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Old Age, Bad Sight
Old Age, Bad Sight
Dr. Pham Hoang Trung

With old age comes the gradual blurring of eyesight. Before the eyes there seems to be a film of fog, but there is no feeling of pain in the eyes. In another case, a sudden sharp pain can be felt in the eyes, followed by the sight of colorful circles and finally the eyesight becomes considerably blurred. It can also be the case that images are seen distorted or that objects get blurred when they are focused by the eyes (while everything surrounding them can still be seen). Another symptom causes the space seen before the eyes to seemingly become narrower and narrower as if it is seen through a tube. Some people’s eyes get blurred at nightfall, making it hard for them to recognize other people. These are symptoms found in eye diseases in older people. Alongside gray hair and facial wrinkles, our eyesight also gets worse with old age. Bad eyesight is caused by the following problems:

Cataract

the eye lens is clouded. Causes for cataract can be bad metabolism due to old age, insufficient nutrition, or blood circulation disorder. People with cataract have blurred eyesight of objects from afar but not those from a short distance. With serious cataract, now the eyesight is blurred even when looking from a short distance: a hand before the eyes is seen only as a shadow. Cataract is not painful. People with cataract are still sensitive to light. They can tell light from dark. When out in the sun, their eyes are blinded. However, when inside or in the dark, they can still see properly. Cataract is the leading cause for blindness.

Glaucoma:

The eye cells degenerate with old age. They lose their elasticity and block eye fluid from flowing out of the eyes. This causes an increase of pressure in the eyes and damage to the eye nerves. If glaucoma is acute, the eyes can become red and extremely painful. The patient can’t see well. Colorful circles are seen, and the patient can have a headache and vomit. If the disease is chronic, there is no pain but only blurred and limited eyesight. Pressure in the eyes is elevated. This disease must be treated from the very beginning because once the eyesight becomes blurred there is no other way to restore it than keeping the current condition from further aggravation. Glaucoma is second only to cataract in causing blindness

Age-related Macular Degeneration:

The cells in the center of the retina become weaker and weaker with old age and are finally damaged. Patients of this disease can’t see an object very well. Images are distorted while the surrounding area is still visible. When the patient looks at a grid, he will perceivethe squares out of shape. This type of disease doesn’t cause pain. Only at advanced stages does the eyesight become more and more blurred.


Dry Eyes:

This condition is caused by the malfunction of the lachrymal gland due to old age, which produces fewer and fewer tears. After middle age, the amount of tears decreases by 50% compared with earlier stages. The eyes are red, feeling dry, tired, and bulged as if having dust inside. Eye dryness strongly affects the eyesight and can cause blindness if it lasts over a long period of time.

Just like other organs in the body, the eyes also need to be sufficiently invigorated to avoid regression and degeneration that can cause the diseases mentioned above.







DR. PHAM HOANG TRUNG
9822 Bolsa Ave. Suite E – Westminster, CA 92683 – USA