Many people are aware of the importance of wearing sunglasses during the summer to protect their vision. Fewer people, however, understand the impact that cold winter weather has on your eyes. There are multiple steps that you should take in order to protect your eyes throughout the cold months to keep them in the best possible condition. You rely on your vision daily to go about your life, so it is vital to take appropriate care of your eyes to keep them in optimal health, as well as ensure that you are able to see clearly throughout the winter.

Common Problems with Eyes in the Winter

There are many issues that can impact eyes during the winter months. One of the most common issues is dry eyes. Ultimately, warmer air has a higher capacity for holding moisture than cold air. When the air becomes cooler, it is less capable of holding moisture and, therefore, becomes dried out. This can cause both your skin and your eyes to dry out. Alternatively, watery eyes may become an issue in the cold winter months. This is often caused by the same issue. The dry air can cause eyes to overcompensate, providing tears to keep your eyes moisturized. Snow blindness is another common concern during the winter. UV rays reflect off of the snow, which can make it difficult to see on a sunny day. Wearing the appropriate gear can help to offset the problems consistent with snow blindness.

Use a Humidifier

The air in your home is likely to become much drier throughout the winter months. Adding a humidifier to your building can help to add more moisture into the air of your building. This will prevent the consistent dry air from drying out your eyes, keeping you much more comfortable throughout the winter. This can also be especially beneficial to your skin, which can also dry out excessively when the temperatures drop.

Point Heater Vents Away

The air from the heater of your car is often incredibly dry. Despite the higher temperatures, the heated air simply doesn’t have the opportunity to build up humidity. It is important to take care when you use the heater vents of your car. Refrain from having your heater vents pointed directly to your face to protect your eyes from the hot, dry air. This can go a long way toward preventing the eyes from drying out.

Eye Drops

As previously stated, dry eyes are one of the most common issues with the eyes during the winter. Keeping eye drops with you consistently can help to ensure that you can moisturize your eyes whenever the need arises.

Proper Sports Protection

There are multiple sports in the winter that require the use of protective equipment over the eyes. For one thing, snowboarding and skiing can result in significant amounts of possible debris that can damage your eyes. It is important to wear goggles whenever you engage in these activities. Many winter activities deal in exposure to snow and sunlight, which makes it important to use sunglasses.

Sunglasses

Most people wear sunglasses frequently in the summer months, but less often during the winter. However, it is vital to wear sunglasses in the winter, as well. In fact, snow reflects UV rays at a higher rate than even water, which can be incredibly detrimental to your vision. It is important to wear sunglasses in the winter to protect your eyes from UV rays caused by reflecting sunlight. There are many options available for sunglasses to ensure that you can obtain everything you need to protect your vision, no matter what the conditions outside are.

Consider Glasses Over Contacts

Your eyes will likely stay much drier in the winter months, which can make wearing contacts incredibly uncomfortable. In addition, dried out contacts can make it more difficult to see. Wearing glasses more often than contacts in the winter months can help to keep you more comfortable and allow you to see more clearly. However, you may want to ensure that your glasses have UV-ray protecting qualities.

Wear a Hat

A wide-brimmed hat can go a long way toward providing shade and protecting your eyes from the UV rays that reflect frequently from the sun. In addition, it is still important to wear sunscreen to protect your skin during winter, due to the extra reflection caused by snow.

Practice Good Hygiene

Pink eye is generally more common during the winter than other times of the year. This increases the importance of practicing good hygiene during this time. Make sure that you wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes. This can prevent you from all of the negative effects that come from pink eye and other diseases of the eyes.

Visit your Optometrist

Seeing your optometrist regularly is an important component of keeping your eyes healthy. They will be able to find potential issues with the eyes in the early stages, which will make it much easier to treat them and protect your vision. If you are ever concerned regarding the health of your eyes, you should contact us and schedule an appointment for a thorough, effective eye exam.

Stay Hydrated

Many people drink less water during the winter months. However, this, in combination with the dry air, can lead to both the skin and the eyes becoming incredibly dried out. It is extremely important to ensure that you drink enough water and keep yourself hydrated during the winter. This will help to keep your eyes more moisturized, which can protect them from sustaining damage and keeping you far more comfortable.

Here at Wolcott’s Optical, we care about protecting the health of your eyes and ensuring that you are able to see clearly year round. We offer a large selection of glasses and sunglasses to provide you with the devices you need to be able to see clearly. Our expert team can help ensure that you are happy and able to optimize your vision. To learn more about how to keep your eyes healthy throughout the cold, dry winter months, contact us today!

Obtaining regular eye exams from your eye doctor can go a long way toward protecting the health and functionality of your eyes. When you fail to appropriately care for your eyes, many vision changes can go unnoticed. Regular eye exams will ensure that your eye doctor can find issues with your eyes in the early stages, which will help to protect your vision and reduce the likelihood of issues. Here at Wolcott’s Optical, we care about the overall health of your eyes. While we do not perform eye exams on-site, we provide superior eyewear services and tools to ensure that your eyes remain in the best possible condition and you are able to see clearly with your valid prescription. It is especially important to procure regular eye exams with your eye doctor to protect the health of your eyes.

How often Should you have your Eyes Examined?

There is not a specific frequency for obtaining your eye exams. The amount of time you should take between eye exams will depend on the condition of your eyes, as well as your age. It is vital to always listen to the advice of your optometrist, as they are aware of the health of your eyes and how to maximize the effectiveness of your eye exams. In most cases, those with eye problems should obtain an eye exam on an annual basis, though your eye doctor may recommend more frequent or less frequent visits. Younger individuals with healthy eyes may go an average of 5 years between obtaining their exams, while exams should be obtained more often as the individual ages. Even if you have never experienced any issues with your eyes, it is still important to have your eyes examined regularly.

The Importance of your Eyes

Your eyes are incredibly important parts of your body. Most individuals fail to realize how much they rely on their vision until they have an issue with their eyesight. However, your vision performs many vital functions. It allows individuals to connect with their surroundings and do a great deal to keep them safe. Seeing clearly allows individuals to perceive movement, which can help to detect potential causes of danger. Eyes are vital for driving and undergoing many regular processes. In addition, many young children have difficulty learning when their eyesight is less than ideal, especially considering the fact that the vast majority of education techniques are visually oriented. Unfortunately, children are often unaware that their vision is suffering, as they don’t know any differently.

Why you Need Regular Eye Exams

Regular eye exams are important to maintain the health of your eyes, even if you have never experienced any problems with your eyes previously. For individuals that wear glasses or contacts, regular eye exams can help to keep your prescriptions current, which will allow you to continue to see clearly. Visiting your eye doctor on a regular basis can help them to find early signs of eye disease, which is the point at which they will be more likely to be repaired. Children with eye concerns may perform poorly at school due to issues with their vision. Corrective treatment is often most effective in the early stages. Regular eye exams can go a long way toward helping with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, along with many other problems that can impact the eyes.

Regular eye exams can help you to keep your mind sharp, as it will allow you to read effectively, as well as perceive the environment around you. It is vital to remember that vision screening processes are not an effective substitute for eye exams. These procedures are generally only effective at locating incredibly obvious issues, but don’t necessarily help to pinpoint more subtle vision concerns. In addition, eyes tend to weaken with age, so it will be important to obtain more frequent eye exams as you get older.  

Protecting the Health of Your Eyes

Though eyes perform such a vital function in your life, they are also particularly vulnerable to damage. It is important to take steps to protect your eyes and maintain the health of your eyes. Whenever you participate in activities with the potential of flying debris, it is vital to wear protective gear to prevent trauma to your eyes. For example, the appropriate gear should be worn whenever you are working with wood or landscaping. UV rays can also cause damage to the eyes. Protecting your eyes from UV rays can be done by wearing effective, UV reflecting sunglasses to minimize exposure to your eyes. Though many people wear sunglasses on sunny days, overcast and cloudy days may still damage your eyes. Wearing hats with a brim can also help to protect your eyes. Ensure that you never stare directly into the sun.

Eye strain is another common culprit of damage to the eyes. When you work on the computer regularly, it is important to take breaks to allow your eyes to rest. Ensure that you obtain good lighting, particularly when reading or doing something else that may strain your eyes. Blink often to keep your eyes moisturized and always remember to use the appropriate eyewear, especially if you have a prescription. Protecting your overall health can similarly help to protect your eyes. This can include factors like eating healthily, exercising regularly, and quitting smoking. Wash your hands whenever you handle your contact lenses or place your hands near your eyes. Replace contact lenses regularly and ensure that they are disinfected. Obtaining regular eye exams and wearing goggles while swimming can similarly help to protect the health of your eyes.

Bring Your Prescription to Wolcott Optical

You rely on your vision to complete many of your regular tasks. Through our services, you can protect the health of your eyes and ensure that you are able to see clearly and comfortably. While you will need to see an outside eye doctor for your exam, contact our experts at Wolcott’s Optical once you have your prescription. We are here to help you select and custom-fit the appropriate vision-correcting tools, such as eyeglasses and contact lenses. Don’t wear eyeglasses that aren’t prescribed to you.  

There are many reasons that people begin to use prescription reading glasses. As we grow older, our eyes tend to become more rigid, which makes it difficult to switch between seeing near and far. Due to this, many people begin using reading glasses to aid with this transition. Nearly everyone’s eyesight will decline over time, so it is helpful to ensure that you pay attention to your eyesight when reading. Those who frequently engage in more fine, detailed work may notice that they need reading glasses earlier on, as their work will require them to carefully examine close things. There are two general options for reading glasses, including both over the counter and prescription varieties. If you are ever uncertain regarding the best decision to improve your vision, you should schedule an eye exam with us to obtain more information about your options!

What is Presbyopia?

Presbyopia is the official term for what is often called “farsightedness.” This condition is extremely common as individuals reach the age of 40 or older. It begins gradually, so you may not notice its development until the difficulty reading close words impacts your life. It may interfere with your regular tasks, but failure to notice it early on won’t necessarily cause damage to your vision. It is most important to use the proper corrective methods to prevent these from damaging your eyesight, rather than waiting to resolve the issue.

A healthy eye transitions smoothly between viewing objects that are near and objects that are far away. This is due to the lens of the eye contracting and expanding to adjust accordingly. As we age, presbyopia may set in. This causes the lens to become rigid, which prevents this contraction when focusing on close-up objects.

Signs that you have Presbyopia

Understanding the signs of presbyopia can help you to know when it is time to obtain reading glasses to optimize your reading processes. If you notice that you are squinting while reading or holding your reading materials far away, it is likely that you are beginning to develop presbyopia. Those with presbyopia often have difficulty reading in low light. Due to the fact that presbyopia impacts reading close materials, those with presbyopia may have difficulty reading things up close, but little to no difficulty when reading far away.

If you previously have had glasses or contacts to correct your vision, and they cease to meet your needs for reading, it is possible that you are experiencing symptoms of presbyopia. Presbyopia places a significant amount of strain on the eyes. Keep in mind that presbyopia often sets in around the age of 40, so you are at greater risk if you are of this age.

Prescription vs Ready-Made Reading Glasses

There are two general categories for reading glasses. There are reading glasses that you can obtain ready-made from many different stores and there are prescription reading glasses that can be prescribed by your optometrist. Understanding the differences will help you to make the best decision for your reading glasses and there are advantages and disadvantages to each option. Ready-made reading glasses are simple to obtain and often less expensive. However, they only come in one power, which may not fit the needs of your vision. Ready-made glasses are often most useful when an individual only needs very minimal correction, because higher powers may cause headaches, nausea, and tired eyes.

Prescription reading glasses are often available in wider varieties of styles and strengths. They tend to be of much higher quality, though they are also more expensive. It is important to keep in mind that eyesight is often different between each eye, which is why many people will have a different prescription for their right and left eye. Ready-made glasses don’t account for this difference, though prescription reading glasses can come in multiple powers to optimize their effectiveness. Prescription reading glasses can also come with a tint in order to protect the eyes from potentially harmful UV rays.

There are multiple options that may allow you to combine reading glasses with your standard glasses. Glasses may come in single vision, which will allow for either near or far vision correction. They can also come in bifocal varieties, which allow you to both see near and far with the same pair of glasses. Trifocal lenses can provide further comfort, as they allow for vision in near, far, and intermediate varieties. Finally, progressive lenses also allow for three different distinct areas, but transitions slowly between these segments.   

Protecting your Eyes

Obtaining prescription reading glasses can go a long way toward protecting your eyes. They provide more options for potential coatings to ensure that your eyes are protected. Anti-reflective coating is particularly useful if you need to regularly read on reflective surfaces, such as computers screens or tablets. This can make it easier to read comfortably, even in the sunlight. Blue light protection is another valuable asset for staring at a screen, as it can prevent many issues that occur with frequent screen time. Prescription reading glasses may also be combined with sunglasses in order to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.

Prescription reading glasses can both allow you to read more comfortably, as well as protect your eyes from many potential issues. If you have recently begun experiencing discomfort or difficulty while reading, there is a good chance that you are experiencing symptoms of presbyopia. In these situations, you should consider obtaining reading glasses to ensure that you can be comfortable while reading. Consulting with an optometrist will allow you to make the best possible decision for your vision and corrective implements. To learn more about prescription reading glasses, as well as how to obtain prescription reading glasses, contact our experts at Wolcott Optical today! We strive to provide all of the services that you need to obtain both stylish and effective glasses for all of your needs. From eyeglasses and contact lenses to prescription-level sunglasses, these services can ensure that you are able to see clearly, with glasses that you will feel confident wearing.