October is Vision Awareness Month!
What is National Vision Awareness Month?
October is National Vision Awareness Month.
During this time every year, eye care professionals across the nation strive to educate patients on the warning signs of the most common sight-stealing conditions.
Read on to learn more about how you can protect your eyes from vision loss.
Visit the Alabama Eye Doctors at EyeCare Associates
The most terrifying thing about vision loss is that it’s often sneaky. Many people who have serious eye conditions don’t even know it until they’ve already begun to lose their sight. Unfortunately, sometimes when it gets to this stage, it’s too late.
Salt circles and ancient charms won’t keep these beasts away. Your best bet for healthy vision is a large dose of preventative care. Getting regular annual dilated eye exams can help us find and defeat these conditions before they become more permanent problems.
The eye doctors at EyeCare Associates are experts at dealing with these eye diseases. Schedule an appointment today to make sure the spookiest fright you receive this season is from an awesome Halloween costume.
Glaucoma and Cataracts
Glaucoma and Cataracts are two of the most common sight-stealing eye diseases that can leave you in the dark if you aren’t careful. While both work on different parts of your eyes, the result is the same: loss of sight, either fully or partially.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is often referred to as the silent thief of sight for a reason.
Symptoms of the disease often go completely unnoticed until there’s irreversible damage to the optic nerve.
Glaucoma is a condition that occurs when your eye loses its ability to regulate the flow of intraocular fluid flowing between the iris and lens.
This causes a buildup of pressure within the eye that damages the optic nerve, the part of the eye that sends images from your eye to your brain.
If left untreated, Glaucoma has the potential to cause severe and permanent blindness.
Cataracts
A Cataract occurs when the natural lens in your eye begins to cloud as the proteins the lens is made of start clumping together.
This is a common occurrence to most people as their eyes age.
Cataracts may make a person’s vision look blurry or dull, and sight might continue to worsen as the Cataract gets larger over time.
However, Cataract surgery is a commonplace procedure that can eliminate Cataracts entirely.
The eye doctors and surgeons of EyeCare Associates have the training and expertise to help you exorcise these sightless fiends before it’s too late.
If you think you may have symptoms of Glaucoma or Cataracts, schedule an appointment with an Alabama eye doctor today for better eye health.
Diabetic Retinopathy
If you have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes, you’re at higher risk of developing a number of Diabetic eye diseases, including Diabetic Retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy occurs when the blood vessels in the eye beginning to swell and leak.
This causes the surrounding tissues to swell, damaging the optic nerve.
At later stages in the disease, damage is irreversible.
Annual Diabetic eye exams are imperative to catch Diabetic Retinopathy early and halt it in its tracks.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is more common in people over the age of 60.
This condition impacts the light-sensitive center of your retina at the back of your eye, the macula.
As the condition progresses, you may notice a blurring or dimming in the center of your vision.
It comes in two forms: Dry and Wet.
Once the final stages of AMD are reached, there is usually no cure.
That’s why it’s important to get annual eye exams to detect and begin treating the condition as soon as possible.
The eye doctors at EyeCare Associates use the latest techniques to detect Macular Degeneration and prescribe appropriate treatment plans to lessen symptoms.
Visit an EyeCare Associates Near You
October is meant for cool Autumn nights and playful frights. Don’t let vision loss turn the month into a real horror show.
Celebrate National Vision Awareness Month by booking an appointment at your nearest EyeCare Associates. Together, we can stop the real monsters before it’s too late.