Like most of the things in our life, we tend to take our eyesight for granted. Imagine how our life would be if we had a poor vision or no eyesight at all. We wouldn’t be able to do or see the things we love so much.
Therefore, we owe our eyes a favor. To ensure that our eyes are in the best of health, we need to pay attention to our vision health and prevent some of the commonly occurring vision problems in time so that they don’t lead to bigger complications.
Let’s look at 6 common vision problems, their symptoms, and how they can be treated.
1. Cataract
This is one of the most common eye conditions where cloudy areas form in the eye lens. In the case of cataracts, the light rays cannot pass through the retina smoothly, thus resulting in blurred images.
Symptoms:
- Faded view of colors
- Seeing glare or halos around lights at night
- Contact lens or eyeglasses prescription changes frequently
Treatment Options: In the early stages of cataract you can use antiglare sunglasses and new eyeglasses. If that doesn’t help, cataract surgery may be the only effective treatment.
2. Macular Degeneration
The macula is the central portion of your retina. Its light-sensing cells allow you to read, recognize colors and faces, drive, etc. In age-related macular degeneration, there will be tissue breakdown or blood vessel growth in the macula.
Symptoms:
- Inability to read, drive or recognize faces
- Problem seeing in dim light
- Partial vision loss
- Objects appearing smaller than their actual size
Treatment Options: Avoid smoking as it doubles the risk of macular degeneration. Exercise regularly, eat leafy greens and control cholesterol and blood pressure.
3. Glaucoma
This is caused by unusually high pressure in one or both the eyes. Too much pressure damages the optic nerve and eventually harms your central vision. It tends to be hereditary and can lead to permanent blindness if not corrected.
Symptoms:
- Tunnel vision
- Blurred vision
- Redness of eyes
- Halo around lights
- Peripheral vision loss
Treatment options: Eye drops and pills can help. You can also go for traditional or Lasik surgery.
4. Refractive Errors
Refractive errors occur when the light doesn’t focus accurately on the retina due to the shape of the eye. If you suffer from a refractive error, the light rays do not bend the way they should before they form an image on the retina. The most common types of refractive errors are nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.
Symptoms:
- Blurred vision
- Double vision
- Headaches
- Eye Strain
Treatment options: Eyeglasses or contact lenses can easily correct it. One of the Lasik eye surgery benefits is that it can fix refractive errors perfectly. Also, go for an annual eye check-up.
5. Diabetic Retinopathy
This eye condition is a complication of diabetes and causes damage to the blood vessels in the retina. Those with type 1 or type 2 diabetes can develop diabetic retinopathy, and usually both the eyes get affected.
Symptoms:
- Blurred vision or vision loss
- Dark spots
- Fluctuating vision
- Impaired color recognition
Treatment options: Get yearly dilated eye exams done to detect diabetic eye problems early and control your blood glucose levels. You can also opt for laser treatment for retinopathy to prevent vision loss before retina gets severely damaged.
6. Color Blindness
It is a genetic eye condition where you cannot see the colors in the normal manner. It occurs due to a problem in the pigments found in the eye cones.
Symptoms:
- Inability to distinguish between different colors
- Failure in seeing different shades of the same color
Treatment options: Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition yet. However, eyeglasses and contact lenses are available with filters to assist color deficiencies.
If you experience any of these symptoms, visit an eye doctor immediately. Get the problem diagnosed and treated before it gets worse.