Caring for your eyes is a lifelong investment, and process. We’ve compiled the executive summaries of the main 5 ways you can care for your eyes and prevent eye disease.
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A stye (or hordeolum) resembles a pimple and appears on the inside or outside of the eyelid. It develops when an eyelid gland at the base of an eyelash becomes infected with staphylococcal bacteria. This bacteria is commonly found in the nose and is easily spread to the eyes through rubbing. Styes are rarely serious, but may be painful. Most will go away on their own without treatment.
Pink eye (also called conjunctivitis) occurs when the clear mucous membrane lining the eyelid and eye surface becomes red and swollen due to irritation or infection. Minor cases may improve within 7 to 10 days, however, some can develop into serious corneal inflammation and threaten sight. If you believe you may have contracted conjunctivitis, visit your optometrist for an examination and treatment.
Night blindness or Nyctalopia is a condition in which a person has difficulty seeing at night, or in dimly lit environments. Those who suffer from night blindness may have a hard time performing tasks in the dark. Driving at night and seeing in the dark may be difficult with passing headlights. In this situation, the pupil is forced to contract and dilate repeatedly, as it continually adjusts.
Macular Degeneration (also known as AMD, or age-related macular degeneration) is an age-related condition in which the sensitive portion of the retina responsible for central vision, called the macula, begins to break down and no longer deliver clear visual images to the brain. Central vision is what we use to read, drive, and recognize faces. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in Americans aged 65 and older.
Lazy Eye, or Amblyopia as it’s scientifically known, is not an eye disease but rather an eye condition in which the brain doesn’t fully recognize vision through the amblyopic eye. Lazy or amblyopic eyes are not treatable with the use of glasses or contacts. Amblyopia is almost always specific to one eye, although a lazy eye can reduce vision in both eyes.
Eye floaters are small shadows or shapes that float through your field of vision. Typically eye floaters aren’t readily apparent or appear worse when it’s extremely bright. Eye floaters look like different shaped floating shadows or fuzz in your field of vision. Because they float freely throughout your eye, it’s generally difficult to actually look directly at an eye floater.
Today nearly everyone uses computers for work, recreation, or education. Even the use of a smartphone requires our eyes to read a computer screen. Computer eyestrain affects more than 70% of the approximately 143 million Americans who work on a computer on a daily basis, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This major public health issue has led the field of optometry to address the effect it is having on our vision and upper body muscular structure.
A cataract forms on the natural lens of the eye when its proteins begin to clump together and create a cloudy area on the lens. The lens of the eye is responsible for focusing light on the retina in the back of the eye. Over time the cataract may grow larger, denser, and cloud more of the lens, making it difficult to see. Most cataracts form gradually, are painless, and usually begin to be noticed after age 55.
Objects appearing out of focus, foggy or blurry is most often a symptom of typical eye refraction problems such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), or astigmatism. If you experience sudden blurry or lost vision, you need to seek medical attention immediately, as this may be a symptom of a much more serious medical problem or condition such as a stroke, or other medical emergency.
Astigmatism, aside from being a difficult word for children to say, is a very common refractive error causing the light that enters the eye to be focused at two different points. Unlike nearsightedness or farsightedness, people who have astigmatism often experience blurry or distorted vision at all distances.
