Tired eyes, dry eyes, strained eyes, eyes that do not see as well as they used to-we all experience some form of fatigue or eye irritation, especially as we get older. There are literally hundreds of different eye and vision-related conditions and diseases. Arming yourself with information on common eye and vision problems along with knowing your own family history and taking proactive healthy precautions will help you to maintain and preserve your vision.
The most common eye conditions leading to vision loss or blindness are cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. These conditions bring about numerous symptoms, chief among all of them being blurred vision. Cataracts form when the protein in the lens of the eye begins to break down, most commonly due to age. Cataracts develop gradually in 4 stages and ultimately require surgery, which boasts a high success rate. In addition to cloudy vision, symptoms include glare around lights at night, trouble seeing at night, sensitivity to bright light, requiring additional light to read, changes in the way you see color and frequent prescription changes. Glaucoma is an eye disease brought on by higher-than-normal fluid pressure in the eye which causes damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible for transmitting images to your brain to interpret what you see. In addition to blurred vision, glaucoma symptoms include eye pain or pressure, headaches, red eyes, rainbow-colored halos around lights, tunnel vision, blind spots and nausea or vomiting. Diabetic retinopathy is a byproduct of type 2 diabetes and is one of the leading causes of blindness in adults in the United States. When glucose levels are uncontrolled, damage can occur to the blood vessels in the eyes. Unfortunately, changes to vision are not apparent until the disease has increased in severity. Symptoms include distorted vision, faded colors or color blindness, poor night vision, small dark spots or streaks in vision, and difficulty reading or seeing objects from faraway. Age-related macular degeneration affects central vision and does not currently have a known cause or cure. Symptoms present once the disease has progressed include blurred central vision, black or dark spots in the center of the field of vision and wavy or curved appearance to straight lines.
Other common eye and vision problems include eye floaters, dry eye syndrome and eye tearing. Thankfully, these conditions are not permanently threatening to vision and can easily be resolved with medications or artificial tears. Refractive eye issues are the most common eye problem in the United States. And include myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. These can be corrected with prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses or laser eye surgery.
To check the health of your eyes and to diagnose, treat, and prevent common eye and vision problems from affecting your eyesight, schedule a comprehensive eye exam at Eye Institute of South Jersey, P.C.. Call 856-205-1100 or visit online WEBSITE to book your appointment.