HEALTH & WELLNESS S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
Eye Health
It is important to visit your eye
care professional once a year for
a comprehensive eye exam. Although you
may think you are seeing fine, issues may
be lurking without any warning signs.
During a yearly visit, your pupils will be
dilated, or widened, so that your eye care
professional can examine the back of the
eye for damage or disease. It is important
to know your family’s eye health history
as well, since some conditions are
hereditary. Some of the most common
eye diseases include diabetic retinopathy,
glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related
macular degeneration (AMD).
• Diabetic Retinopathy: This type
1 or type 2 diabetes complication is
caused by damage to blood vessels
in the retina, the light-sensitive
tissues in the back of the eye. If left
untreated, diabetic retinopathy could
cause blindness. Early stages of this
condition may go unnoticed if an eye
care professional is not visited yearly.
As the condition progresses, symptoms
may include blurred vision, impaired
color vision, floaters, and/or dark areas
in your vision. Symptoms may occur if
there is too much sugar in your blood,
which can cause a blockage in the
blood vessels that lead to the retina.
Proper management of diabetes is the
best way to prevent vision loss.
• Glaucoma: The second leading cause
of blindness, glaucoma is a group
of diseases that damage the eye’s
optic nerve. The risk of developing
glaucoma increases with age and if
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parents or siblings have the disease.
During an eye exam, glaucoma can be
detected by measuring eye pressure,
inspecting the drainage angle of the
eye, evaluating the health of the optic
nerve and testing the visual field of
each eye. Depending on the type and
severity of the disease, glaucoma can be
treated through eye drops, medication
or surgery.
• Cataracts: A cataract affects vision by
clouding the lens of the eye. Chances of
cataracts increase greatly with age, with
more than half of all Americans either
having a cataract or having had cataract
surgery by the age of 80. People in
their 40s and 50s can have cataracts,
but they are typically small and do not
affect vision. Cataracts are detected by
blurred vision, faded colors, glare from
headlights or lamps, poor night vision,
double vision, or frequent prescription
changes in eyeglasses or contact
lenses. Early detection can improve
cataracts through new eyeglasses, anti-
glare sunglasses or brighter lighting.
Surgery can also be done to remove
the cloudy lens and replace it with an
artificial lens.
• Age-Related Macular Degeneration
(AMD): One of the common but
lesser known eye conditions is AMD.
A leading cause of vision loss among
people 50 years of age and older, AMD
affects the macula, the millions of light-
sensing cells that provide your eye with
sharp, central vision. Age is a major risk
factor for developing AMD, with most
cases occurring after the age of 60.
Genetics, race, and smoking can also
affect risk for AMD. A comprehensive
eye exam can detect it through dilation
and testing. Your eye care professional
will look for yellow deposits beneath
the retina to determine whether you
have AMD. Intermediate and late
AMD can be treated with daily intake
of vitamins and minerals that can slow
the progression of the disease. Therapy
and surgery can also be considered for
types of advanced neovascular AMD,
which typically results in severe vision
loss, to stop further progression.
Hearing Loss and Prevention
It is common for hearing loss to occur
as you age. According to the Mayo Clinic,
about 25 percent of people in the United
States between the ages of 55 and 64 have
some degree of hearing loss, increasing
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to one in two people by age 65 and
older. Chronic exposure to loud noises
and aging are the two main causes of
hearing loss, resulting in the perception
of muffled speech from others, difficulty
understanding words, frequent requests
for others to repeat themselves, loud
volume on the television or radio, and
avoidance of social settings.
Hearing loss occurs when there is
damage to the inner ear, infection in
the ear, or ruptured eardrum. Damage
to the inner ear can happen with age, or
constant exposure to loud noises over
an extended period of time. These cause
wear on the nerve cells in the cochlea
that send sound to the brain. When they
are damaged, signals aren’t transmitted
as effectively, causing loss of hearing.
Heredity, aging, occupational and
recreational noises, some medications,
and some illnesses may cause either
partial or full hearing loss, but there are
ways to treat hearing loss. Treatment can
include surgical procedures, hearing aids,
or cochlear implants.
Preventive measures can also be taken
to protect against noise-induced hearing
loss and to avoid age-related hearing loss.
Be sure to wear protective earmuffs if
you work in a loud environment or are
hunting, going to concerts or doing other
loud activities for an extended period of
time. It is also important to have your
hearing tested on a regular basis. Early
detection is key to preventing complete
hearing loss.
Mouth Health
Your mouth can tell a lot about your
overall health. Investing in your oral
health is also investing in your general
health. There are several conditions
that are linked to oral health including
endocarditis and cardiovascular disease.
When bacteria from your mouth—or
other parts of your body—spread