As you reach the age of 40, you will likely notice changes in your vision. Perhaps you have difficulty reading a book without glasses, or distinguishing between colours. These changes occur as an effect of ageing. However, nowadays people in their teens are also exposed to a host of eye disorders and vision problems, mostly resulting from eye injuries and visual stress.

The most common disorders of the eye, which affect the age group 19-40, are Refractive errors. The following signs and symptoms characterize such disorders-

  Haziness
  Double vision
  Halos or glares when you are surrounded by bright lights
  Headaches
  Squinting
  Eye strain

What are the Refractive errors?

Refractive errors develop when light cannot focus on the retina (the light-sensitive tissue situated at the rear side of the eye) directly due to the shape of the eye. The change in the cornea s shape, the ageing of the lens, or the length of your eyeball can lead to refractive errors. Most people suffer from one or more of the above conditions.

Type of Refractive Errors:

Following are the most common types of refractive errors-

  Myopia or Nearsightedness - If you have this condition, you will see nearby objects clearly but distant objects will appear blurry. This happens because the light comes to focus right in front of the retina, instead of on the retina.

  Hyperopia or Farsightedness - This condition is just the opposite of myopia. Distant objects are clearly visible but those located close to you appear blurry. However, some people may not observe any problem with their vision at a young age. If you have significant hyperopia, objects at any distance, far or near, can appear blurry.

  Presbyopia - This age-related condition affects your ability to focus on things closely. This happens because as you age, the lens of the eye is unable to change shape to allow the eye to focus on nearby objects clearly.

  Astigmatism - In this condition, the eye cannot focus light onto the retina evenly. As a result, images appear stretched out and blurry.

  Amblyopia or Lazy eye - This vision development disorder begins during early childhood and infancy. In this condition, the eye does not achieve normal visual acuity despite using contact lenses or prescribed glasses. Usually, amblyopia affects only one eye.

Can early diagnosis help treat the problem?

Yes, it can. Your eye care specialist can diagnose refractive errors and detect what exactly is impeding your vision with a comprehensive dilated eye examination. Upon encountering the symptoms mentioned above, one should consult an ophthalmologist at the earliest and get oneself checked.

If the condition is detected early, vision problems due to refractive errors can be treated. The common treatment options include the use of contact lenses, prescription glasses, and surgery (in severe cases).
People with visual problems should also adopt some lifestyle changes to correct their vision - eat more veggies, get adequate sleep and rest, abstain from smoking etc. Additionally, you should get periodic eye check-ups to monitor the condition.

Difficulty In Vision - It Can Be Better If Treated On Time!

A red eye is one of the first and most common symptoms of conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the tissue that lies over the white part of the eye and lines the inner side of the eyelid. It is usually the result of a viral infection and can easily spread from one person to another. Conjunctivitis can also be a symptom of STDs like Gonorrhea or Chlamydia. In newborns, conjunctivitis can be vision threatening, while in grownups it is not considered a serious health risk. The symptoms of conjunctivitis differ according to the cause of the infection. 

Some common symptoms of conjunctivitis are:
1. Green or white discharge from the eye
2. Redness of the white part of the eye
3. Inflammation of the eyelid
4. Waking up to crusted yellow discharge
5. Itchiness and burning in the eyes
6. Increased sensitivity to light
7. Blurred vision

An eye examination and testing a sample of the fluid secreted by the eye can be used to diagnose conjunctivitis.  It can easily be treated at home and does not require hospitalization. Antibiotics are often given in the form of eye drops and ointments to treat conjunctivitis. These usually need to be applied 3 to 4 times a day for a period of 5 to 6 days. Wash your eyes before putting the eye drops. Once applied, close your eyes and roll the eyeball around to distribute the medicine and keep it from overflowing out of the eye. Wash your hands immediately after applying the eye drops.

Viral conjunctivitis is highly contagious. If you are suffering from it, you should take a few days off work and restrict your social interactions. Wash your hands frequently as you may unconsciously rub your eyes. This is especially important with regards to meals and finger foods. Also, avoid sharing towels, pillowcases, etc. to minimize the transmission of the disease from one person to another.  

Avoid using makeup while being treated for conjunctivitis. With conjunctivitis, the eye is more sensitive to irritants and thus, a speck of makeup can worsen the situation. Also avoid contacts. If you wear contacts regularly, dispose the current set and start using a fresh set after your doctor gives you a clean chit. 
Artificial tears or non prescription eye drops can also be used to relieve the itchiness and burning in the infected eye. If only one eye had been affected by conjunctivitis, do not use the same eye drop bottle for both eyes.

Managing the Acute Red Eye

Astigmatism is a typical vision problem that occurs when the shape of the cornea is distorted due to injuries or other causes. With astigmatism, the lenses of the eye or the cornea curves. This irregular curve can change the way light refracts or passes through your retina. This causes hazy, fluffy, or twisted vision. Farsightedness and partial blindness are two different sorts of issues with the way light goes to your retina. Farsightedness is called hyperopia. Partial blindness is called astigmatism.

Types: There are two types of Astigmatisms. These are:

1. Corneal astigmatism
It happens when your cornea itself is distorted.

2. Lenticular astigmatism
Lenticular astigmatism happens when your lens is distorted.

Risks: Astigmatism can happen in youngsters and grown-ups. Your danger of creating astigmatism might be higher if you have any of the following:

1. A family history of astigmatism or other eye issues like dislocation of the cornea.
2. Scarring or diminishing of your cornea
3. Excessive partial blindness, which makes foggy vision at a separation
4. Excessive farsightedness, which makes hazy close-up vision
5. A past of eye surgeries, for example, cataract surgery (surgical expulsion of a blurred focal point)

Symptoms; The side effects of astigmatism include:

1. Hazy, Bended, Or Fluffy Vision At All Separations (Close-Up And Far Away)
2. Trouble seeing during evening
3. Lazy eye
4. Squinting
5. Irritation in the eye
6. Cerebral Pains

Diagnosis:

Visual Acuity Assessment Test

Patients are required to read letters from a graph at a particular distance to decide how well they can see the letters.

Refraction Test

A refraction test uses a machine called an optical refractor. The machine has various remedial glass lenses that are used to read an outline while looking through lenses on the optical refractor.

Treatment:

Keratometry

Keratometry is a route for your specialist to measure the bend of your cornea. They will do this by taking a look at your eye through a keratometer.


Corrective Lenses

Remedial eyeglasses and contact lenses prescribed by a specialist are the most well-known and least obtrusive solution for astigmatism.


Orthokeratology

Orthokeratology is a treatment that uses contact lenses to correct the deformation and flow of your cornea. You will wear inflexible contact lenses for certain time-periods. It is easier to wear them while you are sleeping and remove them during the day.


Surgery

Your specialist may suggest refractive surgery if your case is a serious one. This kind of surgery includes use of lasers or little blades to reshape your cornea. This will correct astigmatism permanently. The three basic surgeries for astigmatism are:

1. Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)
2. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)
3. Spiral keratotomy (RK).

All these surgeries might carry some risks depending upon the symptoms of your problem. As innovation advances, it is very important for the patient to explore more options before choosing which refractive surgery is a good fit for him or her.

Types and Treatment for Astigmatism

Visual impairment is a decreased ability to see to a degree that causes disabilities or problems, not fixable by usual means, such as glasses. Loss of vision may be acquired and develop suddenly. It may affect one or both your eyes.

What Causes Loss of Vision/Disability?

Loss of vision and disability can result from the following  

Clouding of normally transparent eye structures

Abnormalities in the retina

Abnormalities in the nerves carrying visual signals to the brain from the eyes

Changes in vision may also occur due to conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. 

Can Psychological Rehabilitation Help Manage Visual Impairment?

Vision loss and disability often interfere with one s functional ability in everyday tasks. Sometimes, the disability may be so devastating that it affects a person s mental health and behaviour. Psychological Rehabilitation is designed to help such visually impaired people deal with disability or impairment. 

Psychological rehabilitation involves a wide range of methods that aims to restore functioning after loss of vision, just as physiotherapy restores functioning after an injury or stroke. The program allows patients to continue living independently and maintain their quality of life despite vision loss. 

Complete or partial loss of vision can jeopardize one s career   you may not be able to continue with your job due to the disability.  Many people suffer psychological and physical challenges, which force them to escape the outside world. Psychological rehabilitation helps in the following ways  

Helps individual understand and accept the disability, and find ways to cope with it

Motivates them in to keep trying

Cope with the pain and depression

Overcome feelings of fear or despair

Prevents the person from sinking into a state of self-pity, which may hinder recovery

Rehabilitation Psychology adopts a holistic and expansive approach to treat visual impairment. 




Loss of Vision & Disability - How Can Psychological Rehabilitation Help?

Do your eyes get tired easily? Do they look sore or sandy? If yes, then it s time to worry for your eyes now. There is every possibility that you might have developed a dry eye. It is a common disorder of the eyes that occurs due to aging. It causes discomfort as you end up feeling scratchy or gritty all the time. The eyes turn red and have a burning sensation and feel itchy. Things get worse when you tend to stress your eyes by spending extra hours in front of the computer or read texts. In fact, the discomfort increases as the blinking frequency of the eyes get reduced.

One may also develop blurred vision due to dry eyes. An individual feels as if there is some particle inside his or her eyes, but finds nothing. Though this condition doesn t lead to very dangerous consequences, it is always a wise decision to seek medical help. The medical term for this condition is keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Once you develop dry eye, there is always a tendency to get it back again. But, the good news is that it can be treated to get some relief.

Causes
Dry eye is caused due to problems related to tear formation. When we blink our eyes, a film is formed over it. This thin layer is called a tear film. Tear film is responsible for clarity in vision. In case, enough tear is not produced, one tends to suffer from dry eyes. It is mainly caused due to ageing. 
If you don't produce enough tears, if your tears aren't of the right quality or your tears aren't spread across the front of your eye properly then you may develop dry eye. The glands producing tear or the tear film get inactive with age. Sometimes, the tear film is also affected by certain medicines, contact lenses, diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome.

Treatment
Dry eyes caused due to ageing cannot be cured completely. You must see a doctor for treatment but there are no permanent cure remedies. However, there are ways to help you get some relief. Here are the ways:

Try to increase the natural tears: There are certain home-based remedies to get some relief from the problem. You can keep the temperature of your room lower to get rid of the symptoms of dry eyes. Higher temperature leads to the evaporation of the tears. You can keep a humidifier in your room that adds more moisture to the air inside the room. This prevents drying up of the eye due to evaporation of tears. It is also found that when one blinks less, tear formation is reduced. The blinking is reduced while working on computers and reading. One must be careful while doing such things and try and blink as many times as possible.
Use eye drops: One needs to use eye drops called  artificial tears.  They are an alternative to the natural tears. If usual drops are not effective, gel-based thicker drops or overnight ointments are prescribed.
Block tear ducts: Another way of tackling dry eyes is by reducing the drainage of tears. For this, the tear ducts are blocked by plastic pieces called punctual plugs. The process is termed as punctal occlusion.
Take food supplements: Certain oils and Omega 3 and 6 are known to be beneficial in treating dry eyes. Include these supplements in your diet to keep your eyes healthy.

Dry Eye Syndrome - 4 Ways to Treat It!

While spectacles are a fashion statement for some people, for others they are an uncomfortable necessity. Though contact lenses may be a little more aesthetically pleasing they too can be quite uncomfortable and cannot be worn throughout the day. Thankfully, there is a third way to correct vision. Laser surgery or LASIK, it is a popular refractive procedure that can correct common vision problems, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. This procedure aims at reshaping the cornea so that light entering the eyes can be focused onto the retina for the person to have a clearer vision. 

Laser surgery is pain-free and quick in most cases. Usually, it does not take more than 15 minutes to correct vision in both eyes. The results of this surgery can be seen in as little as 24 hours. 

The first step of laser surgery to correct vision is to create a thin, circular flap in the cornea. This is then folded back to access the stroma or underlying cornea. An excimer laser is then used to remove some of the corneal tissue. For people suffering from nearsightedness, the cornea is flattened while for people suffering from farsightedness, the cornea is made steeper. In cases of astigmatism, an irregular cornea is smoothened. Once the correct gradient has been achieved the corneal flap is put back into place and the cornea is allowed to heal naturally. There are no stitches or bandages required in a laser eye surgery. You may feel a temporary burning or itching sensation in your eyes immediately after the procedure. It is important not to rub your eyes or place any pressure on them. Your vision may also be cloudy or blurred for the first few hours. A doctor will usually advise you to rest for a few days after the surgery so that your cornea can heal properly. In a few days, your eyesight should stabilize, though, in a few rare cases, it may take a little longer. You should also avoid any form of strenuous exercising for a few days after the surgery. 

Though LASIK surgery has a very high success rate, there are very rare occasions where spectacles may still be needed even after the surgery. Thus LASIK is a choice of treatment for many who seek freedom from glasses.

LASIK - Say No to Boring Glasses! 

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