The eye is the tool or the window to the world that lets you see what is around you. Vision is something that is taken for granted by most of us. What we don’t understand that every one of us is susceptible to blindness and ageing is a process that cannot be circumvented. While there are preventive measures, it cannot be a sure factor that low vision or visual impairment won’t occur after an average age of 65. Preventive measures can only help so much after which it is up to modern technology and the various advancement in medicine and the resultant solutions it has to offer that can help the causes of the impairment.
The causes of visual impairment in the aged can be caused by various factors. Some of them are because of ageing while other can be side effects or the resultant problem of another disease. Nevertheless, they are almost always related to ageing. The leading causes of blindness among the elderly are age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy. Age-Related Macular Degeneration is characterized by the loss of central vision. Primary open angle glaucoma results in optic nerve damage and visual field loss. Because this condition may initially be asymptomatic, regular screening examinations are recommended for elderly patients. Cataract is a common cause of vision impairment among the elderly, but surgery is often effective in restoring vision. Diabetic retinopathy may be observed in the elderly at the time of diagnosis or during the first few years of diabetes. Patients should undergo eye examinations with dilation when diabetes is diagnosed and annually thereafter.
CATARACTS
DIABETIC RETINOPATHY
GLAUCOMA
AGE RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION
It’s the leading cause of loss of vision in people over 65.
Risk factors include advancing age, family history, smoking and hypertension.
There are two types – nonexudative AMD (90% people with AMD have nonexudative type) and exudative AMD.
Drusen and Geographic atropy are two types of nonexudative AMD.
Solutions/cure for AMD
Daily intake of certain high-dose vitamins and minerals can slow progression of the disease in people who have intermediate AMD, and those who have late AMD in one eye.If you have intermediate or late AMD, you might benefit from taking such supplements
Injections: One option to slow the progression of neovascular AMD is to inject drugs into the eye. If you get this treatment, you may need multiple monthly injections. Before each injection, your eye will be numbed and cleaned with antiseptics. To further reduce the risk of infection, you may be prescribed antibiotic dropsPhotodynamic therapy: This technique involves laser treatment of select areas of the retina.
Laser surgery: Eye care professionals treat certain cases of neovascular AMD with laser surgery, though this is less common than other treatments. laser treatment also may destroy some surrounding healthy tissue. This often results in a small blind spot where the laser has scarred the retina. In some cases, vision immediately after the surgery may be worse than it was before. But the surgery may also help prevent more severe vision loss from occurring years later.
Product/Technology for AMD
Vision Improvements with OcuPower
OcuPower promotes overall vision, eye and whole body health. AMD not only leads to vision impairment and possible blindness, but can also rob you of your independence. Five years ago, during a routine eye examination, Sam Calucci ,a World War II veteran,was diagnosed with a severe case of AMD and was amazed to find that his vision had actually improved in various areas and to give further proof to the power of OcuPower, Sam decided to take a lutein-only product, and found that his visual improvements were disappearing.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma comprises of a group of disorders characterized by glaucomatous optic nerve damage and visual field loss.
Risk factors associated with primary open-angle glaucoma include a family history of glaucoma, increasing age, high degree of myopia, hypertension and diabetes.
Primary open-angle glaucoma affects men and women equally.
Primary open-angle glaucoma is a chronic, slowly progressive disorder.
Persons with primary open-angle glaucoma are generally asymptomatic until late in the course of the disease, after suffering significant visual field loss.
Primary open-angle glaucoma is bilateral but may be asymmetric.
Solutions/cure for glaucoma
Glaucoma comprises a group of disorders characterized by glaucomatous optic nerve damage and visual field loss. The most prevalent form of glaucoma is primary open-angle glaucoma. Common factors associated with primary open-angle glaucoma include a family history of glaucoma, increasing age, high degree of myopia, hypertension and diabetes.
When eye drops do not show full effect ; pills may be prescribed in addition to drops.
When medications do not achieve the desired results, or have intolerable side effects, surgical procedures are used.
Laser Surgery
Cataract
Cataract is a common cause of vision impairment in the elderly and the most common cause of blindness worldwide. The prevalence of cataract increases with age from less than 5 percent in persons under 65 years of age to approximately 50 percent in those 75 years of age and older.
Exposure to ultraviolet light may contribute to the progression of cataract formation.
Cataract progression is typically slow, with gradual loss of vision over months to years. However, some types of cataract progress more rapidly.
There are two types of cataracts – nuclear, cortical and posterior subcapsular.
Nuclear cataracts are associated with central lens opacification. Cortical cataracts often consist of “radial spokes” extending from the periphery of the lens.
Posterior subcapsular cataracts are located in the posterior cortical layer and usually involve the central visual axis.
Solutions/Cure for Cataract
Cataract surgery involves removing the clouded lens and replacing it with a clear artificial lens. The artificial lens, called an intraocular lens, is positioned in the same place as your natural lens, and it remains a permanent part of your eye.
Diabetic Retinopathy
It is a significant cause of vision morbidity in the elderly population.
The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy rises with increasing duration of diabetes. However, significant diabetic retinopathy may be observed in the elderly at the time of diagnosis or during the first few years of diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy is divided into two categories: nonproliferative and proliferative.
Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy is characterized by abnormalities of the retinal circulation, including microaneurysms, intra-retinal hemorrhages, cotton-wool spots, retinal edema and exudates, and intraretinal microvascular abnormalities. The most common cause of visual loss in nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy is macular edema.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is characterized by the proliferation of newly formed blood vessels from the optic disc, retina or iris as the result of widespread retinal ischemia.
Solutions/cure for Diabetic Retinopathy
Focal laser treatment: This laser treatment, also known as photocoagulation, can stop or slow the leakage of blood and fluid in the eye. Sometimes you will be aware of small spots in your visual field that are related to the laser treatment. These usually disappear within weeks. This does not guarantee complete normal vision. But vision does improve.
Scatter laser treatment: This laser treatment, also known as pan retinal photocoagulation, can shrink the abnormal blood vessels. Scatter laser treatment is usually done in two or more sessions. Your vision will be blurry for about a day after the procedure. Some loss of peripheral vision or night vision after the procedure is possible.
Vitrectomy: This procedure can be used to remove blood from the middle of the eye (vitreous) as well as any scar tissue that's tugging on the retina. You’ll need to wear an eye patch and use medicated eye drops for a few days or weeks. Vitrectomy may be followed or accompanied by laser treatment.
Surgery often slows or stops the progression of diabetic retinopathy, but it's not a cure.
Many aged people in remote locations may not be aware of the various optical diseases that may affect them. To make it easier and accessible for them, there are several low budget products making an appearance in the market. Visionary scientists have developed an adapted smartphone that can carry out eye tests and diagnose problems with vision.
The portable eye examination kit, created by scientists at the University of St Andrews, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, is currently being tested in Kenya as a potential tool to revolutionise the prevention of blindness in low-income countries.
Also known as Peek, the kit consists of a mobile app and clip-on hardware that transforms a smartphone into a tool that can check glasses prescription, diagnose cataracts and even examine the back of the eye for disease.
RPB Support for Bionic Sight
Another RPB research team is developing a retinal prosthetic device called the Intelligent Retina Implant System (IRIS). IRIS will use 3,200 electrodes to create much higher resolution images. It also will be capable of compensating for changes in retinal structure resulting from retinal degeneration. This will allow the patient to make adjustments that optimize the visual image after implantation surgery.
Due to visual impairment or low vision after many years of having normal vision, an aged person may go through several lifestyle changes and some very drastic changes in their emotional stability. There are several ways to cope with this. First would be to have a support system that will ensure that they have their needs taken care of. There are several blind associations that offer training and reach out to them. While sympathy isn’t necessary for people who have been blind since birth or the likes, it is much a necessity for the aged as the change is much too sudden for them.
