Presbyopia and its treatment

Not many people have heard of an eye disorder by the name of Presbyopia.It occurs around 40, when people experience blurred near vision while reading, sewing or working at the computer. It is a normal process that happens slowly over a lifetime, but you may not notice any change until after age 40. It is often corrected with reading glasses. Bifocal glasses permit the wearer to see objects clearly, both near and distant.



You can't escape presbyopia, even if you've never had a vision problem before. Even people who are nearsighted will notice that their near vision blurs when they wear their usual eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct distance vision.

When people develop presbyopia, they find they need to hold books, magazines, newspapers, menus and other reading materials at arm's length in order to focus properly. When they perform near work, such as embroidery or handwriting, they may develop headaches, eye strain or feel fatigued.

Presbyopes also can opt for multifocal contact lenses, available in gas permeable or soft lens materials. Another type of contact lens correction for presbyopia is monovision, in which one eye wears a distance prescription, and the other wears a prescription for near vision.
 

Does fluid builds up in the front part of your eye? It can be Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the diseases of the eye that damages the eye's optic nerve. It usually happens when fluid builds up in the front part of the eye and this extra fluid which builds up in the front part of the eye, increases the pressure in the eye, damaging the optic nerve.

The optic nerve is connected to the retina — a layer of light-sensitive tissue lining the inside of the eye — and is made up of many nerve fibers, like an electric cable is made up of many wires. The optic nerve sends signals from retina to the brain, where these signals are interpreted as the images we see.

In the healthy eye, a clear fluid called aqueous humor circulates inside the front portion of the eye. To maintain a constant healthy eye pressure, eye continually produces a small amount of aqueous humor while an equal amount of this fluid flows out of the eye. If a person is suffering from glaucoma, the aqueous humor does not flow out of the eye properly. Fluid pressure in the eye builds up and, over time, causes damage to the optic nerve fibers.

Glaucoma can often be caused by another eye condition or disease. It can be caused due to eye injury, inflammation of the eye, abnormal blood vessel formation from diabetes or retinal blood vessel blockage, use of steroid-containing medications.

There are several types of glaucoma like

• Open-angle glaucoma
• Normal-tension glaucoma
• Angle-closure glaucoma (also called "closed-angle glaucoma" or "narrow-angle glaucoma")
• Congenital glaucoma
• Secondary glaucoma
• Glaucoma suspect

But the most common type of glaucoma is open-angled glaucoma while congenital glaucoma is a rare type of glaucoma that develops in infants and young children. It can be hereditary, and it happens when the eye’s drainage system doesn’t develop fully or correctly before birth.

Symptoms of an acute attack include:

• Vision is suddenly blurry
• Severe eye pain
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Rainbow-colored rings or halos around lights.

Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops, pills, laser surgery, traditional surgery or a combination of these methods. The goal of any treatment is to prevent loss of vision, as vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible.

Farsightedness in young children might be Hyperopia.

Contrary to other eye problems hyperopia or farsightedness starts at early ages. Farsightedness, also known as hyperopia, is a common type of refractive error where distant objects may be seen more clearly than objects that are near. However, people experience farsightedness differently. Some people may not notice any problems with their vision, especially when they are young. It can be caused due to many reasons, but heredity is the most common cause. It occurs when light entering the eye is focused behind the retina instead of directly on it. This is caused by an eye that is too short, whose cornea is not curved enough, or whose lens sits farther back in the eye than normal. In this, the far away objects appear clear and the nearby objects appear blurry.

Some people might confuse hyperopia with presbyopia but presbyopia develops over time while farsighted vision is often hereditary.

Presbyopia is the result of the aging process, when the lens inside the eye gradually loses its flexibility, making it harder to focus on objects up close. It is noticeable around the age of 40. 

Whereas in hyperopia, the eyeball of a person is shorter than normal which leads to blurry vision when light rays entering the eye focus behind the retina rather than directly on it. People with hyperopia or farsighted vision have to work overtime to keep things in focus.

Symptoms of farsightedness can include:

• Blurred vision, especially at night.
• Trouble seeing objects up close. For example, you can't see well enough to read newspaper print.
• Aching eyes, eyestrain, and headaches.

Children with this problem may have no symptoms. But a child with more severe farsightedness may:

• Have headaches.
• Rub his or her eyes often.
• Have trouble reading or show little interest in reading.

 It can be corrected by using appropriate contact lenses and eye glasses. Apart from that surgical options are also available