Hundreds of conditions can impact your vision or affect the health of your eyes. Nearly one in ten South African adults experience disorders that decrease their ability to see properly.
The most common eye problems are refractive errors — changes in your eye’s lens, which is responsible for helping you focus clearly. Nearsightedness and farsightedness are both types of refractive errors. If you have these issues, you will likely be able to see just fine with the help of glasses or contacts.
Other eye disorders may be more serious and require more aggressive treatment. Some types of eye diseases may not be able to be cured, leading to ongoing vision problems.
Refractive errors lead to difficulties seeing things that are far away (nearsightedness), close up (farsightedness), or at any distance (astigmatism).
Besides refractive errors, vision loss is most often caused by eye diseases that develop due to age, including:
Eye problems can also cause other issues, such as dryness, redness, seeing double, having a sensitivity to bright lights, or having eyes that don’t line up properly.
The chance that you experience eye disorders rises as you get older. Other risk factors include:
Most of these factors are things that you can control. Reversing these factors can improve and maintain your eye health. Additionally, you can help avoid future vision problems or catch eye diseases early by getting regular eye exams, even if you don’t wear glasses or contacts.
During an eye exam, an optometrist uses a variety of instruments to check the inside of your eye for any potential problems. They will also measure your vision and may prescribe corrective lenses (glasses or contact lenses) to improve your ability to see.
Glasses or contact lenses can correct many vision problems. Turning on brighter lights while reading or completing other tasks and using glasses or sunglasses with an anti-glare coating can also help you see more clearly.
Some eye diseases, including infections and glaucoma, may require eye drop treatments.
Surgery can help treat refractive errors, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatments are also sometimes an option when correcting eye disorders.