Protect Your Sight As You Age
- Loss in the ability to see up close
- Trouble distinguishing between colors
- Needing time to adjust to light changes
These conditions can often be corrected through glasses and better lighting. However, you also risk developing eye diseases as you get older. This can only be detected by getting regular eye exams and being on top of your eye health. Digital retinal imaging, as done by Cellview’s state-of-the-art retinal imager, can help doctors assess the state of your retina and overall eye health by studying the irregularities in the eye.
Eyesight Conditions You Develop with Age
There are a variety of diseases that could lead to vision loss as you age. Your best chance is to catch them early on with regular eye exams. Some eyesight conditions that develop with age include:
AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration)
This disease harms the sharp vision needed to see clearly along with performing everyday tasks such as driving and reading. The ophthalmologist would ask for family history and look for signs of AMD during an eye exam. Through treatment and eating the right diet, you can lower the chances and damage caused by AMD.
Cataract
Cataracts are cloudy areas in the eye’s lens. This can lead to blurry vision. Cataracts can be small or large and start impacting vision. Cataract surgery is a common treatment that is often found successful.
Diabetic Retinopathy
If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you could develop diabetic retinopathy. It progresses gradually without initial warning signs. It is advisable to keep your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure under control while you’re young. Laser surgery might be needed in later stages to keep it in check.
Glaucoma
Too much fluid pressure in the eye can lead to glaucoma. If it is not treated or rectified on time, it could lead to blindness. There are usually no early symptoms. Only regular eye exams can help detect Glaucoma. Treatment includes laser treatment, surgery or prescription eye drops depending on the extent of the damage.
Presbyopia
Presbyopia is a disorder in which the lenses of the eyes become less flexible with age, making it harder to concentrate on close objects. That's why, by the time they're in their mid-40s or 50s, practically everyone requires reading glasses.
Fuch’s dystrophy
It is an uncommon disorder in which the cornea begins to deteriorate. Fuch's dystrophy, which affects only 4% of persons over the age of 40, causes vision to be blurry in the morning before improving as the day progresses. People in their 60s and 70s are more likely to develop the illness. A cornea expert can treat it with ointments, eye medications, and surgery.
Drooping Eyelids
When adults approach their 70s or 80s, the skin on their upper eyelids may begin to droop over their lashes, obstructing vision, mostly peripheral vision at first. The lower eyelids may also begin to droop. Both diseases can be treated with simple outpatient surgery.
When adults approach their 70s or 80s, the skin on their upper eyelids may begin to droop over their lashes, obstructing vision, mostly peripheral vision at first. The lower eyelids may also begin to droop. Both diseases can be treated with simple outpatient surgery.
How to Protect Your Eyesight As You Age
Consume nutritious foods
Make sure to include dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collard greens in your diet. Nuts, legumes, seeds, and citrus fruits can help prevent age-related vision loss. Fish strong in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, are also healthy for your eyes.
Become more active
Physical activity is beneficial to your health. It can also reduce your chance of developing eye diseases or visual difficulties, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.
Give up smoking
Smoking isn't just terrible for your lungs; it's also hazardous for your eyes! Smoking raises your chances of macular degeneration and cataracts, as well as harming your optic nerve. Keeping your eyes healthy might also include taking precautions to protect them.
Put on your sunglasses
Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun, even on overcast days! Look for sunglasses that block UVA and UVB rays to the tune of 99 to 100 percent.
Wear safety glasses
Safety glasses and goggles are meant to keep your eyes safe when participating in particular activities such as sports, construction work, and home maintenance. They're available from most eye doctors and several sports goods retailers. Learn how to keep your children's eyes safe as they participate in sports.
Allow your eyes to rest
Long periods spent staring at a computer might cause your eyes to become tired. Take a 20-minute break every 20 minutes to stare at anything 20 feet distant for 20 seconds to rest your eyes.
As we get older, we're more susceptible to eye disorders including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and dry eye, as well as eye ailments like dry eye and poor vision. Moreover, 40 million North Americans are 65 years old or older, and this figure is predicted to rise to more than 88 million by 2050, roughly doubling the number of Americans with age-related eye disorders. The importance of early identification and treatment in saving one's sight cannot be overstated.
Maintaining Eye Health with Cellview Imaging
Ask your eye doctor about retinal imaging as part of your next eye exam. It allows doctors to discover and document the retina with little or no face-to-face interaction, and it only takes seconds to get a highly detailed view of the retina through digital retinal imaging, which is critical for the detection and management of both ocular and systemic diseases at any age. Cellview’s goal is to work with hospitals and clinics to provide the most advanced retinal imagers at the fraction of the cost. Our products at Cellview Imaging can detect early signs of eye diseases easily through digital retinal imaging. Contact Us for more information on retinal imaging to help protect your eyes.