Visual Impairment in Elderly

Visual impairment in elderly is now becoming national major public health care problem. Based on statistics fact, more than 80 percent of the world’s blind people are older than fifty years. The most common causes of blindness for this group of people are glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and off course cataract. These are four leading causes of blindness which researches and doctors are keen to cure.

Age-related macular degeneration is characterized by loss of central vision area. Age related macular degeneration come as result of decadency of macula (area inside eyes which correlated for central sight). Glaucoma can be traced to nerve optic's harm inside eye. It is not come as surprise that cataract is the main cause of visual impairment in elderly or elderly blindness. Patients who had cataract had eyes lenses that produced lens density which developed moderately. Diabetic retinopathy is another type of visual impairment among elderly corresponding to diabetic to those individuals. Most people knew this disease as “diabetes eye”. Diabetic retinopathy normally happens in the early stages of diabetic. With poor diet in elderly population, diabetic eye is became an increasing problem in many countries.

1. Cataract Treatment

To prevent cataracts and blindness in elderly, you may have been told by your doctor to avoid sunlight and wearing dark glasses to protect you for ultraviolet light. Recently researchers suggested dark green leaf vegetable can be used to prevent this disease. But perhaps cataract surgery is the best advice and common surgical procedure that doctors would advise to patients. This surgery should be considered if vision is loss significantly.

2. Age Related Macular Degeneration Prevention

The nature of foods that contains carotonoids as antioxidants can conserve retina from any potential harm. Higher diet of rich carotenoids foods may lower the risk of exudative age-related macular degeneration (wet type). This substance is abundant in spinach, yellow squash, kiwi, peas, green beans, apples, corn, peppers, grapes, cucumber, orange juice, broccoli.

3. Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment

As its name implies, this kind of Visual impairment among elderly is connected with diabetic. It is thus important to cure or ensure blood sugar level first. Intensive blood glucose control has shown good result in reducing the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy in Diabetic Type 1 (insulin-dependent) and Type 2 (non insulin-dependent).

4. Glaucoma Symptoms and Treatment

As mentioned above, glaucoma is connected to nerve optic harm. To treat galucoma, medical therapy is the preferred choice. Medications are centered in an effort to lower the press on intraocular within eyes or reducing secretation outflow on trabecular meshwork. This medical therapy is recognized to have systematic side effects ranging from sleep disturbances, headache, muscle joint, fatigue and heart disease. This is not come as surprise because the medications are working generally in nervous systems.