5 Things You Need to Know About Seniors and Vision

1. If Only Looks Could Kill!

If you are past the age of 65, it's still not hard to go for the kill. Otherwise, your vision could negatively impact your everyday activities. It is not surprising given that 1 in 3 seniors has some trouble with his vision. Most likely, the problems revolved around age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract and diabetic retinopathy. All the more reasons why you should step up your efforts to care for your eyes.

2. How Good is Your Film ?

Akin to a photographic film, the retina of your eye is what captures the images and the world around. If, however, you have had a troubled family history replete with vision problems, count yourself among those with degeneration of the macula. It is the area of the retina responsible for central vision. Even if you smoked or suffer from high blood pressure, you run the risk. As fluid and blood leak on to the retina, you could suffer blurred vision, distorted images and reading difficulties. And if you really cared for your retina, do not hesitate to eat a diet enriched with antioxidants such as kiwi, squash and yellow squash, spinach, peas, honeydew melon, brussels sprouts, green beans, apples, corn, grapes, pumpkin, peppers, cucumber, orange juice, celery, scallions, broccoli and mango. High levels of antioxidants and zinc can reduce the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by about 25 percent.

3. Check Your Sugar Levels

If you have uncontrolled diabetes, your retina might be in trouble yet again from bleeding and vision loss. You could come up with blurred vision, floaters (little "cobwebs" or specks that float about in your field of vision), visual field loss and poor night vision. It might be a good idea to control the underlying causes of high blood pressure, excessive lipids, fluid overload and kidney problems, if present. In a major breakthrough published March 16, 2008 in Nature Medicine online, Dean Y. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues from the University of Utah discovered that activating a protein--Robo4--prevented the age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy by inhibiting abnormal blood vessel growth and by stabilizing blood vessels to prevent leakage.

4. Better Not to Lose Your Nerve

If you are short-sighted, elderly, with high blood pressure, diabetes and a family history of glaucoma, be forewarned that you run the risk of optic nerve damage. As the pressure builds up inside the eye, you are asking for trouble. Medications can be useful, but have side effects. Surgery is also available to drain out the excess fluid inside the eye. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that the elderly have comprehensive eye examinations every 1 to 2 years.

5. Changing Your Lens

It is the most common cause of blindness worldwide, but if you're over 75, your chances of getting cataract are high. As the central eye lens turns opaque as it turns yellow or brown, your vision turns blurred. Eye surgeons can break the lens into pieces and suck it out. A new lens implant solves the problem, and there are other ways--using lasers--to restore your visual function.