When was the last time you stopped to think about the health of your senses? Touch, taste, hearing, smell, and sight are all aspects of ourselves that many of us are able to take for granted, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pay attention to them and ensure that we look after them as much as possible.
Sight
Sight is something that is so very precious, but that is also extremely vulnerable in terms of how it can be affected by your overall health, accidents and injuries, and the environment around you. Without your sight, it would be impossible to carry on life as you know it now, and so it is imperative that, whenever possible, you can look after your eyes in the best possible way.
Begin by booking regular visits to your optometrist. Even if you don’t think there has been a deterioration in your eyesight and nothing actually is causing you pain or feels wrong, you should still make this appointment and attend it. An optometrist doesn’t just check your eyesight but also the condition and health of your eyes. If there is a problem, they will be able to pick it up quickly and easily, giving you the best chance of being able to combat it.
If you do need to wear corrective lenses to see better, make sure that you do! Although you may not enjoy wearing glasses or contact lenses, you will be doing more damage to your eyes by causing them to be strained if you don’t wear them. At some point, you might consider corrective surgery which can lead to you not needing to wear lenses at all. This is a big step, however, and should be treated with caution and plenty of research.
Another way to protect your eyes is to wear sunglasses when you go outside. The sun’s rays can affect your vision without you even realizing it, and sunglasses will reduce the problem. When you are working with tools or equipment that could damage your eyes, make sure you are wearing protective goggles or a mask. Your eyesight is too precious to risk losing it through an accident that could easily be prevented.
Hearing
It’s easy to neglect the health of our ears, but it would be devastating if anything were to happen that meant we could no longer hear. There would be no more music, you wouldn’t be able to hear laughter or listen to a loved one speaking. You would miss out on many different aspects of day to day life that you currently take for granted.
There are many different activities that can damage your hearing, and trying to protect yourself from them as much as possible will help you in the long term. One example is cleaning your ears. You may think it’s perfectly normal to take a cotton bud and use it in your ear to clear it out, but this is a bad idea. The received wisdom now is that you shouldn’t put anything in your ear canal at all as it can cause serious damage to your eardrum and other internal parts of your ear. If your ear is blocked, speak to a professional who will be able to clear it medically without causing any damage. Another issue is working in loud environments and not wearing adequate ear protection, or listening to music that is too loud (particularly on earphones).
When it comes to keeping your ears protected and your hearing safe, a specialist will be able to help you and will check for any hearing loss. If any is detected, wearing one of the top 5 hearing aids will help to prevent further damage. Always ensure that you wear ear protection in loud places, even if you are only there for a short amount of time.
Taste
Your mouth can be prone to many different problems, all of which can affect your sense of taste. Gum disease and tooth decay are two of the biggest issues, and this comes from eating too many sugary foods and lack of attention when it comes to brushing your teeth. The best advice we can give is to visit your dentist regularly. Regular checkups even when nothing is hurting you, andthere are no issues you have noticed can show up potential problems that, when caught early, are easy to fix.
Smoking is another issue that can cause problems with your sense of taste. Smoking can damage your tongue, gums, teeth, lips, and your taste buds. Your taste budscan, in fact, stop working altogether, so that nothing tastes of anything anymore. The rest of your mouth is susceptible to cancer, and quitting smoking can help to prevent this from happening.
Brushing your teeth twice a day is another easy way to ensure good oral hygiene and health, and to keep you being able to taste all the amazing food that the world has to offer.
Smell
In most cases, your nose and sense of smell are the most robust of all your sense, and won’t usually present too many issues that need to be dealt with. However, putting foreign objects up your nose is something that can be problematic, and it could mean a trip to the ER to remove whatever it is if it gets stuck or causes excessive bleeding.
Due to your nose protruding from your face, it can be prone to damage through accidents. It is the first part of your body to come into contact with something if you were to fall, be hit, have a car accident, and so on. Wearing head protection will help in many cases, such as when you are riding a bike or practicing boxing or martial arts.
Noses can be damaged when you have a cold as well, and you may temporarily lose your sense of smell. This will usually come back (if it doesn’t, please consult your doctor!), but in the meantime, try not to touch your nose too much as it will make it sore and can prolong the symptoms of your cold.
