Maintaining eyesight remains one of the most important ways a person can contribute to their quality of life. As a person ages, changes within the structure of the eye itself, including the lens occur. Age-related vision differences may appear as more difficulty in clearly seeing objects up close. Many people after 40 complain of fuzzy vision or mixing up letters such as ‘b’ and ‘d’ when reading or doing work on the computer. Known as presbyopia, symptoms display as holding reading materials at arm’s length, not reading as long as previous years due to eyes tiring or acquiring a headache every time one reads. Not considered a disease it defines as a normal part of aging. The lens becomes more rigid after the age of 40, so it does not as quickly form the shape necessary to see clearly close-up.
Visual impairment and quality of life
As reported by a study in JAMA Ophthalmology in 2016, a large population of adults who have near-normal or mildly impaired vision exists. Having a visual impairment even mildly has an impact on health, social outcomes, and mental health. UK Biobank data in England and Wales along with 112,314 volunteers between ages 40 to 73 years of age-associated mild vision impairment with key social determinants that affect health and lifestyle. Even mild visual impairment upped the likelihood of unemployment, living alone, accepting a lower status job, and aggravating mental health issues.
A Korean study published in 2015 with 28,000 adults (part of which had impaired vision) included a check of daily tasks. Vision impairment lessens mobility, causes difficulties with dressing and washing, as well as daily tasks. If a person also has a chronic condition such as hepatitis, arthritis, or stroke, it increases the struggle of accomplishing daily tasks. Uncorrected astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness list as the most common causes of visual impairment.
What can be done
Better eyesight means a better quality of life and more opportunities socially and in employment. A procedure called LASIK can address many of the near-normal or mildly impaired vision conditions mentioned. LASIK stands for laser-assisted surgery in situ keratomileuses. The laser eye surgery uses an excimer laser to shape the cornea of an eye. The transparent cornea covers the front of the eye, allowing light to penetrate to the rod and cone cells lining the back of it. A laser cuts a flap into the cornea so the laser can reform the tissue. Despite being classified as elective surgery, its success rate remains at an astonishing 99 percent with a 96 percent patient approval rating as reported by the American Refractive Surgery Council. Effective and efficient surgery alleviates mild visual impairment in most patients.
Most important factor
LASIK has such high ratings due to the quality of ophthalmologists who perform the procedures. Doctors like Amjad Khokhar in Houston developed ways to determine which patients are the best candidates for laser surgery have made those standards possible. His clinics give information on eye care and procedures. His staff provides counseling to patients first ensuring they are well-informed about the process. Then a consultation with the doctor tailor’s treatment to individual needs. These doctors do not have a problem telling a patient they may not be a good candidate for a particular procedure. At the same moment, these doctors will suggest other options. All it takes is a phone call to the Houston Lasik clinic to find out. Call today and find out the possibilities.
Houston Lasik leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Houston Lasik, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478.
Via
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-qualityoflife-vision-impairmen-idUSKCN0RH2KT20150917
https://americanrefractivesurgerycouncil.org/laser-eye-surgery-lasik-success-rate/
