Vision problems can range from mild to severe. Some can be addressed by corrective lenses, while others require medical treatment, such as surgery. Additionally, it’s common for one’s vision to change over time.
Proper care of your eyes can prevent more serious diseases and conditions from occurring. Proper care can also prevent eye conditions from causing major complications. Here are a few eye conditions and what they involve to ensure you take the right steps to preserve your vision for life.
Common eye diseases and conditions include:
Refractive errors can be addressed with corrective lenses or contact lenses and do not cause any long-term effects. Some eye diseases, including glaucoma, macular degeneration, and cataracts, are associated with vision loss. Fortunately, vision loss can be prevented by regular check-ups with an eye doctor, who will recommend an effective treatment.
As for diabetic retinopathy, major complications can be avoided by properly managing one’s diabetes. This entails eating right, exercising, and using medications (such as insulin) as prescribed. People with diabetic retinopathy are also encouraged to visit their eye doctors on a regular basis to catch changes to their vision as soon as possible.
Contact with common allergy triggers, such as pollen, can cause redness and swelling of the eyes. People may also experience discomfort, such as burning or itching. Along with avoiding allergy triggers whenever possible, antihistamines can also prevent these effects. These medications can be taken orally or applied via eye drops.
Best known as pink eye, conjunctivitis often results from viruses and bacteria. However, pink eye can also result from allergies, foreign objects, or harmful chemicals. Symptoms of pink eye include:
Conjunctivitis can impact one or both eyes. Symptoms should be assessed by a doctor to rule out more serious eye conditions. Doctors typically recommend treatment to ease symptoms until the infection subsides. People with pink eye must also avoid spreading the illness to others, as some forms are highly contagious.
Eye strain is quite common in people who stare at digital screens many hours a day. Symptoms include eye pain, headache, blurred vision, and redness.
Any new symptoms involving the eyes should be checked by a doctor to determine the exact cause. If the problem is eye strain, limiting time with digital screens is key to reducing symptoms. When working in front of a computer, use the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to give your eyes a break.