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There are a wide variety of eye health conditions that can affect us throughout life. Most can be treated or managed successfully, especially when diagnosed early. The most common conditions include:
Myopia - "Short-sightedness"
Myopia, or short-sightedness, is a very common condition. If you are short-sighted, you can see near objects clearly but distant objects are blurry. You may find it hard to read road signs, see the TV or cinema screen clearly and to play ball games. Recognising people in the distance can also be a problem! Often people don’t realise they can’t see clearly until they have an eye examination. It’s also often discovered when children have trouble seeing the blackboard clearly at school.
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Hyperopia - "Long-sightedness"
Hyperopia, or long-sightedness, is also quite common. If you are long-sighted, typically (but not always) things in the distance are usually clear while close ones appear blurred. Other signs or symptoms of possible hyperopia include: difficulty concentrating and maintaining a clear focus on close objects, blurred distance vision (occurs with higher amounts of hyperopia), eye fatigue and/or headaches after reading or close work, aching or burning eyes.
In mild cases of long-sightedness, your eyes may be able to compensate without corrective lenses. In other cases, your optometrist can prescribe glasses or contact lenses that compensate for the shape of the eye allowing the light to focus properly on the retina.
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Astigmatism
Astigmatism usually occurs when the front surface of the eye, the cornea, has an irregular curvature, more like a football than a basketball. Astigmatism is not an eye disease and does not mean you have ‘bad eyes’, it just means you have a different shaped cornea. Astigmatism is very common and most people have, at the very least, slight astigmatism.
If you only have a slight degree of astigmatism, then corrective lenses may not be needed. If your degree of astigmatism is great enough to cause you distortion of vision, then prescription glasses and/or contact lenses are needed for clear and comfortable vision.
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Presbyopia – “I need reading glasses”
Presbyopia is a common condition that occurs when the lens of the eye gradually loses its ability to bring close objects into clear focus. To focus on close objects a muscle in the eye changes the shape of the lens, but as you get older the lens loses this flexibility and can’t change shape as easily. This is a natural part of growing older. The typical signs and symptoms include: noticing that you need to stretch your arms out to focus and read the newspapers or books, suffering from eye strain or headaches when reading or doing close work, over 40 years of age.
Presbyopia can’t be cured, but glasses or contact lenses can give you clear vision. The solutions for presbyopia are very simple, but are entirely dependent on a person’s age, lifestyle, occupation and hobbies.
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Dry eye
Dry eye occurs when not enough tears are produced or when the quality, or chemical composition, of the tears is not right and the eye does not remain well lubricated. This can lead to one or more of the following symptoms: irritated, scratchy, itchy, dry or uncomfortable eyes; red eyes, ‘burning’ or sore eyes; the feeling of something being in your eyes; watery eyes and blurred vision.
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Spots or floaters
Spots or floaters are small, semi transparent specks or particles within the fluid of the eye (vitreous) that become noticeable when they move in the line of sight. They are especially noticeable when looking at bright backgrounds because they form a shadow on the back of the eye.
Almost everyone will see a few spots at some point in their life. They tend to be more common as you grow older. You should notice gradual changes in numbers and sizes. If you notice a sudden and immediate change, please contact your optometrist immediately.
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Pterygium
A pterygium (pronounced te-ri-gi-um) is a raised spot of tissue that grows from the white part of the eye. Pterygia will often appear on both eyes, usually on the white parts of the eye closest to the nose. Pterygia are not dangerous. Wearing sunglasses and lenses with UV protection will often stabilise and slow down any further growth.
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Cataract
A cataract is a clouding of the lens within the eye, which gets progressively worse over time. As it becomes cloudier, it starts to impact vision. Common symptoms of cataracts can include any number of the following: haziness causing blurred or distorted vision, colours that appear yellowed, the appearance of dark spots or shadows that seem to move when the eye moves, an increasing need for more light to see clearly. For most people, cataracts are a natural result of ageing.
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Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disease in which the nerve fibres at the back of the eye slowly die, leading to vision loss and blindness. It has been linked to a build-up of pressure inside the eye. The pressure in the eye can increase if the fluid flowing out of the eye is not balanced with that flowing in. Symptoms are minimal. In most cases, peripheral vision is slowly lost and may not become noticeable until the disease is quite advanced.
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Age related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of blindness and occurs as a result of ageing processes in the eye. It consists of two types: dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration. Most people with ARMD have dry ARMD. In dry ARMD, waste products accumulate at the back of the eye and central vision gradually decreases. It can affect one or both eyes. Wet ARMD is the more severe form of the condition in which new blood vessels grow at the back of the eye. These newly-formed vessels are fragile and often leak blood into the retina, where the blood causes scar tissue to form. The scarring can block out central vision. There are also some other forms of macular degeneration that are inherited and not associated with ageing.
ARMD is more common in older people, those with European backgrounds or fair skin, smokers and those who have had a lot of exposure to sunlight.
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Talk to your OPSM optometrist for more information and advice about any of these conditions.
Call 13 20 20 to arrange an eye test with an OPSM optometrist or click here to find your nearest OPSM store.
This information is for general education only and may not be suitable for everyone. It is not intended to be optometric advice and if any of the issues raised effect you, we recommend you seek specific advice from your OPSM optometrist.
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