Surprising Impacts Your Hormones Have on Your Vision

Today’s guest post from Aaron Barriga outlines the ways that hormones can affect your eye health. With a focus on women, this post is informative and I like that Aaron even includes way to protect your vision. I hope you find it as interesting as I did upon reading it. Take it away, Aaron:

Hormonal changes in women can affect not only mood, skin, and weight but also influence your vision. An imbalance in hormone levels can be a fundamental reason for vision problems. Hormones play an important role in regulating vital functions of the body that can also affect your eyes. Hormonal fluctuation is an inevitable process that takes place from childhood to old age.

Let’s look at how hormones impact on every stage of a woman’s life.

1. Puberty

When girls enter puberty, they go through a very rapid physical growth. During this time their eyeballs also grow in length which may cause myopia or nearsightedness. As the hormones stabilize in the body vision should also stabilize as well but it is always advisable to consult an ophthalmologist and get an annual eye exam especially during the hormonal changes to keep your eyes healthy.

2. Menstrual Cycle

It is during the first week of the menstrual cycle the elevated estrogen level can cause blurred vision, teary eyes and trouble in focusing.

3. Pregnancy

When women come to an age when they can bear a child they have vision-related problems either due to birth control pills or pregnancy. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause blurry vision, dry eyes, irritation and watery eyes, which can make it difficult for you to wear contacts.

To get a new prescription, doctors tell women who are pregnant to wait until the baby is born. Medical conditions like diabetes or unusual changes in vision should prompt you to go to an eye care professional so that you can avoid further deterioration of eyes. Changes in vision generally reverse a few weeks after delivery.

4. Menopause

Estrogen and progesterone levels in a woman decrease during menopause, which usually makes them less ‘near-sighted’ than before. It is common to have the dry-eye syndrome and uveitis (inflammation of the middle layer of the eye) during this period. Read more on menopause changes relating to nutrition here.

Protect your vision:

Being at risk to eye health disorders does not necessarily mean you might develop the problems or not have options to manage them. Prevention is always better than cure and here are 8 ways to prevent eye-related complications:

1. Never miss your eye health exams because most of the eye conditions worsen as they do not come with a warning sign and progresses to point of causing permanent damage.
2. It is essential to maintain a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly and visit an ophthalmologist for a full dilated eye exam.
3. Purchase and wear contact lenses that are only approved by your eye specialist or professional.
4. Practice cosmetic hygiene by checking for expiration dates on cosmetics, regularly washing brushes and removing makeup at the end of the day or before going to bed.
5. Consult your doctor to prescribe you with eye health supplements.
6. Practice the 20-20-20 rule by giving your eye breaks at regular intervals by looking 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.
7. Wear sunglasses with 100% UV protection when you go outside even during winters.
8. Avoid long hours of handling phones and tablets to protect your eyes from the harmful effects of blue lights emitted from these gadgets.

About Aaron Barriga

Aaron Barriga is the studyclerk essay generator and the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center, an Ophthalmology Center in California. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns.

He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK. Aaron loves collecting coasters from the different bars and restaurants he visits during his travels.