Eye Health Basics

Taking great
care of your eyes

Whether you clock long hours in front of a screen or you prefer exploring the outdoors until sundown, keeping your eyes healthy can help keep you happy.

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See your eye doctor yearly

Eye exams are about more than vision. In fact, an eye exam can detect over 270 different medical conditions from diabetes to heart disease.
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Protect your eyes from the sun

Eyes are vulnerable to UV rays just like your skin. That's why knowing ways to protect them, like with sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV blocking# in your contacts lenses, is so important.

Eat eye-healthy foods

Certain foods can support your eye health now and even help prevent vision damage later in life, reducing your risk of serious chronic eye conditions like cataracts or macular degeneration. Include foods with these key vitamins and nutrients in your diet:

Lutein & Zeaxanthin

These nutrients may reduce the risk of eye diseases like cataracts and can be found in kale, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, raspberries, papaya, peaches and mangoes.

Vitamin C

This vitamin may lower your risk of developing cataracts, and when taken with other nutrients, it may slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration and visual acuity loss. Vitamin C can be found in oranges, grapefruits, kiwi, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and red and green peppers.

Vitamin E

This vitamin helps protect your eyes and can be found in almonds, sunflower seeds, vegetable oils, avocadoes, wheat germ, and sweet potatoes.

Essential fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids help with visual development and retinal function, and can help reduce inflammation and enhance tear production. Sources of essential fatty acids include fish such as salmon and tuna.

Zinc

Beans and lentils, seeds, meat/seafood, dairy, and eggs are all sources of zinc, which helps bring vitamin A to the retina to help produce a protective pigment in the eyes.

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Parents: Help your child meet the demands of school

With more and more learning going digital, students are swamped with screen time. Learn how this could impact their eyes and tips to help keep their eyes healthy.
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Doing eye-intensive tasks at work?

Video conferencing, emails, spreadsheets—as work has become more digital, it's especially important to take care of your eyes.

What should I learn next?

Now that you know the basics of how to help keep your eyes healthy, it can be helpful to be proactive and learn not only about the anatomy of the eye itself, but also vision issues and eye conditions to look out for over your lifetime.

The anatomy of the eye

Your eyes are made up of many intricate parts that each play an important role in helping you see.

Images are for illustrative purposes only and may not be anatomically accurate.

An illustration showing where the sclera is in the eye.

Sclera

The protective outer coating of the eyeball, also known as the white of the eye.

An illustration showing where the cornea is in the eye.

Cornea

The clear, dome-shaped part of the eye in front of the pupil, responsible for focusing light.

An illustration showing where the conjunctiva is in the eye.

Conjunctiva

The delicate membrane that covers and protects the surface of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelid.

An illustration showing where the iris is in the eye.

Iris

Gives the eye its color and expands or contracts the pupil to manage incoming light.

An illustration showing where the pupil is in the eye.

Pupil

The small, black spot in the center of the iris, which allows light to enter the eye.

An illustration showing where the lens is in the eye.

Lens

The flexible tissue behind the iris and pupil that focuses light on the retina.

An illustration showing where the retina is in the eye.

Retina

The layer of tissue at the back of the eye that reacts to light and sends messages to the brain through the optic nerve.

An illustration showing where the macula is in the eye.

Macula

A small area at the center of the retina densely packed with the majority of our eye's cone cells. The cones enable our color vision and their arrangement in the macula enables our fine central acuity.

An illustration showing where the aqueous humor is in the eye.

Aqueous Humor & Vitreous Humor

The fluids inside the eyeball that help give them shape.

What else can affect my eyes?

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Vision issues explained

Are distant objects blurry? Having trouble reading? Learn about the issues that affect your vision and how you can correct them.
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Common eye conditions

From "pink eye" to glaucoma, it's important to know the basics of eye health conditions so that you know when to see an eye doctor.
FAQs

Frequently asked questions

What causes eyestrain?

Like other parts of your body, your eyes can be overworked. Eye strain is a symptom of that, like when driving long distances or sitting in front of a computer screen for several hours. In addition to general soreness, eye strain can cause eyes to water, burn, or feel dry. Vision may also be blurred and the eyes may be sensitive to light. If you're experiencing eye strain that is severe, persistent, or recurring, reach out to your eye doctor.

Can you get eye strain from reading on a digital device?

Staring at a digital device for extended periods can lead to what's commonly referred to as computer vision syndrome, or digital eye strain. This is not a diagnosis but instead a group of symptoms people sometimes experience when their eyes are focused on one thing for a long period of time. Symptoms may include neck pain, dry eyes, blurred vision and headaches. Often, symptoms are only temporary, but if symptoms persist or recur, speak with your eye doctor.

More about Digital Eye Strain

How can office workers avoid eye strain?

Since eye strain is a symptom of overuse of the eyes, a few ways that office workers may be able to reduce the chances of eye strain is to take preventative measures, such as:

  • Sitting at arm's length from the screen
  • Reducing glare and reflections by changing the angle of the computer screen
  • Giving the eyes a break every 20 minutes

Let your eye doctor know if work on a computer daily, and they can recommend personalized options that can help reduce eye strain.

What causes dry eye?

Most of the time, dry eye is either caused by excess tear evaporation or your eyes not making enough tears. Dry eye can be made worse by allergies, thyroid disease, prolonged contact lens use, menopause, hormonal changes, certain medications, excessive screen time, dry environments, among other things. If your dry eye is persistent or severe, talk to an eye doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

What is conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is a common condition caused by irritated conjunctiva (white area of the eye) that causes redness, soreness, itchiness or discharge from the eyes. Conjunctivitis caused by bacteria and viruses is highly contagious and can spread through direct contact with the virus or respiratory tract droplets. Allergic conjunctivitis caused by a reaction to allergens like pollen, smoke, animals and chlorine isn't contagious. If you think you have conjunctivitis, seek the care of your eye doctor for examination, diagnosis and treatment.

How long does pink eye last?

It depends on the person, the source of the conjunctivitis (pink eye), and whether or not any treatment has been prescribed. Bacterial conjunctivitis can start to improve within 24 hours once you've started taking antibiotics. Viral conjunctivitis can take about seven to 14 days to clear up. If you think you have pink eye, speak with your eye doctor and dispose of any products you were using when you started noticing symptoms. For example, any disposable contact lenses worn during this time should be thrown out. If prescribed treatment, always take as directed for entire duration.

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Footnotes

Consult your eye care professional for more information.  Johnson & Johnson does not provide medical advice; this information is for educational purposes only.

#Helps protect against transmission of harmful UV radiation to the cornea and into the eye.
WARNING: UV-absorbing contact lenses are NOT substitutes for protective UV-absorbing eyewear such as UV-absorbing goggles or sunglasses because they do not completely cover the eye and surrounding area. You should continue to use UV-absorbing eyewear as directed. NOTE: Long-term exposure to UV radiation is one of the risk factors associated with cataracts. Exposure is based on a number of factors such as environmental conditions (altitude, geography, cloud cover) and personal factors (extent and nature of outdoor activities). UV-blocking contact lenses help provide protection against harmful UV radiation. However, clinical studies have not been done to demonstrate that wearing UV-blocking contact lenses reduces the risk of developing cataracts or other eye disorders. Consult your eye care practitioner for more information.

*Free trial contact lenses available only from participating eye care professionals. Exam and fitting fees not included.

‖Reward amount dependent on ACUVUE product and quantity purchased and if you are a new wearer. Must get an eye exam and purchase from participating provider. Original receipt required. Valid thru 12/31/23.
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Important Information for Contact Lens Wearers: ACUVUE Contact Lenses are available by prescription only for vision correction. An eye care professional will determine whether contact lenses are right for you. Although rare, serious eye problems can develop while wearing contact lenses. To help avoid these problems, follow the wear and replacement schedule and the lens care instructions provided by your eye doctor. Do not wear contact lenses if you have an eye infection, or experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. If one of these conditions occurs, remove the lens and contact your eye doctor immediately. For more information on proper wear, care and safety, talk to your eye care professional, call 1-800-843-2020, or download the Patient Instruction Guides.

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