5 Most Common Age Related Eye Diseases – How Not to Become the Next Victim?

1: Managing Health Conditions

There is no doubt that overall health in general and eye health in particular, can be improved significantly if you take appropriate preventive measures, from taking the right food for the eyes to not missing your scheduled eye exams.

For example, visiting your eye doctor regularly can help you with tracking intraocular pressure (IOP), which plays a vital role in early diagnosis of glaucoma, a leading cause to blindness. Early diagnosis and treatment make sure you keep a safe distance from a potential cause of vision loss.

Similarly, diet has a lot to do with your eye health, but majority of people fail to recognize the significance of a healthy diet to prevent eye problems as they age.

The structural and functional integrity of retina relies heavily on specialized polyunsaturated fatty acids, LC-PUFA or long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Any type of food intake lacking in LC-PUFA might lead to problems in retinal development, structure and function.

Meat products and sea food is rich in LC-PUFAs, fulfilling the body’s requirement of these essential fatty acids, ensure that your eyes remain healthy and functional as long as possible. Eye problems involving diabetic retinopathy can also be avoided with the help of healthy diet.

Another eye disease that was much common some time ago, but is on a gradual decline now, tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, can affect your eyes as a result of chronic tobacco smoking, leading to severe vision loss.

Eyes’ conjunctiva mucosa is highly irritable to the cigarette smoke, which means it can also affect the eyes of nonsmokers (passive smoking). So, staying away from tobacco and cigarette smoke means saving your eyes from a potential source of damage.

2: Protective Lenses

Another simple yet effective way of protecting your eyes and eyesight is resorting to protective lenses, minimizing the hazards of sunlight exposure without compromising much on visual clarity.

Almost all modern prescriptions cater two components, the lens protection and the retina protection. Contemporary lenses are designed specifically to minimize the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation, safeguarding the eyes from aging related damages as well.

3: Vision Screening

One of the best ways to prevent vision impairment and vision loss in adults is vision screening in children, identifying and treating any signs of visual impairment or eye conditions capable of leading to blindness.

Not only is it highly efficient, but also equally cost effective, successfully identifying and referring children to appropriate eye care professionals to further investigate, evaluate and treat in due time.

Eye screening in children can be done using different methods. Choosing the right method largely depends upon the age of the child due for examination and the experience of the eye care professional undertaking the screening.

The major purpose behind vision screening in children is to identify children who already have, or are prone to development of amblyopia, which might lead them to visual impairment of one kind or the other, unless treated through early childhood.

Vision screening can also detect various other eye problems like strabismus (misaligned eyes), glaucoma, cataracts and refractive errors including astigmatism, myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and some serious eye conditions involving neurological diseases and tumors.

The best time for vision screening spans periodic checkups throughout the childhood. The sooner an issue is detected, the better are its chances of getting the right treatment, restoring as much of the eyesight as possible.

A child should get first vision screening right in the nursery, where an eye care professional would inspect a newborn’s eyes, pupil and red reflex. This should be followed by further age appropriate vision screenings all through the infancy and childhood.

4: Low Vision Aids

A fine vision is all about seeing the world around you with a clear perception of detail, distinguishing what you see based on color and contrast. This vision – your ability to see things – deteriorates naturally as you age.

Mostly, this diminishing visual capability can be contained using suitable glasses, medication or surgery. However, vision loss can be permanent as well, resulting due to an incurable eye disease or injury, leaving you visually impaired or blind.

Luckily, many people around the world suffering from permanent vision impairment still have some residual vision. With the help of various types of low vision aids, this type of visual impairment can be countered well enough, helping you make the most out of your residual vision.

Losing vision (whether age-related or disease-inflicted) is not about giving up on your daily activities, but it is more about embracing your situation and resorting to new and improved ways of doing them.

If someone in your family or friends is suffering from vision loss, help them find some well rounded low vision aids instead of taking over their tasks. Make sure to refer them authentic FDA approved low vision aids or they can end up in even worse condition.