WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT YOUR SIGHT

What you most know about your eyes?

There are many things we need to know and understand about our eyes.

The eyes are very important, eye is the major part of sense organ of the body, eye is the sense of sight.

Among the five senses organ of the body, which are eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin. The most sensitive and important part of the body is the EYES.

There are various diseases and defects fighting  your eyes that you most know and find a solution to.

Eye diseases generally requires medication to either cure or prevent the eye from blindness. While Eye  defects  require recommended eye glasses to either correct or prevent the eye defects.

There are over 10 thousand eye diseases discovered in the world today, while some are yet to be discovered.

 Some of the diseases that fight with our eyes are:

Cataract, Glaucoma, Conjunctivitis, pterygium, Retinal degeneration, Cornea disorders, Ocular inflammation, Complication diabetes mellitus, Systemic diseases, Damaged optic nerves, Cornea abrasion (or dystrophy), colour blindness, Blocked tear duct, diabetes retinopathy. e.t.c to mention but few.

However, Eye diseases are different from eye defects, the former requires medication to either cure or prevent them, and not glasses.

Note: Diseases can only be cured with medication such as eye drop and some supplements.

These diseases will be explained one after the other.

TYPES OF GLAUCOMA

1. ACUTE ANGLE GLAUCOMA :- It develop fast and quick than any other type, it’s normally painful. The common symptoms are very sudden symptoms such as blurry vision, intense eye pain, nausea, vomiting, dilated pupils, red eyes, e.t.c. If you feel any of these symptoms, you consult your eye care practitioner immediately.

2. CHRONIC OR PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA:- By the time you notice chronic glaucoma, a damage has already occurred. It is a painless disease; it develops very slowly that you can hardly guess.

3.  SECONDARY GLAUCOMA:-     It is normally caused by another eye conditions or medication. An eye injury could cause secondary glaucoma which may go along with infection, a tumor, inflammation, organ enlarged cataract.

HOW CAN I KNOW I HAVE GLAUCOMA?

You will do an eye test through your eye care practitioner where by:

1.  (IOP) Intraocular pressure will be measure within the eye through Tonometer. You will know whether the IOP is high or not.

2.   An Ophthalmoscope will also be used for you to check the appearance of the optic nerve.

GLAUCOMA TREATMENT

1.         Medication: eye drop or tablet occasionally

2.         Eye surgery.

Symptoms of cataract

1.         Blurry vision

2.         Colour seems faded

3.         Glare

4.         Poor night vision

5.         Double vision

6.         Frequent prescription changes. e.t.c.

All these and more are the symptoms of cataract which must be taking care of on time. The last treatment to a mature cataract is Operation.

How the test is performed

After the notice of these symptoms, you need to go to your eye Doctor. The eye doctor will ask you some question about your eye, your overall health and family medical history. And during a typical eye examination, a patient will be tested for visual acuity i.e. a chart will be place in a distance for you to read. During these period another diseases can be detected su

It is one of the leading causes of blindness in our society. It is a dangerous disease that increases the internal eye pressure.(IOP) Intraocular pressure, which result in damage to optic nerve. Optic nerve is the one that transfer information to the brain and ones it’s damaged the vision is loss.

Glaucoma is referred to as a ‘silent thief of sight’. Especially in the case of chronic glaucoma as glaucoma is in many different types which will be mention later.

Glaucoma is a frustrating diseases, where by a patient could be frustrated, the doctor, and even the family.

A patient is shocked when he/she heard of glaucoma.

It is a terrible eye disease.

SYMPTOMS OF CONJUNCTIVITIS

1.         Redness

2.         Water discharge

3.         Irritations

4.         Itching

5.         Pain

6.         Closing of the throat e.t.c.

 TYPES OF CONJUNCTIVITIES

1.         Acute allergic conjunctivitis

2.         Infectious viral conjunctivitis

3.         Bacterial conjunctivitis.

4.         Irritation or toxic conjunctivitis

ALLERGIC CONJUNCTIVITIS:- When there is an exposure to environment such as plants, house dust, Animal dander, scents e.t.c. it causes irritations, the eye will be red, watery,  itchy etc.

VIRAL CONJUNCTIVITIS:- It is an infection cause by virus. The common symptoms are water discharge, burning pain, the eye look sandy or gritty feeling, red etc.

BACTERIAL CONJUNCTIVITIS :- It is an infection cause by bacterial. In these case the symptoms are little or no pain,  the eye lid is sticky especially after sleeping, reddish, discharge etc.

In case you notice any of these symptoms, contact your  eye professional immediately. 

Why?

Cataract is the cloudy of the lens which prevents an image to be seen clearly and can not be seen easily with the naked eye.

Pterygium is a tick fleshy tissue that grows at the cornea of the eye.

Pterygium is one the major diseases that is rampant in our society which we are yet to know or understand the exact cause of it. But they are associated with; an exposure to sunlight ultraviolet (uv) rays. Dust and wind. Dry eye could also contribute to it.

Anyone could develop pterygium, but it’s mostly common among the people who spend a lot of time under sun.

SYMPTOMS OF PTERYGIUM

 Irritations,

 Redness,

 Tearing.

PREVENTION OF PTERYGIUM

* Wearing UV protective glasses,

* Avoiding dusty conditions,

* Always wear a hat while under the sun.

1.  Myopia -  They are shortsighted people. They find it difficult to see far object, but when an object is close to them, they could pick easily. Those are the people that the image falls in front of the retina instead on the retina. Usually, Myopic people’s eyeball are too long for their lens or cornea to be able to focus light correctly. When they see far object a times, it look blurred.  These can be corrected by wearing a correct medicated eyeglasses or contacts that contain concave lens. That will be given by your eye care professional / Doctors  after a visual test has taken place.

2. Hyperopia -  It is word and opposite of myopia. they are far or long-sightedness people. It is difficult for them to see nearby or close object clearly, but they could see far object properly. The image falls behind the retina instead to fall on the retina. The eyeball is too short for the lens and cornea to focus very well. Wearing eyeglasses or contacts with convex lenses can correct the defects.

3. Presbyopia - (aging eye) In ability to read tiny things.

 It is a defect that is commonly found among age 35 and above which is very much common around us here.  A situation whereby you press, an act that is making you to strain before you can pick a word or focus the eye for reading, there is a pressure on that eye which need to be taken care by your eye doctor.

 This defect can be corrected by wearing medicated eyeglasses. We called it medicated eyeglasses because, we found out that some people do go to the road side to patronize the “malas” on the note that they want too see but rather it make them blind or make their case worse. Truly, those glasses magnify images but that is not the one you need. Consult your eye professionals for proper medical check - up.

4. Astigmatism -   They are people with irregular shaped cornea. The rays of light that enters their eye are not of the same degree.  Astigmatism is usually corrected by using spherical cylindrical lens.

Using recommended eye glasses is not a disease as some people thought or believe. It is only if you have a defect as we have said and if not treated early it leads to a disease.

DEFECT: Can be describe as a disorder or a fault in the eye that needs to be corrected or put back what has been defective. This can only be done by using a recommended eye glasses given to you by your eye care professional.

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

 Dr please I don’t want to use glasses, can you  give me drugs?.

 Using or preferring medication such as eye drop,supplements; (tablets) to glasses for a defect may not cure the defect. It can only be cured by using a recommended eye glasses for such cases like:  Pressbyopia ,Myopia

peoples attitude towards using recommended eye glasses

Procrastination - Stop procrastination, go to your eye care professional at due time and do proper check - up when necessary. Don’t wait till when their will not be any solution to your eye problem.

Stinginess:- This could make some people not to have a correct glasses but rather prefer going to the road side to procure a glass they say “malla just give me my size” you now continue to test it until when you see one that make the lettering bold or big. It is a wrong attitude and that can not help your defect to be corrected rather it get worse. What make some people to take these step is because it is cheap at least N200 and N200 may damage what you will later spend thousands of money. Don’t be stingy to your health. Health is Wealth.

Lack of information (Ignorance):- Oh! I don’t know or am not informed. These is a different case at least if you don’t know, but immediately you are informed, what did you do? For example, you procure a glasses from your eye professional, and he/she did or did not tell you time to come back,  the glasses expired, you have used it for almost 3 - 4 years and above.  You begin to have headache, pain, inch etc these as a result of the weak or expired glasses that you are still using. Medically, the glasses should not be used for more than one and half or two years before you go for check – up. In some cases 6months.  Don’t be ignorant to what is good to your health. Health is wealth.

Emmulation:- Some people says my forefathers and my father did not use glasses, why me a small boy, while they are having a defect or a diseases that probably if not treated on time could lead to blindness. That your  aged father did not use glasses, does not mean that you are free from eye defect or disease. Some of the eye problems are hereditary, since using a glasses is not a disease, but rather to help your vision to see clearly. Go for check - up today and be sure you are free either defect or disease.

What is good

In various studies and Clinical trials, anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin A, C, and E found in certain foods have been linked with eye health. They leap to maintain healthy cells and tissues in the eye.

These vitamins can be found in many different sources of fruits and vegetables such as oranges, grapefruits dried apricots, tomatoes, peppers, raw carrots, green leafy vegetables, green peas, green beans. e.t.c They can also be found in nuts, seeds dairy product and eggs. Dark Green leafy vegetables are rich in these vitamins and the darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetables usually contain. Such vegetables should be eaten regularly.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are other anti oxidants that can prevent free- radical damage to the macular (the central part of retina) which is responsible for fine and colour vision.  Again, they can be found naturally in dark green leafy vegetables, corn, lettuce, spinach, tangerines/oranges and eggs. Vitamin A maintains healthy cells in vital structures of the eye and play an important role in converting light into nerve signals in the part of the eye called the retina.

A deficiency in vitamin A can lead to gradual changes in the eye. The first signal of a visual problem is finding it difficult to adjust to seeing in the dark (night blindness). If vitamin A deficiency is prolonged, it can lead to change in the cornea and   conjunctiva and this is a major cause of blindness in developing countries.

What is bad

 A high - fat diet harms your sight by clogging up blood vessels in the retina and the choroids, which can reduce the flow of oxygen and nutrients necessary for vision.

A high fat diets such as  dairy products, red meat, poultry, oils, margarine and processed foods, produces the fat deposits that accumulate under the skin of your thighs, your abdomen and in the arteries, restricting blood flow.

 Atherosclerosin is the term for the accumulation of fat deposits on the walls of the arteries, this results in artherosclerosin, the term used to describe the thickening and hardening of the walls of your arterial blood vessels. When it occurs, it reduces blood flow to the various parts of the eye. This limit the amount of oxygen and nutrients these cells receive. These cells eventually become damaged and die off resulting in vision loss.

Smoking increases the risk of cataract and age-related macular degeneration. It also aggravates diabetes related sight problems and thyroid eye diseases.

 Passive smoking (breathing in other people smoke) is almost as harmful as smoking yourself. Cigarette smoking increases free radicals which accelerate ageing and exacerbate wear and tear.

  Excessive alcohol consumption has detrimental effects not only on general health but also on the eyes

*  Sugar and salt are two potential health hazards if consumed in excess. Increased sail intake for prolonged periods is known to cause systemic hypertension which in turn is associated with vascular diseases affecting the kidney, brain, heart and eye.

*  Obesity and diabetes can affect a person if the diet contains high sugar intake. Diabetes can cause serious damage to the eye and lead to diabetic retinopathy - Blood vessels in the retina of the eye can bleed and leak in Diabetic retinopathy

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION

*   Lower the risk of arteriosclerosis by:-

a  Eliminating high fat diet or at least cutting back on the amount of fat you eat.

b.  Switch to non- fat versions of dairy products like skimmed milk

c.  Cut back on  the amount of meat you eat especially red meat. Meat is high in both saturated fat and cholesterol level which results in arteries clogged with plaque.

d.  If you prefer to eat meat, concentrate on poultry; eat roasted or grilled skinless chicken. This will lower the amount of fat you ingest.

e.  Fish is even better as it’s lower in fat and some types (such as tuna ) contain essential fatty acids (EFA’S) known as Omega - 3 Fatty Acids.

 These EFA’s reduce your risk of heart disease.

f.   Avoid excessive use of oils, margarines, and other high fat diet products such as butter and ice - cream.

g.  Eat fewer processed and / or prepackaged foods including ones that say they are “fat free” they may simply have serving sizes that are small enough to have less than 0.5grams of fat. If you don’t read the label, you might be eating five or six of the manufacturer’s suggested serving size and  then you’ll be eating 2.5 or more grams of fat at one time.          

*  Don’t fry your foods, you can bake, boil, grill, steam or poach most foods.

*   The biggest avoidable risk is smoking.

WHAT ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS

 All kind of vitamin supplements exists in the market today. However care needs  to be taken in the purchase and consumption of there products. It should be used on your Doctors prescription and / or advice.

 Researchers and studies have shown how certain vitamin and minerals supplements can have a positive effect on the eyes and sight. However, at certain high dosages, some of there supplements might have possible side effects on the body. The general concerns of opinion is that, with a good balanced diet that includes sufficient fresh fruits and vegetables (like 5 - serving per day), there should be no need to use supplements.

CONCLUSION

The importance of a healthy balanced diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly leafy green vegetables in the maintenance of good eye health cannot be over- -emphasized. Special attention to your diet is key to the nourishment of the visual system; and remember, the eye is the light of the body - protect your eyes!

References:

 Nutrition and eye health by Dr. Whyne Onne Ho, Specialist Registrar in Opthamology and Dr. Caroline MacEwen, consultant  Opthamologist.