Protecting your vision now is key to preventing eye diseases later on in life. Here are a few precautions you can take each day to keep your eyes healthy:

• Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight. Your eyes require good circulation and oxygen to be healthy, and being overweight puts you at risk for diseases, like diabetes, that can affect your eyesight.
• Avoid smoking. Smoking increases your risk for cataracts and other age-related vision problems that can lead to blindness.
• Talk to your primary care physician to see how often you should have an eye exam — and then keep up with your appointments. In most cases, the earlier a potential vision problem is detected, the easier it is to treat.
• Wear protective eyewear when playing high-risk sports, using power tools or doing anything else that may harm your eyes.
• Choose sunglasses that block out UVA and UVB rays — exposure to bright sunlight may increase the risk of developing cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and growths on the eye, including cancer. Look for sunglasses that say “UV400,” which block out 99 to 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays.
• Rest your eyes. When reading or working at a computer, follow the 20/20/20 rule to reduce eyestrain by taking a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
• If you’ve been prescribed corrective lenses, make sure to wear them as instructed by an ophthalmologist — neglecting to do so can worsen any existing vision problems.