How we live our lives each day matters to our health. It also matters to the health of our eyes. Poor lifestyle choices or situations forced on people through poverty and their need to survive can be risk factors for eye diseases, either in general or specific ways.

What are some important lifestyle issues for eye disease?

Sunlight

Sunlight exposure is known to cause skin cancers and the eyelids can be affected in the same way as the rest of the body.

Sunlight has been shown to be a minor but real risk factor for the development of cataract, the most frequent cause of blindness in the world today. Because most of the world’s poor people live in tropical or desert areas and because they often work outdoors in farming, fishing and herding, these people are more exposed to this risk, as well as all the other difficulties they endure. They also have little access to affordable sun protection and sunglasses which block the ultraviolet component of the sun’s rays, which seem responsible for the damage.

Sunlight does not seem to be a significant risk factor for retinal disease.

Pterygium is a degenerative condition of the surface tissues of the eye, namely the conjunctiva and the cornea. In this condition, a band of scarred conjunctival tissue grows and sticks onto the cornea. Pterygium can cause reduced vision, pain, redness and many other symptoms. It can occasionally cause blindness, particularly in poor parts of the world with poor access to specialized eye care. Its development is strongly and directly related to sunlight exposure, and it is particularly prevalent in poor parts of the world where occupational exposure to sunlight (especially in agriculture and fishing) means that people have no possible escape from extreme sun exposure and other environmental hazards such as dust, salt and smoke.

The sensible and appropriate use of sunscreen lotions and sunglasses help to reduce the impact of sunlight-induced eye disease. These items are often not accessible or affordable in poor parts of the world and people are often not educated about their benefits, usually relying on local hat designs which help but which do not protect from reflected or scattered sunlight in the environment.

Smoking

Smoking tobacco causes a great deal of disease. Many cancers, degenerative conditions and vascular diseases are caused by exposure to tobacco smoke. The eyes are also affected.

It is clear that macular degeneration occurs more frequently and more severely in cigarette smokers. This fact is not well known to the general public.

Macular degeneration, the harmful effects on retinal blood vessels and its contribution to vascular disease generally (such as stroke and heart attacks) mean that tobacco smoking is a significant cause of vision loss.

The epidemic of cigarette smoking in poor populations in the developing world and the lack of education about its ill effects mean that there will be a huge amount of smoking-related illness of all kinds in poorer parts of the world for years to come.

Diet, Exercise and Body Weight 

Being thin and fit, with plenty of exercise, promotes good health generally. It also helps to prevent high blood pressure and diabetes and it helps to promote good mental health.

Since high blood pressure and diabetes cause a significant amount of eye disease, an active lifestyle which helps to prevent them is very good for eye health.

Many poor countries which are experiencing rapid economic development are also experiencing an epidemic of diabetes, obesity and vascular disease because of it, so these are not simply issues for rich countries.

The need for education and health care related to these emerging diseases in poor countries presents one of the great challenges in public health worldwide.

Occupational Health and Safety (OH & S)

Throughout the world many eye injuries are caused by poor OH & S practices. This applies to agricultural, industrial and recreational activities. Most occupational injuries can be prevented by relatively simple safety practices and the appropriate use of eye protection. These things are usually affordable and anyway are much cheaper than the personal and economic cost of the eye injuries which often affect both eyes and may be catastrophically severe.

Specialised eye care and even first-aid are often impossible to access in poor countries. Late attention to eye injuries usually results in a poorer outcome. Education about and the prevention of eye injuries is therefore of paramount importance, especially in developing countries.

Close Work

There is no evidence that prolonged or habitual close visual work (eg reading, sewing, using computers) causes eye disease or poor vision. It seems to be a myth. Nor is there any evidence that any form of ‘eye exercises’ can maintain or restore good eye health.

There is evidence however that prolonged close visual work in an indoor environment can interfere with the normal development of the eye’s optical system in childhood, resulting in myopia (short-sightedness). The reason for this is not clear.

It seems however that regular and frequent outdoor activity is necessary for normal development of the optics of the eye in childhood. The opportunity and the need for childrens’ eyes to look at distant objects may well be necessary for the body to program the development of normal optics.

Hygiene

Hygiene is obviously important in the prevention of infectious diseases. It is particularly important in the case of trachoma, an infectious eye disease which affects poor and often dispossessed communities throughout the world.

This disease worsens because of frequent re-infection of sufferers, which promotes scar formation in the external tissues of the eye, the conjunctiva and cornea.

Even when environmental conditions, poor nutrition and overcrowding remain, it has been shown that regular face-washing to remove infectious secretions causes a striking improvement in intensity of infection, particularly in children.

Combined with the use of antibiotics and corrective surgery, this simple improvement in hygiene is helping to reduce the burden of blindness caused by this dreadful condition around the world.

Note: This information is general in nature and is not a substitute for specialist medical advice. Have your eyes checked regularly every two years, even if you have not noticed any symptoms or changes.