• Many people think of eye problems as something that happens to older people, but in fact, there are many conditions that can affect people in all stages of life—even childhood.
• Some of the eye conditions that can threaten a child’s vision are hard to detect, so children should have an eye and vision screening in infancy and in toddler age, but at least before age 5.
• Early detection and treatment of childhood eye conditions such as strabismus and amblyopia can help ensure a lifetime of good vision.
• Most young adults have healthy eyes, but accidental injury is one of the leading causes of vision loss in this age group.
• Sports, yard work, harsh chemicals—even jumpstarting a car—can be hazardous to the eyes. Make sure that you always wear the appropriate protective eye wear during these activities.
• Many of the eye problems that harm the vision of older people actually start much earlier. Many of them can be effectively treated and vision preserved if discovered early enough. Ask your Ophthalmologist if you may be at risk for problems like glaucoma or diabetic eye disease, and how often you should have an eye exam.
• Some vision changes are natural as we get older. Most of these can be adequately corrected with glasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery. However, sudden or frequent changes may signal a problem and should prompt a visit to the Ophthalmologist.
• Because seniors are at increased risk for serious eye problems, they should have more frequent eye exams. Please check with your Ophthalmologist about a schedule that is right for you.
• In general from ages 40-64 you should have an eye exam every 2-4 years. After age 65 you should increase that to once every 1-2 years and even more frequently if your Ophthalmologist recommends it.
• People sometimes accept eye problems like decreasing or cloudy
• vision or dry and teary eyes as an unavoidable condition of aging. Most of these problems however can be corrected and improved with the right treatment.
• Even if poor vision can’t be improved you can still enjoy an active and independent lifestyle. Many Ophthalmologists offer low vision rehabilitation or can refer patients to these services.
Health tips for Healthy Eyes.
Most people realize that a healthy lifestyle promotes a healthy body but have you ever considered the idea that a healthy lifestyle also is good for the eyes? It’s true! A nutritious diet and regular exercise may help slow or prevent certain eye conditions, such as macular degeneration and cataracts. To ensure your families good health please start adopting good habits and visit your Ophthalmologist on a regular basis.
Healthy habits may also help prevent diabetes. A serious disease that affects the whole body and often leads to the eye disease diabetic retinopathy. Due to poor diets and sedentary lifestyle diabetes is beginning to strike people at a younger age sometimes even before adolescence.
• Don’t smoke. Studies suggest that smoking might contribute to macular degeneration. Smoking robs the body of essential nutrients and a lack of certain vitamins and minerals could be contributing to this eye disease.
• To supply your body with an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals eat a variety of fruit and vegetables a day (3-5 servings).
• Keep you diet low in fat, sodium and cholesterol.
• Wear sunglasses when outdoors. Too much sunlight could lead to cataracts and other eye surface conditions.
• Make sure that lenses block 100% of both UVA and UVB rays.
• Don’t drink alcohol excessively.
• Exercise daily. You do not have to run a marathon to get the benefits of exercise. About 30 minutes of low impact aerobic activity a day such as walking briskly or bicycling will do just fine.
• Make sure you are a good example of a healthy lifestyle for your children.
• Encourage them to adopt these healthy habits as well and get your eyes checked on a regular basis by an Ophthalmologist.
Protecting your families vision:
With children:
Pay attention to their age and maturity level when buying toys and games. Avoid projectile toys such as bows and arrows, darts and pellet guns and make sure that children have protective eyewear when playing on the field, in the yard or in the court.
In the house:
When using household chemicals read instructions and labels carefully, work in a well ventilated area and make sure to point spray nozzles away from you. Many chemicals are extremely hazardous and can burn your eyes delicate tissues.
In the workshop:
Think about the work you will be doing and the appropriate protective eyewear to shield your eyes from flying fragments, fumes, dust particles, sparks and splashing chemicals. Many objects can fly into your eyes unexpectedly and can cause an injury.
In the garden:
Put on protective eyewear before you use a lawnmower, power trimmer or edger and be sure to check for rocks and stones because they can become dangerous projectiles as they shoot from blades.
In the workplace:
Wear appropriate safety eyewear for your job. Many of the thousands injured each day didn’t think that they needed eye protection or wore eyewear that
was inappropriate for the job.
Around the car:
Battery acid, sparks and debris from damaged or improperly jump-started auto batteries can severely damage your eyes. Keep protective goggles in the trunk of you car.
Prevention is the first and most important step in avoiding serious eye injuries so be sure to protect your eyes with appropriate protective eyewear. If you do experience an eye injury see your Ophthalmologist or Physician promptly.
When should you see an Ophthalmologist?
If you have any of these risk factors for eye problems, you will need to see your Ophthalmologist more often than recommended below:
• Family history of eye problems
• Have diabetes
• Personal history of eye injury
Before age 5:
Since it is possible for your child to have a serious vision problem without being aware of it, your child should have his or her eyes screened at age 3 and 5 by an eye care professional, primary care provider, family physician, pediatrician or trained screener for eye conditions such as:
• Strabismus (crossed-eyes)
• Amblyopia (lazy eye)
• Ptosis (dropping of the upper eyelid)
• Refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism.)
If there is a family history of vision problems or if your child appears to have any of the above conditions speak to your Ophthalmologist promptly about when and how often your child’s eyes should be examined.
Puberty to age 39:
Most young people have healthy eyes but still need to take care of their vision by wearing protective eyewear when working in dangerous areas, playing sports, doing wood work or yard work, working with chemicals or taking part in other activities that could cause eye injury.
Have a complete eye exam at least once between the ages of 20 and 29 and at least twice between the ages of 30 and 39. You should also be aware of symptoms that could indicate a problem. See an Ophthalmologist promptly if you experience any eye problems such as:
• Visual changes or pain.
• Flashes of light
• Seeing spots or ghost like images
• Dark spot appears in vision.
• Lines and edges appear distorted or wavy.
• Dry eyes with itching and burning.
Ages 40-65:
Even the young adult and middle age groups can be affected by eye problems so preventive measures should be taken to protect eyes from injury and detect disease early.
Schedule a comprehensive eye evaluation with your Ophthalmologist every 2-4 years.
Over age 65:
Seniors 65 and older should have comprehensive eye evaluations by their Ophthalmologist every 1-2 years to test for cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and other eye conditions.
Dr Millicent M. Grim
Specialist Ophthalmologist / LASIK Specialist
MBChB (Pretoria), DTM & H (WITS), MMed (Ophth) (Pretoria)
AAO, ASCRS, ISRS (US), GMC (UK)
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