How You Can Save Your Vision

Regular eye examinations are important for people of any age, but they can diagnose much more than the need for you to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses.  Eye exams are the only way to discover the beginning signs of a number of eye diseases that can affect your vision. These conditions can worsen already-bad eyesight, but can also affect your eyes enough to actually cause blindness. Regular eye exams can catch these diseases at such an early stage that treatment can improve or completely eliminate the problem, in most cases.

Degenerative Eye Diseases

At Lavenburg Medical Group our doctors do more than just vision screening; an eye exam in our office includes screening for a number of degenerative eye diseases. While these conditions are normally seen as problems for seniors, they can happen at any age. They're generally easier to treat at a younger age, though, so the earlier we find them the better. Some of the more common serious eye diseases are:

• Cataracts : The eye has a clear crystal lens through which you see. Protein can begin to deposit on the surface of the lens. If enough of a coating builds up, your eyesight can become cloudy or yellowed. Medication can help, and if cataracts reach the point of affecting your daily life, the clouded lenses can be replaced by artificial ones.
• Macular Degeneration : With this condition, the eye loses its ability to focus on certain things such as straight lines or the difference in shades of color. Our doctors can recommend exercises for you to do that help in retaining your eyesight.
• Glaucoma : If the pressure inside the eyeball rises to a dangerous degree, it can damage the optic nerve. This can affect your eyesight and eventually lead to blindness. Medication can help, as can surgery if the condition progresses far enough to endanger your sight.

Early detection of any of these conditions makes treatment not only easier but much more effective so make sure you schedule a full medical eye exam at least once a year and save your vision.