If you have good eyesight, it's easy to forget about your eye health, but it's essential to go for regular check ups - your eyes are windows for a whole host of health conditions. Here's how to optimise your eye health and make sure you have a pair of bright, sparkling peepers

• Regular eye tests
  
• Conditions that affect our eyes
  
• Healthy eating for eye health
  
• Top tips for brighter eyes

  Regular eye tests
  Everyone should have his or her eyes checked by an optician at least once a year. If a prescription is needed the optician may suggest more frequent checks of up to once every six months.
  
  If you've always had 20/20 vision in the past it may be tempting to forgo a check up, but if you drive or operate heavy machinery it's the sensible thing to do. If you notice any symptoms such as headaches or blurred vision it is important for you to have a check-up. You will have to pay around £25 for a check-up. Tests are free if you are under 16 years old, over 60, on a low income or at risk of certain conditions (such as diabetes and glaucoma).
  
  The optician's office looks quite futuristic these days with machines to check for every eye condition. Some of the checks will probably include:
  
  

• Reading a variety of letters at distance, without or with corrective lenses
  
• The optician will peer into your eyes to check for a healthy blood supply and a healthy retina (back of the eye)
  
• Another machine may be used to test your field of vision: how well you see around the periphery
  
• A machine that puffs a small amount of air onto the surface of the eye (a slight surprise but not uncomfortable) to check for glaucoma
  
• A check for colour blindness
  
• A digital photograph may be taken of the eye to compare with later images
  
  Conditions that affect our eyes
  
• Long sightedness: An inability to see clearly when reading. Treated by wearing glasses.
  
• Short sightedness: An inability to see distant objects clearly. Treated by wearing glasses or contact lenses.
  
• Astigmatism: When light rays through the eye do not meet in the centre of the retina as they should. This happens when the cornea is not perfectly round (commonly referred to as a rugby ball shape). Treated by wearing contact lenses or glasses.
  
• Cataracts: An opacity of the lens caused by ageing, diabetes, trauma to the eye, some medications and other eye conditions. The best treatment is through prevention, but surgery can replace the lens with an artificial one. Smoking and sun damage can increase the risk of cataracts.
  
• Glaucoma: High pressure inside the eyeball that can damage the eye. This is often hereditary. Treatment can be by drops, drugs or surgery to reduce pressure.
  
• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): Deterioration of the retina at the back of the eye - the leading cause of blindness in over 65s. There is no specific treatment so prevention is important.
  
• Detached retina: When the retina is damaged. Laser treatment is very effective if it is caught early.
  
• Diabetes: A major cause of eye disease. An optician can usually identify it.
  
• Dry eye: Often exacerbated by staring at computer screens without blinking, but also caused by hormone or immune system imbalance. In the developing world it is often due to vitamin A deficiency.
  
• Conjunctivitis: Inflammation from a bacterial or viral infection of the conjunctiva, the invisible, lubricating film, which protects the eye.

  Healthy eating for eye health
  If you experience problems with your eye health, long-term healthy eating habits may help improve eye condition. A healthy diet may help age-related problems such as cataracts and macular degeneration, and diabetic damage.
  
  

• Carrots really do help you to see in the dark. They contain beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body (also called retinol because of its effect on the retina) and is vital for eye function.
  
• The macula of the eye is a repository for the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, found in very high quantities in spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables. People with higher intakes of carotenoids have a 60 per cent lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) than individuals who consume the lowest amounts of carotenoids. Carotenoids have two important functions; they offer antioxidant protections and filter out harmful blue-spectrum light.
  
• Blueberries are known for their eye-protecting qualities as they support retinal rhodopsin, a purple filter. Other dark berries will have a similar effect, though blueberries are the most potent.
  
• Studies have concluded that the long-term intake of vitamin C supplements, sometimes combined with vitamin E, reduces risk of cataracts by 70 per cent if taken over ten years.
  
• Diabetes is a major cause of eye damage and blindness. Glucose can accumulate in the blood and this causes oxidation damage at the back of the eye. With one million undiagnosed diabetics it is vital that everyone who might be at risk have an eye check. Eat lean proteins, lots of vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and fresh whole fruit that is not too sugary to help lower the risk of diabetes. Sugar, sweet desserts, chocolate and fizzy drinks should be avoided, and alcohol and caffeine limited.
  
  Top tips for brighter eyes
  Try these tips for the ultimate in bright and attractive eyes:
  
  
• Wear sunglasses with proper UVA/UVB protection.
  
• Avoid burning the candle at both ends. If you know you're going to indulge in a night out, try to take a nap mid-afternoon or at least make sure you get an early night beforehand.
  
• If you wear contact lenses don't wear them for longer than advised by your optician. Give your eyes a break at least once or twice a week.
  
• Tears have a vital function in keeping the eye lubricated and free of irritants. If you suffer from dry-eye, artificial tears are available from the chemist.
  
• If you have dark circles under your eyes, it could just be that you have thinner skin under your eyes, but it could also mean you are overdoing it or have a food allergy (nutritionists call these 'allergy circles').
  
• Herbalists use calendula cream for the delicate skin around the eye. Calendula (marigold) and eyebright baths are used to help get rid of styes.
  
• Iridology is a diagnostic holistic approach for finding imbalances in different regions of the body by studying the iris of the eye (though it is not used to diagnose specific diseases).
  
• Soothing eye pads can be made with used tea bags, cucumber slices, pads soaked in chamomile tea, used chamomile tea bags (as long as you don't suffer from hay fever as chamomile is a relative of ragwort which many find irritating), pads steeped in rosewater (available from the chemist).
  
• At the end of the working day, a soothing gel-filled eye mask is bliss and can relieve tension, headaches and irritation.
  
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