It is hardly a revelation to discover that your eyesight is not likely to be as good as it used to be when you start heading towards retirement age and beyond, but it could be a dangerous assumption that your eye problems are simply age related.
Some problems with our eyes can originate not just from getting older and the aging process in general. You may actually be suffering from a new or progressively worsening vision disorder and the advice is always to make sure you have regular eye examinations, so that these problems can be identified as quickly as possible.
Macular degeneration
A common issue that a number of us will have to contend with at some point is AMD or age-related macular degeneration.
AMD occurs when the macula, which is the central part of the tissue that lines the back part of your eye known as the retina, becomes damaged. When this happens, it becomes much harder to perform tasks that involve central vision, meaning the small print gets even smaller when you are trying to read your way through it.
The most common form of AMD by some margin is the dry type of AMD. About 90% of people who suffer from macular degeneration will suffer from this type of AMD, caused by a subtle but progressive loss of vision due to the breakdown of cells in the retina.
Other symptoms for the dry type of AMD include hazy vision, the regular need for extra light to be able to see properly and colours appearing less vivid than they used to.
The wet type of AMD involves a sudden and extremely severe loss of central vision due to leaking blood vessels growing in or under your eye. There is actually no current cure for AMD but there are certainly treatment options available that can help to slow the progress of wet macular degeneration.
Cataracts
By the time you reach the age of 80, there is something like a 50% chance that you will suffer from cataracts.
Symptoms of cataracts can include blurry and cloudy vision, seeing halos around lights, sensitivity to light and glare and difficulty viewing an object when it is against a background of the same colour.
It is not actually known what causes cataracts but it is though that many years of exposure to sunlight, high cholesterol or blood pressure and diabetes are all contributory factors. You can get laser eye surgery to deal with cataracts very effectively and you can view a list of UK laser eye surgery clinics here.
Other retinal diseases
Glaucoma is a disease where you can suffer vision loss due to high pressure within the eye or poor circulation causing damage to the optic nerve.
It does not display any clear symptoms at an early stage, but as it can lead to blindness, it is a very good reason why you should have regular eye examinations.
Other retinal diseases to be aware of are diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication related to uncontrolled diabetes and retinal vessel occlusion which is a common complication associated with diabetes and glaucoma.
The best advice in order to try and avoid any permanent vision problems is to not just assume that your problems are age-related, and get a professional to see if there is an underlying problem that needs addressing.
Author Bio:
Carl Robinson has been working in the vision care industry for many years now. He genuinely cares for his patient’s eyes, and is always on the lookout for medical breakthroughs and news. Look for his informative articles on a variety of health and medical blogs.
