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Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes

Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States. Glaucoma causes fluid to build up in your eye, causing pressure that can damage the optic nerve, which transfers visual images to your brain. But, you can save your vision with early detection and treatment. Nearly 3 million Americans have glaucoma. Half don’t know it. Lack of awareness and the absence of symptoms are preventing people from detecting the disease early. You can change that! Find out if you have glaucoma.Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes
If detected early, before noticeable vision loss occurs, glaucoma can usually be controlled and severe vision loss can often be prevented. Vision that is lost from glaucoma cannot be restored. This is why it is so important to schedule an eye exam every year, even if you think your eyesight is unchanged. Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes
Anyone can get glaucoma, but those at higher risk include: Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes

  • African Americans over age 40 Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes
  • Everyone over age 60, especially Hispanics/Latinos
  • People with a family history of the disease

Schedule an eye exam today!

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Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes
This year, make a resolution for healthier vision. Make sure your eyes are healthy and you are seeing your best in 2017. Schedule a comprehensive dilated eye exam and encourage your friends and loved ones to do the same. Vision loss can be prevented or controlled.

To learn more about glaucoma, view this animated video. For tips on finding an eye care professional and for information on financial assistance, visit www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma or call National Eye Institute at 301–496–5248.

Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes

 

Glaucoma Facts Protect Eyes

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Vision

Five Things You Should Know About Diabetic Eye Disease

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Each year in March, many people hear about Diabetes Alert Day, a one-day “wake-up call” to inform the American public about the seriousness of diabetes. On this day, many organizations encourage individuals to take the diabetes risk test and learn about their family history of diabetes. Five Things You Should Know About Diabetic Eye Disease
Diabetes has become an epidemic in the United States. In the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diagnosed cases of diabetes have increased more than 30 percent. If diabetes is not managed, it can lead to serious complications, including vision loss and blindness.
Everyone with diabetes is at higher risk of losing vision from diabetic eye disease, but less than 10 percent of older adults in the United States know that diabetic retinopathy often has no early warning signs. The good news is that 95 percent of severe vision loss can be prevented through early detection, timely treatment, and appropriate follow-up.

To help you keep your vision healthy, here are five things the National Eye Health Education Program, a program of the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health, would like you to know about diabetic eye disease:

  1. A group of eye problems—People with diabetes may face several eye problems as a complication of this disease. They include cataract, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, which is the leading cause of blindness in American adults ages 20–74.
  1. No symptoms, no pain—In its early stages, diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms. A person may not notice vision changes until the disease advances. Blurred vision may occur when the macula swells from the leaking fluid (called macular edema). If new vessels have grown on the surface of the retina, they can bleed into the eye, blocking vision.
  1. Have diabetes? You are at risk—Anyone with diabetes is at risk of getting diabetic retinopathy. The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will get this eye disease. In fact, between 40 and 45 percent of those with diagnosed diabetes have some degree of diabetic retinopathy. Detecting eye changes can also help diagnose kidney (nephropathy) and peripheral nerve disease (neuropathy).
  1. Stay on TRACK—That is: Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor; Reach and maintain a healthy weight; Add more physical activity to your daily routine; Control your ABC’s—A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels; and Kick the smoking habit.
  1. Get a dilated eye exam—If you have diabetes, be sure to have a comprehensive dilated eye exam at least once a year. Diabetic eye disease can be detected early and treated before noticeable vision loss occurs.

As an eye health professional, I encourage you to protect your vision, particularly if you have diabetes. This month, start the conversation at home, with your family and friends, or with your healthcare provider. Save what many take for granted: their sight.

To learn more about diabetic eye disease, visit https://www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/programs/diabeticeyedisease

By: Suber S. Huang, M.D., M.B.A.
Chair, National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) Planning Committee

Five Things You Should Know About Diabetic Eye Disease

Five Things You Should Know About Diabetic Eye Disease
Five Things You Should Know About Diabetic Eye Disease

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Vision

MAY is Low Vision Month!

by Kimberly Johnson
written by Kimberly Johnson

MAY is Low Vision Month!

NEHEP resources help you maximize hope and independence for individuals with low vision MAY is Low Vision Month!

Low vision is defined as a visual impairment that is not correctable by standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery and that interferes with the ability to perform everyday activities. A recent study funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) estimates that the number of Americans who are visually impaired, including those with low vision, is expected to double to more than 8 million by 2050. Most people with low vision are age 65 or older. Although vision that is lost usually cannot be restored, people can learn to make the most of the vision they have. MAY is Low Vision Month!
The National Eye Health Education Program’s (NEHEP) Low Vision Education Program offers English and Spanish resources that provide people living with low vision and their loved ones with information about the benefits of vision rehabilitation and the services and devices that can help them live independently and maintain their quality of life. Our Low Vision Resources At-a-Glance describes all of our low vision resources, which can be used year-round. The following are some that you may be especially interested in using during Low Vision Awareness Month this February:

Living With Low Vision: What you should know

Share this booklet [8.6 MB] and companion video with people who have vision loss and their families to help them better understand how to get help and live safely and independently. You can also link to the video from your website or share it on your social media outlets.

Living with Low Cision Education Module

Use this module to conduct educational sessions in your community about low vision. You can inform others about the signs of vision loss, the benefits of vision rehabilitation services, where to get more information, questions to ask a low vision specialist, ways to manage medications, and more. The module includes a PowerPoint presentation, speaker’s guide, participant handouts, and other useful tools.

Other resources

NEHEP offers a variety of resources to assist you in promoting vision rehabilitation through social networking. These include infographics and infocards that can be shared on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest or can be placed in newsletters, publications, and websites; articles that are ready-to-use in newsletters, magazines, newspapers, and blogs; and prewritten posts that can be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
For more resources and ideas, visit https://nei.nih.gov/nehep/lvam.

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Vision

You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Even Know It

by Kimberly Johnson
written by Kimberly Johnson

Make a Resolution for Healthy Vision You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Even Know It

January is Glaucoma Awareness month. As you plan for a healthier 2017, why not add this sight-saving exercise to your list of resolutions: Get a comprehensive dilated eye exam. It’s the only way to find out for sure whether you have glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness in America. You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Even Know It
An eye disease that can rob you of your vision, glaucoma often comes with no early warning. No pain. No discomfort. No blurry vision. Nearly 3 million people have glaucoma, yet half don’t know they have it.
Glaucoma starts with a buildup of fluid that increases the pressure in your eye and can cause damage to the optic nerve, the bundle of nerve fibers that transfers visual images to your brain. Glaucoma first affects your peripheral, or side, vision. As the disease advances, more noticeable vision loss will occur, and if not controlled, the disease can lead to permanent vision loss and blindness.
You can take action to protect yourself from glaucoma.
“If glaucoma is detected in its early stages, pressure can be controlled through medication or surgery, and the progression
of the disease can be delayed,” says Dr. Paul Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute (NEI). “Early detection by having a
comprehensive dilated eye exam every one to two years is key to protecting vision, especially if you are at higher risk.”
Are you at higher risk for glaucoma? You could be if you:

  • Are African American and age 40 or older
  • Are over age 60, especially if you are Hispanic/Latino
  • Have a family history of the disease

Everyone at higher risk should get a comprehensive dilated eye exam, which is different from the basic eye exam for glasses. A comprehensive dilated eye exam is a procedure in which an eye care professional places drops in your eyes to widen the pupil and looks at the optic nerve for signs of the disease.
This year, make a resolution for healthier vision. Make sure your eyes are healthy and you are seeing your best in 2016. Schedule a comprehensive dilated eye exam and encourage your friends and loved ones to do the same.
To learn more about glaucoma, view this animated video. For tips on finding an eye care professional and for information on financial assistance, visit www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma or call NEI at 301–496–5248.
The National Eye Institute (NEI) leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs to develop sight-saving treatments and address the special needs of people with vision loss. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.
You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Even Know It
You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Even Know It
You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Even Know It

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