Our eyes have higher risk of having eye diseases, as we get older. Many serious eye diseases do not have clear symptoms, and some people with a serious eye problem don’t realized they have it until it comes to severe stage.
Here are the most common eye health conditions and diseases;
- Cataract
A cloudy area forming in the eye’s natural lens, which is normally clear. Cataract leads to poor vision due to the cloudiness that interferes with light passing through the lens.
Most cataracts are caused by ageing and long term exposure to UV light. The cloudy area becomes larger and denser slowly, perhaps from several months to many years.
A person with cataract usually has blurry vision, spots before eyes, reduced contrast sensitivity, double vision, halos around light and trouble seeing at nighttime.
If not treated, cataracts may lead to blindness. It is the most common cause of vision loss in people over the age of 40.
There are no proven preventions for cataracts but they can be treated with surgery.
- Glaucoma
A condition in which the optic nerve, which transmits information from the eye to the brain, is being damaged usually by an increase in eye pressure, but the pressure may be normal in some forms of glaucoma.
The exact causes of glaucoma remain unknown. In some cases, the fluid inside the eye is produced excessively but cannot drain properly due to the blockage of the eye’s drainage network. This blockage may be caused by natural materials in the eye or by injury.
With time, glaucoma may cause irreversible loss of peripheral vision. However, generally a person with glaucoma has no symptoms until it is too late.
Glaucoma is more likely to occur with people over 40 and those who have a family history of glaucoma. Therefore, we suggest that those people have their eye tested regularly.
At Kingsway Optical, we perform glaucoma screening as part of the routine eye examination.
There are no prevention for glaucoma, but early detection and proper treatment involving eye drops to lower down the eye pressure can control glaucoma. Surgery may be required in some cases.
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
A condition in which the macular, which is responsible for our central vision and seeing fine detail of objects, is being damaged.
AMD is the result of ageing but some cases are inherited and not associated with ageing. Waste material removed from the retina forms deposits that distort the retina.
AMD is a common cause of vision impairment and loss for people over 50. AMD causes 50% of blindness in people over 70.
A person with AMD has difficulty seeing small details of the objects, however the side vision is not affected. That is to say, they found more difficult to read as quickly as previously even with their reading glasses.
In order to gain effective treatment for wet AMD, it must be diagnosed as early as possible. At Kingsway optical, we check your macular as part of the routine eye examination.