Ophthalmologist's Solutions for Aging Eyes

    BELLEVUE, WA, April 17, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Our eyes age with the rest of our body, and as they do they lose some of their youthful attributes. Aging alone brings many changes, but aging also brings the potential for systemic diseases that affect vision as well. Aging eyes need more than just an occasional refractive exam. An ophthalmologist's solutions for aging eyes provides specialized expertise to treat and prevent vision loss.

The two most prevalent conditions aging eyes presents are presbyopia and cataracts. Presbyopia begins when we are in our mid-40s, and though cataracts may not start until after age 60, given enough time, we are all at risk of developing them.

Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a natural and common age-related eye disease, ARED, involving our eyes' crystalline lens. Over time, the lens becomes less flexible and responsive to the need for rapid refocusing, also called accommodation. Also, some doctors believe that the muscles that surround and control the lens lose their tone as we age, thus losing strength needed to bend and flex the lens.

Presbyopia Treatment Options

Laser surgery treats the loss of refractive error by reshaping the cornea to compensate for a less flexible lens. Lens replacement is another common treatment.

Multifocal lenses are intraocular lenses that are surgically implanted in the crystalline lens, replacing the natural lens surface, which is removed. Multifocal lenses are designed with a series of concentric lens strengths that allow you to see at near, mid-range and distances simultaneously. These can eliminate the need for corrective lenses in many patients.

Accommodative lenses also can be implanted to replace the natural lens. These lenses have tabs that allow the eye's muscles to flex them resulting in more natural accommodative focusing at different distances.

Monovision employs corneal refractive correction. One eye is corrected for near vision, the other for distance. Adjusting takes a couple weeks. Most patients wear monovision contact lenses for a while before surgery to see if they can adjust. If they don't like it, they haven't made any permanent changes. Monovision can be achieved, also, by using contact lenses, conductive keratoplasty (CK), or LASIK. The downside to monovision is the loss of binocular vision or depth perception. The upside may eliminate the need for corrective lenses.

Cataracts

Cataracts are cloudy areas in the lenses caused by clumping of the lens tissue. They are visible to the ophthalmologist as cloudy areas in the early stages, and visible to the naked eye when they become larger.

As the cataract becomes denser and larger we experience vision described as cloudy, fuzzy, foggy or filmy. Colors lose their clarity. Bright lights or glare affect night vision. Glare from the sun can affect day vision, and double vision can occur as well.

Cataracts generally begin developing after age 60, but various health conditions, such as diabetes, or medications such as steroids, can cause them to start earlier in life.

Cataract Treatment

Lens Exchange: Cataracts are treated by surgically removing the lens tissue leaving only the lens capsule that housed the tissue. The artificial lens is inserted into the capsule replacing the natural lens. The multifocal and accommodating lenses described for presbyopia are also used in cataract surgery.

If you are beginning to show symptoms of presbyopia or cataracts please visit the website of Dr. Kent G. Leavitt at Bellevue LASIK & Cornea serving patients near Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Olympia, and Tacoma, Washington.

Website: http://www.bellevue-lasik.com

# # #