it is best to wear goggles to protect your eyes. Otherwise, dirty water and fast-flying small objects may injure the cornea.

9. Smoking: Experts say that smoking 20 cigarettes a day doubles the risk of cataracts. Smoking also increases the incidence of age-related macular degeneration and myopia. This is because the oxygen inhaled by the human body when smoking is consumed, resulting in a decrease in blood oxygen levels. The retina is extremely sensitive to hypoxia. If this continues for a long time, it will inevitably cause a significant decrease in vision, and in severe cases even blindness.

10. Check your eyes regularly: Experts say that even if you don’t have myopia or presbyopia, you should develop a good habit of seeing an eye doctor regularly. Especially patients with hypertension and diabetes should check their eyes more frequently.

Eye care tips

1. Do not abuse eye drops: All medicines are toxic. Many modern people rely too much on eye drops, which results in drier eyes and even affects daily tear production, leading to increasing dependence on eye drops.

2. Look into the distance after using your eyes for a long time: People often habitually do one thing for a long time, and they don’t care even if their eyes are tired. What they should really do at this time is to stop working immediately, look into the distance, fully adjust their eyeballs and avoid fatigue.

3. Stick to eye exercises: Many people in China currently criticize eye exercises, but they play an irreplaceable role in acupoint health care, promoting blood circulation, and relieving eye fatigue.

4. Do not rub your eyes with your hands: In fact, there are a lot of bacteria on your hands. Since the eyes are easily infected, do not rub your eyes with your hands.

5. Apply a slightly warm towel to your eyes: A warm environment is conducive to blood circulation, can relieve eye fatigue, and the water vapor also has a good effect on the skin around the eyes.

6. Eat fruits and vegetables: Carrots and oranges are rich in vitamin C. They are cheap and affordable, and are a good habit that you can stick to.

Warm reminder: Patients with hypertension and diabetes are prone to fundus lesions. According to statistics, the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in patients is 35% to 51.3%, 26% for those with a disease course of 10 to 14 years, and 63% for those with a disease course of 15 years or more. Almost all patients with a disease course of more than 20 years will develop diabetic retinopathy and are at risk of blindness. For some people with advanced diabetic retinopathy, medical technology is no longer able to help. Therefore, once diabetes is diagnosed, you should go to an ophthalmologist to check your fundus and ensure that you have a check-up once a year. For those who have had diabetes for more than 5 years, it is best to have a check-up every six months. If "floating objects", "tadpoles", "flashing sensations" or decreased vision appear in front of your eyes, you should seek medical attention immediately.