As we age so do our eyes so it is important to take precautions to avoid certain eye problems. A common eye problem is called macular degeneration that comes with aging. This eye problem is caused by deterioration of the tissues in the eye. This is a chronic eye disease with no cure, but promising new treatments emerging. It can give a person blurry vision and central blind spots. There are two different kinds of macular degeneration, which are the wet and dry kind.
The wet kind is known to be more serious but less likely to occur. This kind can give you visual distortions such as seeing straight lines being crooked or wavy in appearance. You may notice objects looking very small or being farther away then they really are. You may notice loss of your central vision with blurry spots. It may progress rapidly without treatment. Eye injections of two different medications have been widely used the last few years to help help control the wet form. The dry form develops much slower, Specific supplements have been shown to delay the progression of the dry form into the more severe wet form. A new National Eye Institute study is underway to see if changes in the supplements will improve their effectiveness.
If you have dry macular degeneration you may notice blurriness in the words that you read, less color in certain objects and have a harder time recognizing peoples faces. Your vision may start to seem hazy and you will have the need for brighter light. With both kinds of macular degeneration, it may only effect one of the eyes. Sometimes people do not realize that they have it with the eye that does not have it making up for the eye that is effected. Eventually, both eyes will be effected over time in most cases.
Another problem with your eyes as you age is cataracts. Cataracts cloud the eye and are a common type of eye problem. There are three basic types of cataracts that you should be aware of which are nucleus, cortical and sub-capsular. The nucleus cataract forms itself in the middle of the lens. A sub-capsular cataract is at the back of the lens and the cortical cataract starts in the cortex. If you have a cataract you need not to worry, they can be successfully removed by having outpatient surgery and an artificial lens implanted to replace the old lens. Today their are custom implants that can help correct for astigmatism, and also correct the spherical abbe rations of the eye that can degrade your eyesight. There are even eye lens implants that can help some people see close objects and distant vision.
Another eye problem you may encounter as you grow older is called dry eye syndrome. As we age, we do not produce as many tears as before. It is known to cause discomfort, burning eyes, and pain. All eye exams should include dilation of your eyes, but it is especially important that you have a thou rough eye exam, glaucoma test, and dilation of the eyes annually to detect these eye diseases as you approach your mature years.
A healthy diet and exercise, proper nutrition, and avoiding smoking are the best preventative measures you can take to assure a lifetime of healthy vision.