Is It Time For Glasses

Is It Time For Glasses?

It is the rare middle age person that doesn’t require reading glasses.  It happens to the best of us. Eye functionality declines as a person ages and he develops what is called presbyopia. This means the person can’t focus on close-up objects.

When a person ages, the lens of his eye gets harder, and this leads to presbyopia. The loss of lens flexibility means the lens is not capable of varying shape, and that is why close-up objects are not in focus.

The dome-shaped front surface of the eye is the cornea. The cornea, along with the lens, focuses on light reflected from objects. Both the cornea and lens curve or refract light as it comes into the eye, allowing the eye to focus on the image on the retina. The retina is located on the inside back wall of the eye.

Because there is circular muscle surrounding the lens, this makes it bendable. When looking at someone close up, this muscular constricts, enabling the lens to curve and alter its focusing ability. When looking at something far away, the muscle relaxes. However, when a person gets older, the lens doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.The muscle fibers surrounding the lens transform over time as does the protein that is in the lens. The outcome is the person cannot see close-up and requires reading glasses.

Macular degeneration

Another huge issue for those with aging eyes is macular degeneration. A chronic eye disease, dry macular degeneration results in vision loss in the center of the field of vision. The macula, located in the center of the retina, deteriorates. Symptoms include seeing wavy lines, experiencing blurriness or a blind spot in your vision. Visual distortions including objects appearing farther or smaller than what they are may occur. Doorways may look warped and faces or straight lines can look undulating.

Wet macular degeneration occurs when blood vessels growing under the retina begin leaking blood and fluid.

The precise cause of wet macular degeneration has yet to be determined. It may be the outcome of abnormal blood vessels growing from the layer of blood vessels located between the retina and the outer, firm coat of the eye, called the sclera and exending into and under the macular part of the retina. The fluid stymies the function of the retina and makes the central vision blurry.

A cure?

There is no specific list of macular degeneration cures save for taking antioxidant vitamins, including zinc, and eating foods rich in antioxidants appear to reduce the damage and slows progression of this disease.Those diagnosed with macular degeneration are advised to eat more colorful fruits and vegetables because they are full of antioxidants, which are beneficial to the health of the eye.  Eating olive oil, a healthy unsaturated fat, helps safeguard vision. Eat more fish because it contains Omega-3 fatty acids

Ask your eye doctor about therapies such as injections given into the eye when suffering from wet macular degeneration. The injection blocks the high levels of vascular endothelial growth which is secreted in the eye, advancing growth of more atypical blood vessels.

A laser treatment called photodynamic therapy involves injecting a drug into a vein in the arm. This drug goes through the blood vessels, including any deviant ones in the eye. The eye doctor shines a laser beam into the eye, which activates the drug, which destroys new vessels and diminishes the rate of vision loss.

Laser surgery is also an option for treating some forms of wet macular degeneration. However, this technique can result in the destruction of healthy tissue and may result in blurred vision

Central vision loss is caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and it the foremost cause of blindness in those over age 60. Early detection is crucial in avoiding vision loss. If you are experiencing any vision problems get to your eye doctor ASAP.

Guest post by Becky W. photo credit: Graham Blackall via photopin cc