Healthy Me

My eyes are highly sensitive to light. I can remember being about 11 - 12 years old and all of a sudden, the light was excruciating on my eyes. I couldn't open them. There was no reason that I knew of that I had tears running down my face and needed to call out for help. My father came to see what was wrong and gave me the oddest look as I stood there crying - like I was crazy. He didn't know what was wrong with me. I couldn't open them; it hurt so much. That sensitivity never went away. Every once in awhile, it happens to me just like that. It's bad when I'm driving and that happens so I always have sunglasses available to wear to cut the glare. I've seen it referred to as photophobia but I've never gone to a doctor for a diagnosis.

With winter coming, a lot of people don't think about what effect the sun can still have on you. For me personally, I still have to wear sunglasses during the winter months because the glare off the snow literally hurts my eyes. It makes it heard to see to drive with tears pouring from them. Polarized Sunglasses are designed to cut that glare from the snow (water, grass, and asphalt too). Sunglasses are a good investment. They protect the inner eye from sun damage. Plus they protect the skin around your eye - if you're squinting all the time, you'll get wrinkles!

I am a year overdue to have my eyes checked so as part of the "getting healthy" kick that I tend to flip flop on, I scheduled appointments next week for the entire family - six in one day. Crazy huh?

I take my kids every year but I skipped myself last year because I didn't want to put out the money for frames for myself so I skipped the exam entirely (bad). Adults can usually go every two years unless there are problems with the eyes. Since my vision is bad, I go every year. I'd like to look at a pair of prescription Women's Sunglasses too while I'm there but I'll probably just get the lens' that darken in the sun instead. The American Optometric Association says that you should wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV rays.

The appointments are made and once done, I can cross another "healthy me" item off my "to do" list!