10 habits that spoil your eyes!

National Eye Donation Fortnight is celebrated from 25th August to 8th September © Shutterstock

In most cases, one is unaware about the things hurting their eyes.

We all have a set of habits we personally know is ruining our health. Thousands of people across, age groups, experience considerable amount of eye strain, this due to some seemingly harmless lifestyle practices and habits. Here are top 10 habits that ruin your eyes, according to Dr Harshvardhan Ghorpade, Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgeon at Department of Visual Sciences, Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi:

Blue light or radiations from mobiles: Lights from mobiles, laptops or iPads damage the surface of the eye leading to chronic red eyes. They also disturb the sleep cycle, leading to inadequate sleep.

Lesser eye to device (in the form of laptop, iPad and computers) distance: This leads to faster progression of Myopia (short-sightedness) in children, leading to thicker glasses. It also leads to chronic dry eyes.
Poor diet/ junk food damages the surface of the eye as well as causes early retinal degeneration and cataracts. It also leads to faster progression of myopia in children.
Self-medication is a bad habit that can lead to conditions like corneal infections and glaucoma, especially with eye drops containing steroids, which many are unaware about.
Working in poor lighting conditions like reading, writing etc., can lead to eye strain, tiredness, headache, rapid myopia progression and loss of focus.
Late nights cause inadequate sleep, tired and dry eyes and early onset of presbyopia i.e. near vision glasses. Read: What makes your eyes look older?
Eye rubbing with unclean hands can lead to infections like conjunctivitis and corneal injuries, causing blindness at times. Also poor contact lens hygiene, wearing lenses during sleep and while swimming, can lead to devastating eye infections.

Poor hygiene of hands and eyelashes can cause eyelash infections as well as mite infestation, leading to boils and scales on the eyelid margins.
Eye makeup and chemical exposure can cause eyelid margin inflammation, leading to dry eyes and sometimes corneal infections and micro defects causing irritation to light exposure.
Neglecting eye protection gear during travel, swimming, festivals, areas with chemical industries and prolonged device-related work. And in front of computer or other light emitting devices, anti-reflective glasses can help prevent computer vision syndrome, which involves chronic red and dry eyes. Read: How to prevent computer vision syndrome?

Habits may be difficult to break or get over, however, stopping it for your vision is 100 per cent worth it!