As we age, we acquire along the way some aging with our eyes. The beauty of which is that some of the effects are correctable, treatable and manageable.
The first of these conditions is presbyopia, wherein the eye loses gradually the ability to focus at near objects such as text prints, threading of needles and picking of rice. This usually starts around the age of 40years.this is correctable with glasses. I guess most of us in this group are already afflicted with this.
The second affliction, which starts around this age is the common type of glaucoma. There are many types of Glaucoma, but the commonest is called simple glaucoma. This is by no means simple when unattended to. It leads to gradual, painless loss of vision. The surferer does not notice anything or changes in the vision until it is almost too late. By the time s/he notices something, about 70% of the vision (nerves conducting messages from the eye to the brain) may have been destroyed. The damage, as far as known today, is irreversible. There is no cure for Glaucoma, but the beauty of it is that it is controllable to a large extent if properly managed by an Ophthalmologist. It is difficult to recognise this condition at the early stage except when examined by an eye care specialist, that is why it is called the thief of the eye or silent blinder. The management of this condition is either by surgery or medications. The drug treatment is for life and will not improve the vision, but will attempt to preserve whatever is left of the vision.
It is important that we all check our eyes to be sure we are free of glaucoma. If we have it, take adequate care of it. We should never abandon treatment because we feel our vision is not improving and it seems we are wasting money on medication. The medication may be expensive, ranging from about ₦4,000 to about ₦15,000 or more monthly. The other issue about Glaucoma is that it runs in family. If we have a first degree relation suffering from it, or we have been diagnosed of it, we should alert our relations to please get a check done with an Ophthalmologist. It is also advisable to tell everyone who is around the age of 40 years to get their eyes checked by an Ophthalmologist when getting reading glasses for presbyopia. An Ophthalmologist will not just give reading glasses, but will also do a thorough examination of your eye. If no other problem exists apart from the poor near vision, he will prescribe glasses and give a year or two appointment.
The next common condition is cataract. This is due to the clouding of the lens inside the eye. It is very common and tends to increase with age. The good news is that it is treatable and the success rate in good hands is >95% if there are not other problems in the eye or other unforseen situation. The treatment is by surgerical operation.
Other conditions that one may have with aging include age related maculopathy which are treatable most of the time, but not as successfully as cataract or early detected Glaucoma.
The other condition is diabetic maculopathy. This develops in poorly managed diabetes that has been existing for many years.
The list of age related conditions in the eyes are much more than this, but I have limited to just these few common ones.
We should all try to take a trip to an ophthalmic practice to check our eyes. I am a member of this platform, and I feel bound to share this piece of information with all my people on this platform. Information is priceless, and so much so if heeded.
Thank you.
Dr. Bade Ogundipe
Ophthalmogist
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