Other Eye Conditions
“Vision is too precious a sense to lose to a treatable disease”
Well What about Other Eye Conditions?
Annual eye examinations can diagnose many other eye conditions besides glaucoma as well.
While glaucoma is the second leading cause of vision loss world-wide, there are
unfortunately other diseases that threaten vision as well. You may want to familiarize
yourselves with other leading causes of vision loss.
Remember, we aren’t presenting to diagnose anyone, just to refer them to an ophthalmologist
and explain why eye exams are important. A bit of understanding of common diseases might
help us answer some basic questions.
Cataracts
Leading cause of blindness in the world
Caused by a clouding of the lens, typically due to UV exposure.
Cloudy vision is completely reversible through replacement of
the diseased lens with an artificial lens.
Macular Degeneration
Damage to retina due to malformation of blood vessels
Causes loss of vision directly ahead
Can be diagnosed with eye care screening, can be managed
with medication, CANNOT be treated/cured
Myopia (nearsightedness) and Hyperopia
(farsightedness)
Caused by image being focused in front of retina (myopia) or
slightly behind retina (hyperopia)
With age, lens is less able to accommodate for this offset and
image appears fuzzy
Eye glasses help focus the light on the retina directly
“Floaters” – Floating blind-spots moving around the field of vision. These are typically
harmless, but we should always encourage individuals to speak with ophthalmologist at an
eye exam about them.