What Eye Diseases Impact the Elderly

Your eyes seem to be the first things to go as you age, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has eye diseases or troubles. Yes, you might need to buy thicker glasses than you had in the past, but most of the time, that’s all you need to worry about. It is helpful to keep in mind that there are four main eye diseases that impact the elderly more than they impact other groups of people. Knowing your eyes are at risk of more problems will help to motive you to see the eye doctor every year – and not just to get a new pair of sexy specs.

Cataracts

The clouding of the eye is called cataracts. This occurs in many elderly people, and is characterized by progressive darkening in the field of vision. Though this sounds a little icky, you can have the cataracts removed in many cases, restoring vision to the way it was. However, cataracts are also a disease that can come back again and again, meaning you might need to have more than one surgery in order to see better.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma occurs as the optic nerve breaks down, eventually leading to blindness. This is something that can be caused by genetics or simply by the process of aging in which every part of the body begins to break down. The tricky part of this condition is that there might not be any signs it is happening. All you know is that your vision might be getting a little worse. You simply need to keep going to the doctor to beat this disease or at least to notice it and correct it before it gets worse.

Macular Degeneration

The body begins to break down during the aging process. Macular degeneration is something that occurs when the macula in the back of the eye begins to break down. When this happens, you begin to lose vision in front of you. You might have troubles reading or seeing things up close. While you might not become blind from this – and most people do not – this condition can interfere with your quality of life.

Retinopathy

If you have diabetes, you know there is a host of things that can happen if you don’t take care of yourself. Even if you do take care of yourself and your blood sugar levels, you can end up with diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to blindness in one or both eyes.

Eye diseases are more common in the elderly, but that doesn’t mean you will lose your sight forever. Advances in eye surgeries are helping people just like you get their sight back. You still have lots more to do in your life after all. You’re not dead yet.