The other day I had a moment of experiencing a strange element in my vision. It resolved itself within minutes and I’m still not sure what happened, but it served as a reminder that: 1) I’m getting older, and 2) taking care of my eyes is important. (Note to self: make sure my annual vision exam is scheduled!)

July is Healthy Vision Month and so I wanted to take a moment to encourage you with two things.

One, part of our vision coverage with VSP (which our active and retired participants have) is an included annual vision exam at no cost to the participant. If you are not seeing a doctor for a vision exam on an annual basis, you really should be.

And that’s because, two, vision health is so important. The CDC says that our “eyes are an important part of [our] health.” They go on to suggest things that we should be doing to invest in our eye health. You can check out the complete list here. Of course, at the top of the list is to get an annual eye exam. The CDC also suggests that we wear eye protection (sunglasses and eye protection when doing potentially dangerous activities), maintain a healthy diet, avoid tobacco, and practice the 20-20-20 Rule when we spend a lot of time focused on one thing, like a computer screen. The 20-20-20 Rule invites you to look about 20 feet away for 20 seconds for every 20 minutes you are focused on a single object.

I hope this July you’ll take a moment to schedule an eye exam or do something else to make sure your vision health is as good as it can be!

Last Updated on June 28, 2024