In contrast to the fall of the calendar, the life autumn comes once and for good. And it’s accompanied by various eye diseases.
Autumn is beautiful due to leaves carpets underfoot, glowing golden gardens, last days of Indian summer. Autumn of life also brings a lot of bright emotions and impressions – deserved rest, a birth of grandchildren, an opportunity to acquire interesting hobbies, etc. And you want have as more serene and bright days in this period of life as possible.
But any warm autumn is replaced by changeable weather, cold rain and dank wind sooner or later, so people of “golden age” also often face health problems.
Eye diseases of Elderly People
Autumn is a changeable season. Today your condition can be perfect, and tomorrow you have to call the doctor or go to a clinic.with your hand on the heart. People may suffer from arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and many other ailments, but when the vision deteriorates, there is the fear of blindness and the loss of their own independence.
By the age of 65, elderly people often suffer from eyesight deterioration due to the development of one or another eye diseases. One of the most known diseases of the older generation is hyperopia – when the lens of the eye becomes denser and less elastic, making it difficult to focus on close objects.
There are 4 major diseases, are often directly related to age-related changes of the body:
- cataract;
- glaucoma;
- macula lutea degeneration;
- diabetic retinopathy.
Cataract
Cataract occurs in case of clouding of the lens and its capsule. The lens consists mainly of water and protein. If the proteins stick together, it is manifested in the small misting of the eye lens. This dense mass of proteins is called a cataract. It can grow in size, gradually impairing eye-sight. At full cataract objective vision is completely lost, one can distinguish only the presence of light, lack of it of its brightness. Therefore, early cataract diagnosis is important to prescribe eye treatment in time.
Cataracts are characterized by the following symptoms, the presence of which should alert you and direct you to the oculist: a photophobia, when people may complain that the light from a lamp or the sun hurts their eyes permanently. In addition, people may get a sense of fog, which prevents from clearly vision.
Methods of cataract treatment depend on the degree of its development. The appearance of senile cataracts is associated with impaired oxidative processes in the lens due to the lack of ascorbic acid in the body. Deficiency of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is also of a great importance in the development of a senile cataract.
Therefore, in the early stages people are prescribed vitamin B2 and ascorbic acid, as well as riboflavin drops for the eye. You may buy eye vitamins and eye drops online at Canadian Family Pharmacy: Lumigan, Xalatan, Patanol, Acular.
If cataract has a severe degree, only surgery may help you.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an increase of intraocular pressure that damages the optic nerve of the eye. This disease often flows without any initial symptoms. About one million people worldwide are living with this disease, unaware of its presence. But glaucoma is very dangerous without proper eye treatment, it can even lead to total blindness!
Factors that can trigger glaucoma:
- a natural aging process;
- steroids;
- shortsightedness.
Glaucoma treatment includes normalization and control of the fundus pressure. There are both drug treatment (eye drops) and surgery – trabeculectomy. There is a more advanced method of laser therapy, called trabeculoplasty.
Remember: glaucoma (as cataracts) can be a hereditary disease. People whose blood relatives have ever suffered from this disease are in a high risk group.
Macular degeneration
Macular degeneration is the atrophy of the most sensitive area of the retina – the macula, responsible for the viewing of small parts of objects. People suffering from this disease rarely develop complete blindness, but there is a sharp decrease in visual acuity. This disease deprives a person of reading, driving a car and performing many other everyday functions. In addition, a person loses an ability to distinguish shades of color.
The variants of macular degeneration treatment:
- surgery;
- laser therapy.
At the same time it is necessary to wear glasses and take medications that will stop macular degeneration.
About 46 percent of people over the age of 75 may have different forms of the disease. Similarly with the mentioned earlier diseases, macular degeneration can be inherited. If a person is a smoker, his chances for the disease are amplified.
Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy always arises as a serious “addition” to diabetes. Diabetes causes abnormal changes in retinal blood vessels of the eye. Blood vessels lose their density and hemorrhages occur in different areas of the eye. Then, these blood vessels can expire and flake off. As a result, a person can see a “smeary” and sometimes distorted image. The disease may be accompanied by a partial loss of vision and pain sensation in the eyes.
In fact, there is no treatment of diabetic retinopathy. But laser eye treatment (photocoagulation) is usually an effective method to prevent a vision loss. This surgery should be carried out before the eye retina is extremely violated. Also, doctors make a use of surgical removal of a so-called vitreous body or its part, which also helps to improve the sight at the disease.
Eye Care: Canadian Family Pharmacy Advice
All of these diseases are very serious and can lead to age-related eye disability, if they are not identified timely and there is no appropriate treatment. That is why it’s very important to visit an ophthalmologist at the slightest visual impairments or unexplained symptoms. All the prescribed medications may be found Canadian Family Pharmacy catalog: guarantees low prices and high quality.
- At the age of 45, it’s necessary to check your sight acuity annually, even in the absence of anxiety symptoms;
- at the age of 55, the annual check of visual acuity should be complemented by measuring intraocular pressure and fundus examination. The normal intraocular pressure makes 18-26 mm Hg.
Hygiene plays a huge role in the prevention of a sight loss. Canadian Family Pharmacy will list some of the most important points:
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Watch the right lighting. The best lighting is provided by the reflected sunlight. Direct sunlight is not recommended to older people, as it can irritate to the nervous system, cause eye discomfort. It is desirable to have light curtains in the house. If you lack daylight, you can add some artificial light; - While reading, a book or a newspaper should be kept at a distance of 35-40 cm from the eyes. If you have to read often in a lying position (for example, after some illness) do not throw back your head, putting it on a highly elevated pillow. Also, try to carefully monitor the intervals for rest not to overload eye-sight. It is advisable to place a lamp next to you – the device will light up a book or newspaper, but will not beam directly into the eyes;
- Have enough rest – any work should be interrupted every 1-1.5 hours for a few minutes. Try to limit the physical and nervous loads. Excessive stress adversely affects the eye-sight, contributing to the progression of eye diseases. You should not lift the objects which are heavier than10 kilograms.
Summary
Old age is not always a feeble time of life. Just do not forget that the time for intensive work has already passed. Elderly people should necessarily labor, mainly -directing the wise words and advice to the young and inexperienced generation. Leave the physical labor for your children and grandchildren. In this case your sight will become wiser and kinder with age, and your eyes will never be affected by serious illnesses. Be healthy!