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.

A young man doing sports with a gray t-shirt, looking to his right side in the middle of the neighborhood.

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See your Eye Care Professional yearly

Eye exams are about more than vision. In fact, an eye exam help detect over a hundred different medical conditions from diabetes to heart disease.

Find an Eye Care Professional

Protect your eyes from the sun

Eyes are just as vulnerable to UV rays as your skin. That's why knowing ways to protect them, like with UV blocking^# in your contact 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.

What should I learn next?

Now that you know the basics of how to 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 Your Eyes and How It

Impacts Your Vision

Your eyes are made up of many intricate parts that each play a role in helping you see. Learn the basics of eye anatomy and the specific purpose of each part:

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

Sclera

The sclera is the tough, protective ‘white of your eye’, which is opaque.

Cornea

The clear front of the sclera, where light travels into the eye

Conjunctiva

The delicate membrane for protection in the front of the eye and inside its lid

Iris

Gives eyes their color and is equipped with tiny muscles to expand or contract the pupil, to manage incoming light

Pupil

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

Retina

The layer of tissue with receptor cells that send messages to the brain through the optic nerve

Lens

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

Macula

The area in the center of retina, made up of several tiny cells to help the lens focus light and help with tasks requiring precision

Illustration of any eye highlighting aqueous humour

Aqueous Humor & Vitreous Humor

The gel-like 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.

See Vision Issues

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Common eye conditions

From irritating "pink eye" to glaucoma, it's important to recognize eye health conditions so you know when to seek advise from an Eye Care Professional.

About Eye Conditions

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Find an Eye Care Professional near you

Let an Eye Care Professional help find the right ACUVUE^® contact lenses for you.

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Footnotes

Important information for contact lens wearers: ACUVUE^{^®} Contact Lenses can be used 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 instructions on proper lens care. Do not wear contact lenses if you have an eye infection, any eye disease or systemic disease, that may affect the eye, or if you are allergic to any ingredients. If you experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems, remove the lens and contact your Eye Care Professional immediately. For more information, including warnings and precautions, carefully read the Instructions for Use available on the Johnson & Johnson website.