Just as your hair turns grey with age, the eyes also age and lose their transparency. This leads to common eye diseases like glaucoma, cataract and other diseases in the elderly. Happiest Health talks to experts who recommend ways to maintain your eye health and avoid its deterioration with age.
Clear vision is a mark of healthy ageing according to experts as it boosts self-esteem, makes older citizens feel fit, helps in social engagement, reading and prevents falls.
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Diseases related to eye deterioration
According to Dr Chetna T Nayak, an ophthalmologist from BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals, Bengaluru, some common eye conditions due to ageing include the following:
- Presbyopia: Losing the ability to focus on nearby objects (natural part of growing old)
- Blepharochalasis: Skin around the eyelid becomes loose and dense, leading to baggy eyes
- Cataract: Ageing of the eye lens and a leading cause of blindness
- Glaucoma: Progressive degeneration of the optic nerve (the main nerve of the eye that is connected to the brain) causing high pressure in the eye
- Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD): There is age related damage which occurs in the macula, the point of central vision in the eye, and affects the direct vision of the eyes.
- Dry eyes: The tear gland gets less active with age which causes inadequate quantity and quality of tears produced leading to dryness of the eyes. It is common in menopausal women.
Damage of the eyes due to diabetes and hypertension
Systemic diseases (affects multiple organs or the entire body) like diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis progresses into the retina as you age. Most remain asymptomatic and can only be noticed by a doctor through an eye examination, according to Dr Rishi Bhardwaj, Head of Department, Ophthalmology, Paras Hospitals, Gurugram.
“This can lead to diseases like diabetic retinopathy and hypertensive retinopathy (sudden vision loss due to bleeding inside the retina of the eye),” he explains.
Ways to maintain eye health in the elderly
- Reducing screen time
The elderly have developed some bad digital habits, much like anyone else, mentions Dr Bhardwaj.
“Certain international standards mandate that only two to three hours of screen time in a day, for all adults above 14 years of age,” says Dr Bhardwaj.
- Keep eyes safe from the sun
Direct exposure to sunlight is related to solar retinopathy, which causes damage to the retina because of exposure to harmful sun rays, especially activities like sun-gazing solar eclipse, characterised by blurry vision and eye pain.
“Wear dark glasses, goggles or polaroid glasses when exposed to the sun,” says Dr Bhardwaj.
- Importance of regular physical exercise
Regular exercise keeps eye health in check. “It can prevent retina damage caused due to high blood pressure and diabetes,” says Dr Chetna.
Dr Chetna recalls the case of a 70-year-old man with glaucoma. “This man had tremors in his hand, and there was no one around to put eye drops to keep his glaucoma in check, which worsened progressively,” she recalled.
She points out that he also did not have the physical fitness to undergo the required surgery due to his age, which is common in the elderly. “That’s the reason why maintaining physical fitness is necessary,” said Dr Chetna.
- Taking antioxidants
Dr Chetna mentions that having green leafy vegetables, green tea which contain antioxidants or taking prescribed antioxidants help in cutting down free radicals that cause damage to the body, especially the eye.
- Smoking increases risk of eye diseases
Smoking causes constriction of blood vessels in the eye. “This increases risk of conditions like dry eyes, cataract formation, especially glaucoma,” says Dr Bhardwaj.
- Regular eye check-ups
Experts who spoke to Happiest Health recommend at least one annual eye check-up for the elderly to detect serious eye conditions and get the required treatment before symptoms progress, especially those who have conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
“The frequency of eye check-ups will change if your ophthalmologist is doubtful of your eye health,” adds Dr Bhardwaj.
Takeaways
- Eye health can deteriorate with age, especially for those suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
- Diseases related to eyes such as cataract, glaucoma and others can be avoided with certain measures like maintaining regular physical exercise, routine check-ups, wearing sunglasses, reducing screen time and avoiding smoking.
