Have you ever thought about how to take care of your eyes while traveling? Or should you even bother about it? I never thought about this issue until recently, unfortunately, and I am willing to bet a lot of people are like me.
I guess I have always been lucky – I had 20/20 vision all my life and I didn’t even give a second thought about my eyes. Then last year things changed so much so that my optometrist recommended wearing glasses at my last vision exam. It was devastating to me but also… eye-opening. I realized I needed to take care of my eyes more and better, but the question remained – HOW?
So how taking care of your eyes and a family road trip are related? These two things go hand in hand, especially if you are the designated driver.
Taking your family away on a road trip can allow you to see different parts of the country at your own pace. This could involve going out for a single day or, work and school vacation permitting, even for a month or more. When planning your trip, you may want to consider how best to look after your health. This can include attempting to maintain your eyesight, especially when it is required for you to be able to concentrate on the road, as well as excursions that are included in your chosen itinerary.
How To Take Care of Your Eyes While Traveling – Tip # 1: Do the testing
One of the first things you may want to consider can be whether your eyes have been tested lately. If not, there could be significant changes to your eyesight that, without the correct prescription, mean that you are not as safe as you could be while on the road. Not only could this endanger your own family, but also other road users. Driving safely is one of the most important things on any road trip.
When you have had an eye exam, you might want to think about getting some glasses to meet your eyecare needs. Even if you already have a set of correct glasses at home, you may be hesitant to take them away with you, especially if you are rather prone to losing things. To rectify this, it can be a good idea to order some quality prescription glasses online before you plan on going away. This means that you can have a specific pair for traveling and that you have left enough time for them to be delivered, and checked before you have to leave.
How To Take Care of Your Eyes While Traveling – Tip # 2: Beware of the sun
When planning a road trip, one of the most important items you should never leave home without is your sunglasses. While it’s true that you can pick up a pair of sunglasses from any gas station or drug store along the way, chances are these budget options won’t have the eye protection you’ll need to keep your eyes healthy, and your vision preserved whilst on the road.
When choosing sunglasses, always look for lenses that filter out up to 99% of UVB and UVA rays or ones that are rated UV400 or higher. It’s these lenses that will protect your eyes from harmful UV rays, minimize exposure to your retinas, corneas, lenses, and eyelids and prevent sun-related health issues that will ruin your road trip. You’ll also want to minimize glare, so choosing polarized lenses will ensure you’re not dazzled by sunlight on water, glass, or other light-reflecting surfaces, ensuring you can travel and enjoy your road trip in complete comfort.
How To Take Care of Your Eyes While Traveling – Tip #3: Take regular breaks
Another way of looking after the condition of your eyes, as well as the rest of your wellbeing needs, when on a road trip can be to take regular breaks to rest your eyes. This may mean that you need to stop at more places than you might like, especially to have a full night’s sleep and rejuvenate yourself.
An alternative to this can be to share the drive with your partner. Should any of your children or guests also be able to drive, you might also want to think about allowing them to take a turn. Resting your eyes can help you to pay attention to any hazards easier and, therefore, react quickly if needed.
How To Take Care of Your Eyes While Traveling – Tip #4: Exercise
When you have a chance to take a break from driving, do some exercises for your eyes to alleviate tiredness and strain. It will be especially helpful if these eye exercises become your daily habit. They are not difficult or time consuming but can have a profound effect if your eyes are straining on a regular basis, like on a long road trip.
How To Take Care of Your Eyes While Traveling – Tip #5: Mind the weather
The weather can also affect your eyes while you are away on your road trip. Wet weather can lead to glare on the roads, which can limit your ability to see. During sunny weather, you may also find yourself squinting to be able to see the road. You may want to remind yourself how best to use any sun visors found in your car, to try and block out the light from blinding you.
How To Take Care of Your Eyes While Travelling – Tip #6: First aid
Hitting the road and keeping your eyes safe means preparing for every possible eventuality. While you can hope that you will never need to administer first aid or need medical assistance, it’s always better to be prepared, should the unexpected occur. Preserving our vision is paramount, so when you pack a standard travel first aid kit in your vehicle, remember to bring along some vision-related items that can help keep your eyes healthy or help you manage a couple of first aid steps before you see a professional in the emergency room.
Items you might want to consider packing include: eye dressings, an eyewash kit and extra eyewash bottles, an eyebath, and sterile gloves to minimize infection. Having these simple items to hand may mean a trip to the nearest hospital is avoided, or in some extreme cases ensure your vision is preserved.
Also keep in mind routine care for your eyes. Dry climates, windy conditions, pollen, sand and other things can make eyes dry and irritated. I always have artificial tears in my travel first aid kit to address such issues.
Conclusion
Going on a road trip can allow you to spend some great time making memories with your family and friends. However, you may want to think about the different ways that you can better look after your eyes. This can help to minimize the likelihood of physical symptoms occurring from eye strain, exhaustion, irritation or glare.
I am really grateful that vision experts from Eyeglasses Online shared these handy tips with me. The advice is so much more valuable when it comes at the right time. I was looking for answers how to take care of my eyes after my last “unsuccessful” vision test and I am glad I found a lot of them.
If you found these tips useful, please, share them with other as they may help their health and well-being.
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