May is Vision Health Month: Schedule Your Annual Eye Exam Today!

May is Vision Health Month, an initiative of the CNIB (the Canadian National Institute for the Blind). It's a good time to consider this statistic: One in seven Canadians will develop a serious eye disease that could lead to vision loss.

That’s a scary figure. But the good news is that up to 75% of all vision loss can be prevented or treated, and annual eye exams play a major role in making this happen.

Have you had an annual vision exam recently?

Even if you do not wear contacts or glasses, vision exams from a skilled eye doctor are important for detecting the warning signs of vision loss and other serious eye diseases.

3 ways to protect your vision

Here’s some advice from our optometrist in Maple Ridge about maintaining healthy eyes:

1. Eat right. The right balance of vitamins, minerals, fats and other nutrients is essential for maintaining good vision health. Omega-3s, Beta-carotene and Vitamin C are the most essential nutrients for eye health. You’ll find them in leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits and lean proteins like turkey. To learn more about an eye-healthy meal, check out the recipes posted by our friends at CNIB.
2. Don’t smoke/quit smoking. Smokers have a significantly higher risk for cataracts and other disorders that can lead to partial or total vision loss. Smokers are also three times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration than non-smokers. Worse, smokers are more than twice as likely to develop uveitis, the inflammation of the eye’s middle layer (the uvea), which leads to total vision loss. So do everything you can to kick the tobacco habit!
3. Schedule an annual eye exam. Our optometrist in Maple Ridge will check for the warning signs of common vision problems, including cataracts and vision loss.

Learn more about eye health from CNIB. As we have in previous years, our Maple Ridge clinic is proud to donate $1,000 to CNIB to in recognition of Vision Health Month.

Keep your eyes healthy

Schedule your vision exam with our eye doctor today!