Posts Tagged ‘age’
Many recent studies are showing how omega 3 and retina health can be maximized by a daily fish oil supplement containing high amounts of DHA fatty acids. Age related eye disease can be slowed or even halted by this natural substance, as long as you select carefully.
It is known that omega 3 fatty acids, and particularly DHA, play an important role in the layer of nerve cells in the retina, being a significant part of the human brain and central nervous system as well.
The US National Eye Institute says that omega 3 reduces the risk of age related blindness by over 30% in a recent study and found that that it helps the eyes by acting as an anti-inflammatory, one of the key features of any good fish oil.
The problem is how to get the most DHA as most oils today contain far more of the less useful EPA. To get the maximum omega 3 and retina benefits you need to know how to find the right fish oil supplements as many offer little or no benefits.
The DHA level is crucial as this fatty acid provides most of the benefits, not only for your vision but for many other ailments too like heart disease and brain health.
Look to get at least 250mg of DHA per capsule with a 2:1 ratio of DHA to EPA to reap the maximum rewards.
The purity of any oil will also determine how successful it is and any oil you select should have undergone molecular distillation to remove the harmful toxins like mercury and lead. Pure oil will also eradicate any of those fishy burps you may have experienced before!
One of the best fish for this purpose is the New Zealand Hoki as it’s very high naturally in DHA and low in contamination, coming from one of the cleanest oceans on earth.
Now you know the best omega 3 for retina health you can help to protect your vision from future problems or substantially reduce the symptoms if you currently have any vision issues.
If you would like to learn more about the high quality DHA omega 3 supplements I personally take daily, visit my website today.
Discover the best omega-3 fish oil today.
Rich Hawkins is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and the amazing health benefits of high-quality fish oil. Take a moment to visit his site now at www.best-omega-3-supplement.com and discover the very latest and effective omega-3 fish oil supplements Rich recommends after extensive research.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/vision-articles/omega-3-and-the-retina-discover-how-the-best-fish-oils-can-improve-your-vision-1373457.html
Read More...
Different people should receive complete eye exams at different intervals. Children’s eyes should be examined at six months of age, three years of age, and six or seven years of age and every two years during school days, since high vision problem rates are reported among both preschool and school-aged children. For children with risk factors of vision problems such as prematurity, developmental delays, turned eyes, family history of eye diseases and history of eye injury, more frequent eye exams are necessary.
Adults at different ages need eye exams in different frequencies. Based on American Optometric Association (AOA), among people less than 40 years old, one exam every two or three years is enough for those with normal vision, while an annual exam is required for those wearing eyeglasses or contacts. People with diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders may also require more frequent eye exams. People above 40 need eye exams every one to two years and people over 60 need annual exams, in case of age-related problems such as presbyopia, cataracts and macular degeneration.
In the United States, ophthalmologists, optometrists, as well as opticians can conduct regular eye exams. Ophthalmologists are the most professional since they are exclusively licensed to perform eye surgeries. Optometrists can prescribe certain medications and minor surgical procedures, while opticians are only entitled to adjust and repair glasses, or fit your contacts.
A basic complete eye exam should contain several items: family eye history review, distance and near vision evaluation, current eye prescription determination, eye coordination evaluation and internal and external eye healthy examination. You should be clear of all these items as well as the exact charge at the time you make an appointment with your doctor. Exam fees for contact lens fitting, laser-surgery evaluation and pediatric testing are higher than that of regular exams. You should check your vision insurance benefits for potential discount, since exam fees vary widely from discount outlets to surgical offices.
For better exam results, you need to take necessary documents and cards of yourself and your family members. Your vision insurance card is needed if you want to get any discount. For your eyes full evaluation, your major medical health care cards and recent prescription glasses or contacts may be useful to provide additional eye exam aspects. A list of your prescription medications can help the doctor learn your complete health history. Of course, you can bring your interested questions.
Article Source:http://vision.firmoo.com/eye-exams/eye-exam-intervals-and-preparation.html
Vision Library is the information source in area of vision care, including eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, sports protective eyewear, vision error and diseases, vision surgery, ageing and kid’s vision etc., solely sponsored by Firmoo.com, an emerging online optical store.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/vision-articles/eye-exam-intervals-and-preparation-1309219.html
Read More...
Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. Most often, it’s an age related disease, and is often referred to as Age Related Macular Degeneration. This disease affects over 13 million people in America.
What does it do? Macular Degeneration slowly breaks down the macula, the light-sensitive area of the retina, which gives you sharp and clear vision. Because this is a mostly age related disease, people over 65 years are affected more. However, macular degeneration can, and does affect people at all ages. So it’s a good idea to keep your eyes healthy now.
Macular degeneration causes a slow loss of vision, and often, you’re not even aware of it for a period of time. Here are some sign of macular degeneration:
- You see a fuzzy or blurry area in your central vision.
– Your vision seems fuzzy or blurry.
– Straight lines look wavy to you.
Currently, it is unknown exactly what causes macular degeneration. However, macular degeneration tends to run in families, and smoking and drinking can increase your risk for this disease. Studies have shown that people who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day are 300% more likely to lose their vision than people who didn’t smoke.
The best prevention method known is getting enough of the essential nutrients. Vitamins A, C, and E reduce your risk for macular degeneration, and also slow down its progress if you’re already affected. If you are a heavy smoker, this will also increase your chance of having macular degeneration.
Drinking too much alcohol also affects your eyesight. Lutein and Zeaxanthin are carotenes that help reduce you risk for eye health problems. Studies have found that people who drink heavily have less Lutein and Zeaxanthin. So by drinking a lot of alcohol, you’re also putting your eyesight at risk.
High fat intake is associated with an increased risk of macular degeneration in both women and men. By reducing and limiting your consumption of fats can help reduce your risk of having macular degeneration. A healthy, balanced diet that includes more white meat and less red meat, and reducing consumption of whole milk, cheese, margarine, and butter can greatly reduce your fat intake.
Read More...
Vision changes
With aging, the quality of vision worsens due to reasons independent of aging eye diseases. The area of the pupil governs the amount of light that can reach the retina. The extent to which the pupil dilates also decreases with age. Because of the smaller pupil size, older eyes receive much less light at the retina. In comparison to younger people, it is as though older persons were wearing medium-density sunglasses in bright light and extremely dark glasses in dim light.
To maximize the light entering the eye, make sure that your eye glasses have anti-reflective coating. Anti-reflective lens coatings significantly reduce surface reflectance and allow greater light transmission through the lens. When AR coating is applied to both the front and back surfaces of a lens, the percentage of transmitted light increases to approximately 99% (compared to 90-92% with non-ARC lenses).
Aging causes a dramatic slowing in dark adaptation. Color vision changes cause some reduction of ability to discriminate blues and blue-greens. The yellowing of the lens is believed to be responsible for this effect. The aging lens and cornea causes glare by light scattering, especially for shorter wavelengths. Aberrations of cornea also increase with age, leading to poor vision especially when the pupil dilates as in the dark.
The most aggravating aspect of vision in an older person seems to be the feeling that it does not work as effortlessly or as quickly as it did in younger days. They must concentrate harder and require higher levels of illumination than they formerly did in order to have the same perceptual results.
Lighting the way
Everyone’s vision deteriorates with age, but there are ways to lessen its impact. Good lighting can make the difference between seeing and not seeing for older adults, especially in your homes, stairways, kitchen, living rooms etc. Naked bulbs: These are worst for older eyes, producing a glare that can be disorienting and painful. Task lighting: Light should be focused on the work, not toward the eyes. A good choice is a CFL with electronic ballast that starts up without flickering. Bathroom lighting: Lots of light should be provided overhead and even in the shower, where accidents are particularly common.
Anatomic changes
Aging causes laxity and downward shift of eyelid tissues and atrophy of the orbital fat. These changes contribute to the etiology of several eyelid disorders such as ectropion, entropion, dermatochalasis, and ptosis. The higher eyelid skin crease and ptosis may be due to age related disinsertion of the levator muscle aponeurosis, and to involutional atrophy of the orbital fat. The horizontal eyelid fissure shortens by about 10% with aging. With aging a prominent white ring develops in the periphery of the cornea- called arcus senilis. The corneal endothelial cells gradually decrease in number. The vitreous gel undergoes liquefaction and its opacities – visible as floaters gradually increase in number.
Aging Eye Diseases
Cataract: Cataract (‘safed motia’) is a clouding or opacity of the normally transparent lens inside the eye. It prevents the light rays passing onto the retina. The picture that the retina receives becomes dull and fuzzy. The normal process of aging causes the lens to harden and become cloudy (opaque). This is called age-related cataract and it is the most common type. It can occur anytime after the age of 45 years.
Glaucoma: Glaucoma (kala-motia, kala-paani) is a serious condition that involves an elevation in pressure inside the eye caused by a build-up of excess fluid. Left untreated, this pressure can impair vision by causing irreversible damage to the optic nerve and, eventually, blindness.
Macular Degeneration (ARMD): The macula is the part of the retina, which provides us with central vision and allows us to see fine detail, such as recognizing a face, reading, or watching television. Macular Degeneration is a condition in which the macula gets damaged. It is often related to aging, and is commonly referred to as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
Presbyopia: If you have presbyopia, you have the loss of the ability to focus up close that occurs as you age. Most people are between 40 and 50 years when they realize for the first time that they can’t read objects close to them.
Macular Hole: A macular hole is a small break in the macula, located in the center of the eye’s light-sensitive tissue called the retina. A macular hole can cause blurred and distorted central vision. Macular holes are related to aging and usually occur in people over age 60. It is 4 times more common in females.
Diabetic Eye Disease: Retinopathy is usually due to damage to vessels in retina. Retinopathy is usually caused by Diabetes (DM), but is sometimes caused by other diseases such as high BP.
Dry Eye: The most common cause of dry eye is a failure of the glands in your eyelids to produce tears, which often occurs as part of the ageing process.
The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of information that exist. If a blind person has proper training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a physical nuisance.
www.eyeclinicindia.com
Read More...
Nutritional supplements are plentiful in the local vitamin store and which one is best for you will vary depending on age, medical condition and dietary habits. Lutein is a water soluble carotenoid that possesses anti-oxidant properties. Age related macular degeneration (ARMD) patients are particularly helped by the intake of additional anti-oxidants like Lutein. It is ingested orally and reached the target organs like the retina via the blood stream. The immediate benefit of Lutein is seen in the increase of macular pigment optical density. This improves visual function.
In addition, Lutein aids in the absorption of high energy, short wavelength light that has been shown to act as a catalyst to Macular Degeneration and cataracts. Since both the retina and the crystalline lens are vulnerable to oxidative damage, Lutein an anti-oxidant, is of particular benefit in preserving these structures and thus maintaining better ocular health and vision. The two foods that have the highest quantity of Lutein in them are spinach and kale.
Individuals who have deficiencies in the amount of macular pigment are especially helped by Lutein supplements. Patients with poor dietary habits are likewise encouraged to take Lutein. Visual function is improved rapidly upon consumption depending on the blood level of Lutein. Furthermore, since filtering high energy blue light increases contrast sensitivity, one can also expect an improvement there with additional levels of Lutein.
In short, young healthy individuals who eat well will probably not see many benefits with Lutein supplements. Since it is water soluble excess amounts will be excreted so there is no harm to taking extra amount. In patients who suffer from ARMD, cataracts and other ocular conditions who are older and eat poorly, Lutein supplements are of particular benefit. As always, consult your physician when taking any medications and supplements.
Read More...