HEALTH & WELLNESS S P E C I A L S E C T I O N
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
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
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