Posted by: SightTrust Eye Institute in Cataracts, Presbyopia
You may have noticed a trend with eye commercials. Many of them feature older people who are dealing with various eye ailments ranging from loss of vision clarity to cataracts. It’s not a coincidence that these commercials use older actors. As with everything else, our vision declines as we age due to a number of factors and conditions we develop over the course of our lives, most of which are common and treatable.
We generally cannot avoid the effects of aging, so all of us can expect some degree of decline in our vision in our lifetimes. Let’s examine some treatable eye conditions you can most likely expect to appear later in your life and how to address any concerns that come with them:
- Cataracts – occur when the clear lens of the eye becomes cloudy, leading to a gradual decline in vision. If untreated, the lens can become a dark brown, and could lead to blindness. In fact, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, according to The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. Here are some symptoms of cataracts, according to the National Eye Institute:
- cloudy or blurry vision
- colors that look faded
- difficulty seeing at night
- sensitivity to light
- halos and glare
- seeing double
- Presbyopia – a condition where the lenses in our eye become less elastic and are unable to bend light properly to focus it on your retina (the film layer of the eye), which causes near images to appear out of focus. Some common symptoms of presbyopia are:
- Having to hold reading materials at arm’s length to focus
- Difficulty reading small print
- Headaches from doing work up close
- Eye strain
- Dry Eye – is caused by a decrease in either: the amount of tears you make or the amount of any of the components in tears. Tears are made of water, oil, and mucus, each produced by different specialized cells in different areas on or around the eye. If any of these produce less tears, the net effect is a dry surface of the eye with vision that can blur from moment to moment. Treatment is aimed at increasing the amount of tears you make, decreasing loss of tears through evaporation or too speedy drainage, and attacking other causes of tear decline such as inflammation.
Although we can’t avoid growing older, there are things we can do to help treat these conditions. We’ve gathered some helpful tips that can help you maintain healthy eyesight and some treatments that could be helpful if you develop any of these conditions.
- Cataracts – There are natural ways to help slow the progression of cataracts, such as avoiding smoking, eating a balanced diet, and protecting your eyes from harmful UV rays, but cataracts develop in all of us eventually. Thankfully, cataracts are easily treatable, and SightTrust Eye Institute offers a permanent treatment to not only rid you of them but to also improve your vision without the need for glasses. This outpatient procedure only takes about 10 minutes to perform per eye (we offer the option of treating both eyes on the same day), requires only eye drops as an anesthetic, and has a quick recovery time. This surgery replaces the worn-out lens with a clear intraocular lens implant (IOL).
- Presbyopia – As with cataracts, this is a condition that we all face, but thankfully our practice specializes in a treatment that permanently treats this condition:
- Lens Implants
Refractive lens implants replace your natural lens with a synthetic version known as an intraocular lens (IOL). This IOL permanently corrects distance, intermediate (computers), and reading vision
- Lens Implants
Aging, in some ways, is a beautiful part of life that comes with some less-than-ideal issues to deal with. Knowing how it can affect your eyesight can help you feel empowered to take advantage of the options that are available to you. If you or a loved one are frustrated with any of these conditions, don’t hesitate to make an appointment with our office today, and we’d love to discuss how we can best help you and your eyes age gracefully. Contact us at: 877) 878-7890 / info@sighttrust.com
Sources:
https://www.med.unc.edu/ophth/2023/06/june-is-cataracts-awareness-month
https://preventblindness.org/june-cataract-awareness-2023
https://www.feelgoodcontacts.com/blog/cataract-awareness-month
https://www.sighttrust.com/cataract-surgery
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/presbyopia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20363329
https://www.bettervisionguide.com/7-presbyopia-treatments
https://www.eyelink.com/2022/04/06/6-top-treatment-options-for-presbyopia
https://www.everydayhealth.com/presbyopia/guide
