Eyes are very important to us, so we have to be careful to look after them. One of the ‘lines’ I remember from my childhood is my dad always saying to me “eyes are precious, we only get one set so we have to look after them”. It totally stuck with me and I frequently use the same line on my children, especially when they are mid-sword fight!

Our eyes show us our world and they show others how we are feeling. When we talk to other people, we notice what their eyes are saying as well as what they are saying with their mouths. Some people I know have those eyes that give everything away, others have eyes that smile when they smile and others have eyes so big and beautiful that they draw you in every time you look at them.

How to care for your eyes

Because eyes are so precious, we need to really take care of them and encourage our children to do the same:

• Take care to protect your eyes when you are playing sport
• Turn on lights when it’s getting dark especially if you’re reading, so you don’t cause strain to your eyes
• Wear sunglasses and hats on bright days to protect your eyes. If you’re looking for a new pair, discover sunglasses at GlassesUSA. If you are looking for next day prescription glasses, you can look for them online too.
• Encourage children to tell you if their eyes are sore
• Encourage children to tell their teacher if they can’t see the blackboard/whiteboard or their book clearly
• Keep sun cream, shampoo etc away from your eyes – it really stings if it runs into them
• Wear your glasses if you need them
• Don’t wear other people’s glasses
• Your eyes can get sore if you watch a computer or TV screen for too long, so do lots of different things in your spare time
• Looking directly at the sun or any really bright light, including lightning can damage your eyes, so avoid that
• Rubbing your eye if you get something in it can hurt your eye, wash your eyes with water until it feels better, a eye bath can help
• Use the correct drops/medication for your eyes if you need them, and do not use any that someone else has used – beware of use by dates
• Wear protective glasses when you are gardening or at all other times when dirt or other things might fly into your eyes
• Keep hydrated
• Don’t forget to blink!

Seeking advice

If anyone in the family has a problem with their eyes head to your local opticians. They are fountains of knowledge and in my experience will be able to give great advice. I’ve always used my local Specsavers and had great service and advice, but whatever is local to you.

Things that can help

There is some new research and a product developed by eyecare industry experts called Biotrue Daily Eyelid Wipes which reveals that women are more likely to suffer eye infections than men, with over half of women getting them (54%). Makeup is thought to be a key risk factor, particularly sharing make-up or using make-up that is out of date. Is that you? Are you guilty?

Many of us, use simple make-up remover but do not properly clean our lens lids with a wipe designed for hygiene. Even if we do not wear make-up we should be cleaning our eyelids for hygiene everyday as bacteria and debris can get caught, especially in our eye lashes, so it is not about make-up removal but eyelid hygiene.

Biotrue® Daily Eyelid Wipes from Bausch + Lomb, are the only product officially indicated for ocular allergies, blepharitis and eye infections and are suitable for both babies and adults, even those with sensitive eyes. There are 20 eyelid wipes in each pack, which cost £9.99 and are available from independent pharmacies and opticians nationwide. It is also important to note that these eyelid wipes are detergent free, unlike most on the market, so whilst pricey, they do a great job and are very gentle.

Developed by leading experts and recommended by Ophthalmologists, these wipes are not designed to remove your eye make-up but to gently clean, soothe and refresh eyelids without disrupting the tear film to promote good eye hygiene and help prevent eye infection. Having experienced a bad eye infection a few years back, following a bad year of hay fever, I am really conscious of the need to look after my eyes. An eye infection is really no fun at all.

Another great tool for taking care of the eyes is the TheraPearl Eye-ssential Mask to help with eyelid hygiene, especially for the management of blepharitis, conjunctivitis or styes. Use it warm (it is the UK’s first hot and cold therapy eye mask) in conjunction with Biotrue Daily Eyelid Wipes to manage eye styes, infections, or blepharitis. So clean the eyes with the wipes, then use the TheraPearl Eye-ssential Mask and then clean the eye area again. The TheraPearl Eye-ssential mask is available from Superdrug £7.99. It is re-usable and moulds to the curvature of your face thanks to its pearl technology.

These are so relaxing on the eyes, so even if your eyes are just tried and over worked, pop the mask on and lie back – also quite effective when you have a headache as well, or a temperature.

When you need glasses

If you wear glasses or contacts, you’ll be used to having regular check ups at your local opticians and you will probably have tried a range of different glasses and contacts over the years. Sometimes it can take a while to discover what suits you and your eyes the best. I have always used Specsavers for everything as I’ve always been pleased with the service and the packages on offer. Recently though I have tried some new glasses from GlassesShop.com, ordering them online, which is a totally different approach for me.

They stock a range of glasses frames and also prescription sunglasses too – if you’ve just found out you need glasses then you are probably best to go into a shop and get some one to one advice, but, if like me you’ve worn glasses for a while, you  will have an idea about what sort of eyeglasses suit you, and you should be able to select something online.

You will need to make sure you know your current prescription and also your pupillary distance, although the website actually tells you how to measure that yourself at home if you need to.

The glasses arrive well packaged and have a hard plastic, yet lightweight case and glasses cleaner to keep them at their best when you aren’t wearing them.

If you are thinking of trying these out, I have a special coupon code GSHOT50 for you to use. This code means you readers can have 50% off on eyeglasses and sunglasses with free lenses (sale frames excluded). These are great value glasses anyway but with the discount, well, they are an absolute bargain.

There are tons of options to choose from and you can search by shape and colour of frames which makes it really easy to quickly find the type of thing you are looking for.

They do children’s frames as well, so if you have a child that wears glasses it’s a really cost effective way of getting a few pairs of spares for those days when little Jonny from school sits on them.

Are you looking after your eyes?