Some ways to look after your eyes

Because eyes are so precious, we need to really take care of them.

Exercise your eyes!

Reading, writing, using a computer, watching TV or staring at a small screen on a video game can all make your eyes feel dry and tired.

Some doctors think that too much close work can even lead to short sightedness (myopia [say: my-oh-peea]), which means that you can only see things clearly when you are up close to them.

You can help your eyes by exercising them. Here are a few things you can try.

The rest of your body needs a break too. Close your eyes and take 10 slow deep breaths holding the air in for 10 before breathing out. Stand up and move around a bit. Roll your shoulders, bend sideways and slowly roll your head around.

If you have problems seeing clearly your doctor or optometrist (eye doctor) may give you some other exercises which may help.

Sunglasses and hats

Safety for other people

Here are some ways to help make sure you don't hurt anyone else's eyes.

Never

Can you think of other things that might hurt someone's eyes?

Injuries can easily happen, so you have to really think about what you are doing. Wouldn't it be awful if someone's eyes were hurt and it was your fault?

Could you have a problem?

What if your eyes don't work properly or don't see as well as they should?

Lots of people have problems with their eyes. Sometimes you don't even know you have a problem at first because you don't know that everyone else can see things differently.

Some people who have problems with their eyes say "I can see what they are doing, but I can't see who is doing it". You can miss a lot of things if you can't see well.

Here are some things that might tell you that you are not seeing as well as you could:



What to do

If you are worried or not sure if you have a problem with your eyes, tell your parents or carers or a teacher.

What happens next?

Have your eyes tested. This does not hurt, and it helps to find out if there is anything wrong. You may need to see a special eye doctor or an optician (say op-tish-an) for this.

Here are some of the things that an eye doctor or optician may suggest if your eyes need help:

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