The word July keeps appearing in memos, on television, and on social media. Thoughts wander to that declaration Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1774. Truths are self-evident.
Equality happens when granted inalienable rights. Consent of the governed derives powers.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness remain part of independence. A new brand of government formed termed democracy.
In that time, the fresh thoughts stirred a passion. In present times sometimes rights become taken for granted until war or disease curtails some freedoms held dearly.
A population learns that it takes vigilance to maintain freedoms. So culturally, Americans strive for that freedom in many ways at work or play.
One thing people forget to consider becomes eyesight. Low vision can take a person’s independence away on an individual level.
Low vision
The National Eye Institute defines low vision as a condition that prevents a person from seeing well enough to drive or read. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 2.2 billion people have impairment to vision. The leading causes of that impairment list as cataracts and refractive errors.
The sensory input from vision keeps the brain stimulated and sharpens skills continually. Without this input, the mind must adapt to a lesser state.
Known as the brain to eye vascular triad, once the issue becomes diagnosed, the neural networks of the brain can amplify residual visual signals. Most low vision does not diagnose as blindness but an issue in transmission or blockage to the optic nerve. In the past, a person would develop ways to adapt as best they could.
Solutions
Treatments for low vision have come a long way. Technology has supplied tools to restore sight.
LASIK, as in laser in-situ keratomileusis, can correct refractive errors and change the shape of a cornea. The laser tool makes precise incisions from the individual measurements taken by a good ophthalmologist like found at the Houston Lasik Clinic.
Conditions that use to cause low vision do not now due to the progression of technology. Refractive errors that Lasik has been known to alleviate classify four ways.
- Presbyopia, as in aging, loses flexibility causing blurring after age 40.
- Hyperopia, as in farsightedness, causes objects several feet away to be seen clearly, but items up close appear blurry.
- Astigmatism causes all levels of sight to blur, and its origin comes from a portion of the cornea and/or lens taking on a less than normal shape.
- Myopia, as in nearsightedness, lets items up close have a sharp image, but items a few feet away blur.
Laser eye surgery can address all those conditions. Restoring sight restores independence.
Laser eye surgery
Refractive surgery involves meeting with staff for information and meeting with doctors for a customized treatment plan. Not everyone can have Lasik surgery.
A doctor decides which patients would be a likely candidate for Lasik surgery. A flap becomes cut into the eye, and a lens replaced or tissue shaped to facilitate better eyesight.
The success rate for Lasik is exceptionally high as well, about 95 percent, with many patients not having to use glasses or contact lenses often.
Maintaining independence after 40 years of age will always be a priority way up into senior years. If vision lessens your independence, check in with the good doctors at the Lasik clinic.
Maybe like Thomas Jefferson, you can start your own independence revolution just in time to see the fireworks.
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.history.com/topics/american-revolution/declaration-of-independence
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/low-vision
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/low-vision
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6294586/
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=1&contentid=2052
