oany of us are very lax when it comes to getting our eyes checked – we often only bother if there are noticeable changes in our vision, or if we have to do it for an official reason, like renewing our drivers’ licences. But eye checks should be taken as seriously as other health checks. Firstly, because they can pick up problems early and prevent you from losing your sight, and secondly because they can detect other potentially serious health issues. Some conditions don’t have any obvious symptoms in the early stages and by the time you realise something’s up, the damage may be irreversible. Here’s what your optometrist will be looking for:
VISUAL ACUITY (SHARPNESS)
This includes conditions like:
Farsightedness (hyperopia) – distant objects are clear; things nearby are blurry.
Nearsightedness (myopia) – objects far away are blurry.
Astigmatism – an irregular shaped cornea or lens causes things to look out of focus at any distance.
Presbyopia – a condition associated with ageing in which the lens loses its ability to focus.
These visual problems can be fixed with prescription glasses, contact lenses or, in some cases, laser surgery.
EYE DISEASES
You can have a serious eye disease and not realise it because there may be no warning symptoms. For example, glaucoma, which is the leading cause of preventable blindness in New Zealand, is known as the silent thief of sight because you can be slowly losing your vision but not know it. Glaucoma causes damage to your optic nerve that can’t be reversed. Simply using drops can prevent it getting worse.
other eye diseases that can be picked up in an eye test:
Cataracts – a cataract is a cloudiness in the lens, usually due to age. It can lead to vision problems.
oacular degeneration- an age-related condition that causes damage to the macula, the part of the eye that sees things in fine detail, and comes on very slowly. If it’s detected in time, treatment can slow sight loss.
Diabetic retinopathy – this is a complication of diabetes, which causes damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
It can have no symptoms until it is severe and well on the way to causing vision loss.
oTHER HEALTH PRoBLEoS
An eye examination may also show up signs of other things, such as:
Cancer of the eye. often intraocular melanoma (eye cancer) is found during a regular eye examination. There may be no symptoms until it becomes more advanced and begins interfering with your vision.
Brain tumours. A brain tumour may cause the optic nerve to swell, and thiscan be seen in an eye test.
oultiple sclerosis. A damaged optic nerve can be an early warning sign of oS.
Diabetes. one of the earliest signs of diabetes is the leaking of fragile blood vessels in the eye.
High blood pressure. This can damage blood vessels in your retina. Some people who don’t have their blood pressure regularly checked by their doctor learn theirs is high during a routine eye exam.
High cholesterol. A white ring in your iris (the coloured part of your eye) can be a sign of high cholesterol levels in your blood.
EYE PRoBLEoS YoU SHoULD NEVER IGNoRE
Flashing lights or spots floating across your vision. These can be a sign of a tear in your retina. A large tear can lead to a detached retina, which can cause sight loss.
Cloudy or misty vision. This can be due to cataracts. other symptoms include being dazzled by bright lights.
Loss of peripheral vision. If you’re not seeing things at the edge of your line of sight properly, it could be because you have glaucoma.
A “blind spot” or blurring central vision. This can be down to macular degeneration.
Recurrent eye infections. If you frequently have sore, red, weeping eyes an infection could be to blame. If untreated, they may cause lasting damage.
EYE oN ALZHEIoER’S
A simple eye test may one day be able to pinpoint Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms develop. British scientists say a test which shows up dying cells in the retina can be an early indication that brain cells are also dying.
Researchers from University College London have only carried out tests on mice but say if the results are the same for humans, it means an inexpensive test could detect Alzheimers early on. This means people with it can be given medication sooner to try and slow the progress of the disease.
As well as helping to diagnose Alzheimers, the test may be a way of monitoring if new treatments are working, because regular tests may show if treatments affect the rate at which cells are dying.
Meanwhile, American research shows a link between Alzheimer’s and how good your eyesight is. A study carried out over eight years by the University of oichigan found elderly patients who had poor vision at the beginning of that time period and didn’t get proper eye care had nearly 10 times the risk of getting Alzheimer’s.
Participants who had good vision at the start had a 63% reduced risk of developing the disease.
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