You might know that you have five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch – that make up the way you can function in your day to day life, but do you know how to specifically take care of each one so that they are always working in the best way they can? The more care you take of each of your senses, the better your general health will be, so it makes a lot of sense to ensure you look after each one separately when you put together a daily healthcare routine. Read on to find out what you can do for each one.
Sight
The first thing you should be doing when it comes to your sight is to see an expert ophthalmologist such as those at retinaandeye.com.au. This is important even if you don’t feel there is anything wrong with your vision and that your sight is just as it always has been; a specialist will be able to determine whether this is the case, and they will spot anything that might be problematic in the future – the earlier this can be dealt with, the better the results will be.
Another way to ensure your eyesight is protected is to wear sunglasses when you are outside. Even if the day is hazy or cloudy, the UV rays from the sun can still damage your eyes. Plus, when you need to wear protective equipment for work or because you’re carrying out a potentially dangerous task, make sure you do. And finally, if you use screens a lot for work or leisure (or both), make sure you take plenty of breaks and use an eyebath to soothe your eyes if they are sore.
Hearing
The issue with hearing is that it can very gradually decline so that you might not realize it’s happening until you’re having to turn the TV’s volume up or ask people to repeat themselves. This is why ear protection is a must. If you work in a noisy environment then you must wear protective measures such as earplugs or ear defenders, and if you attend noisy concerts or other events, earplugs are very useful. Never use in-ear hearing devices either; headphones are much safer (and only ever up to 60 percent volume).
Using earbuds is also dangerous, even if you think you are doing a good thing by cleaning your ears. The reality is that these buds can push earwax further in and this can damage the eardrum and block the ears, plus the buds can also do damage themselves. If you ever experience issues with hearing or balance, hearing loss, or ringing in your ears (tinnitus), it’s best to consult with your Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) Specialist to see the possible reasons and solutions. They could also recommend treatments that are specifically tailored to your individual needs and stop the symptoms from progressing.
Taste
Many issues can affect someone’s sense of taste, and the majority of them are to do with keeping your teeth clean. Poor oral hygiene can lead to gum disease and tooth decay, and eating too many sugary types of food as well as not brushing and flossing your teeth at least twice a day, will certainly have a detrimental effect on your ability to taste. The best thing to do is to ensure that you visit your dentist twice a year, and in the meantime that you keep up with your oral hygiene, using mouthwash where necessary to add to the help that brushing and flossing will give you.
Smoking is another habit that can cause a loss of taste. When smoking, your tongue, taste buds, gums, and lips can all be damaged, and this means that you either can’t taste anything anymore, or can only taste the very strongest of tastes. If you develop cancer of the mouth and tongue, the removal of the cancerous parts will often lead to a loss of taste too. All in all, quitting smoking is the best option in this case.
Smell
Although your sense of smell is much less susceptible to damage than most other senses, the nose itself can be prone to damage. It is often the first thing that comes into contact with anything in an accident, for example, because it protrudes from the face. When the nose is damaged, the sense of smell might be lost too, at least temporarily. Although not all accidents and incidents can be predicted and avoided, if you wear a helmet when you are on a bike or scooter, and a seatbelt when you’re in a car, you can avoid a good deal of issues.
Having a cold can cause you to temporarily lose your sense of smell too. This will usually come back once the cold clears up, and in the meantime try not to touch your nose as this will make it much sorer and take longer to heal.
Touch
The sense of touch essentially relates to keeping your skin healthy. Make sure you wash every day and that you use a moisturizer to keep your skin well-nourished. Drink plenty of water too; dehydration is very bad for the skin and can cause premature wrinkles and fine lines, as well as dryness.
It’s also a good idea to keep physically active. Your skin is important, but when it comes to touch so too are the nerves under the skin. When you are not active, these nerves can be damaged through poor circulation, and you can experience numbness or tingling. The more exercise you do, the better your circulation and the safer your sense of touch.
*collaborative post
