Dealing with Eye Diseases: Cataracts and Glaucoma
It can be hard dealing with eye diseases. They not only affect your daily vision but also your lifestyle. Many eye health problems can go undetected and untreated for years, leaving you with irreversible effects. It is vital to take care of your eyesight. Cataracts and glaucoma are two of the world’s leading eye diseases and many people are unaware of the signs to help treat them and prevent loss of vision.
Cataracts
Cataracts is the clouding of the eyes behind the iris and the pupil and is one of the most common causes of vision loss around the world. Related to aging, cataracts occurs when the protein in the eyes clump together to cause a clouding effect. Your vision slowly becomes duller and blurrier which will lead to simple things such as reading harder to do. Besides age, factors that may cause cataracts include:
– Exposure to too much UV radiation
– Diabetes
– Obesity
– Smoking
– Large amount of alcohol consumption on a regular basis
Early treatment may save your sight and if you find that you have any of the above symptoms, it is vital that you see your eye care professional to arrange the best possible treatment.
Depending on the severity of the cloudiness in your pupils will determine what will be the best treatment is for you. If caught early, most people will only need to wear glasses to help their vision. When glasses cannot help your vision any longer, your eye care professional may decide that you need to have surgery. Cataracts surgery entails the removal of the cloudy lense, which is replaced with an artificial intraocular lense.
Eating healthy can help prevent cataracts. Vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein and the zeaxanthin found in many fruits and vegetables may be able to help. Always wear sunglasses when outside to protect your eyes from the harmful rays and glare.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is another common cause of vision loss around the world where the optic nerve at the back of the eye is slowly destroyed. Blockage of circulation or drainage weakens the nerves to your eyes causing this disease loss of vision. Due to the poor blood supply, the fibers to your eyes are damaged and it can slowly destroy your vision partially or completely. Unfortunately when the damage is done it is irreversible and unfortunately permanent.
Some may experience full vision loss and some may only have side vision loss depending on what fibers are damaged. There are many warning signs to watch out for with this eye disease including, excess tearing, unusual adjusting to dark rooms, distorted vision, difficult focusing, double vision, dry and itchy eyes. They may not all lead to glaucoma, however any of these signs must be taken seriously and you should seek medical attention straight away.
For those that do not have any signs and symptoms, it is still advisable to have regular check ups at the age of 40 and above. Unfortunately when the damage is done and vision is lost, glaucoma is irreversible. If caught early it can be treated with eye drops and surgical procedures including lasers, which will prevent loss of vision.
Although anyone can get glaucoma, there are some people higher at risk. Those in this category are:
– Older people
– People who have diabetes
– People who have had previous eye injuries
– Excessive use of steroids
– Family history
Dealing with cataracts and glaucoma along with other eye diseases can be quite difficult and challenging. Slowly it can become worse and lead to vision loss and blindness, which can make it can extremely difficult to live the same lifestyle. Prevention is always better than cure so whether or not you have any symptoms of eye diseases, have a check every twelve months to ensure that you are healthy. The earlier signs of detection will allow you to treat the issue with the best possible outcome.