(Collaborative Guest Post) While travelling is a great experience it can cause challenges for our health due to long periods spent doing different activities to normal in new locations.  Fortunately with care we can minimise risks and keep our bodies as healthy as possible both while travelling and during our daily lives.

Develop Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Healthy eating is not only an excellent way to keep our bodies as a whole healthy but to help our eyes stay healthy. In particular try to make fruits and vegetables an essential part of your diet and exercise regularly. It is equally important to avoid unhealthy habits such as smoking. 

Schedule Regular Exams

Chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, if left untreated, can lead to serious eye-health problems. Diabetes is associated with diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration and someone with high blood pressure without treatment is more prone to hypertensive retinopathy and brain damage. All of these can lead to permanent vision loss, which is why regular check-ups before any trip are essential for health. The earlier a chronic condition is diagnosed, the sooner you can start receiving appropriate treatment. You might want to consider getting your ears checked before flying away on holiday.

Watch For Changes In Your Health

Changes in your health tend to be very gradual, making them difficult to notice at first. If you see a difference, schedule an appointment for a check up. If you experience symptoms such as sudden eye pain, swelling, or red eyes contact your doctor immediately. Whether these are the early stages of a severe eye condition or you just need routine medication, it is vital to get the advice of an experienced ophthalmologist.

Protect Your Eyes From The Sun

Keeping our eyes safe from harmful UV rays is not so easy. Choose sunglasses specially designed to block 100% of UVA and UVB rays. They should be labelled to claim this if they do. Sunglasses that do not block UV rays can actually be worse than no sunglasses at all because they reduce the protection of our eyes.

Schedule Your Eye Exams

Regular eye checks play a significant role in maintaining a healthy vision for life. Some life threatening diseases cannot be reversed, but there is a lot that can be done to slow or stop their progression when diagnosed early. This is why regular eye exams can be the difference between permanent vision loss and saving your sight. Your personal risk factors (like how much time you spend looking at a computer screen and family history) will determine the frequency of these eye exams, but a good starting point is once every two years.

Consult Your Ophthalmologist

If you want more tips on how to keep your eyes healthy and your eyesight protected during a trip, or if you just need a recommendation on which sunglasses would be best, then the best thing you can do is contact with your personal ophthalmologist, who will provide solutions to all your ocular problems. Suppose you do not have a private ophthalmologist. In that case, you can turn to the experienced scientist and doctor Aris Konstantopoulos. With his many years of experience, he will guide you with interest in preserving the valuable health of your eyes.