Your Health Matters
By Claudia Parks, R.N.

We usually don't think about what is really precious to us- health wise- until something goes wrong or we lose it! Then it's gloom and doom, what am I to do? Our eyesight is one of the most precious commodities that we each possess. Yet we so often take our eyesight for granted and just maybe we don't take care of our eyes, as we should.

The American Foundation for the Blind estimates that 10 million people in the United States are visually impaired. Visual impairment is a term experts use to describe any kind of vision loss, whether it's someone who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss.

People rarely lose their eyesight during their teen years. When they do, it's usually caused by an accidental injury. Some babies have congenital blindness, which means they are visually impaired at birth. Congenital blindness can be caused by a number of things- it can be inherited, or caused by an infection (like German measles) that's transmitted from the mother to the developing fetus during pregnancy.

Conditions that may cause vision loss after birth include:

+ Amblyopia (pronounced: am-blee-oh-pee-uh) is reduced vision in an eye caused by lack of use of that eye in early childhood. The brain may turn off or suppress images from the weaker eye and vision then stops developing normally. This is also known as a "lazy eye." Strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes) is common cause of amblyopia, since the brain will start to ignore messages sent by one of the misaligned eyes.

+ Cataracts are cloudy areas in part or the entire lens of the eye. In people without cataracts, the lens is crystal clear and allows light to pass through and focus on the retina. Cataracts prevent light from easily passing through the lens, and this causes loss of vision. Cataracts often form slowly and usually affect people in their 60s and 70s, but sometimes babies are born with congenital cataracts. Symptoms include double vision, cloudy or blurry vision, difficulty seeing in poorly lit spaces, and colors that seem faded.

+ Diabetic retinopathy (pronounced: reh-ton-ah-pa-thee) occurs when the tiny blood vessels in the retina are damaged due to diabetes. People with retinopathy may not have any problems seeing at first. But if the condition gets worse, they can become blind. Teens who have diabetes should be sure to get regular exams because there are no early warning signs for this condition. To help prevent retinopathy, people with diabetes should also avoid smoking, keeping their blood pressure under control, and keep their blood sugar at an even level.

+ Glaucoma is an increase in pressure inside the eye. The increase pressure impairs vision by damaging the optic nerve. Glaucoma is mostly seen in older adults, although babies may be born with the condition and children and teens can sometimes develop it as well. If you have been diagnosed with glaucoma- take it seriously- and do what the doctor orders!

+ Macular degeneration is a gradual and progressive deterioration of the macula, the most sensitive region of the retina. The condition leads to progressive loss of central vision (the ability to see fine details directly in front). Macular degeneration is often age related (it occurs in older people, especially older than 60), but sometimes it can occur in younger people. Excessive exposure to sunlight and smoking can increase the risk for age-related MD. Symptoms may include increased difficulty reading or watching TV, or distorted vision in which straight lines appear wavy or objects look larger or smaller than normal.

If you or your doctor suspects a visual problem, you should see an ophthalmologist (pronounced: op-thal-mah - luh-jist), a medical doctor who specializes in examining, diagnosing, and treating eyes and eye diseases.

If your doctor determines that you have an eye condition that is likely to cause visual impairment, many treatments are available. Options may include eyeglasses, contact lenses, and eye drops or other medicines. In some cases, surgery may be required. For instance, cataracts are often treated by removing the clouded lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens (an artificial plastic lens that requires no special care and restores vision). Take care of your eyes; they are precious and you don't want to miss the beauty of these mountains!

Claudia Parks, RN, is a former doctor's office and emergency room nurse and retired as an educator from Fulton County Schools. She writes Your Health Matters as a public service; the information here is designed to help you make informed choices about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Claudia and her husband make their home in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains, near Blairsville.

Claudia can be reached at yhm@windstream.net