Symptoms of three common eye diseases

You can help safeguard your vision by understanding the common eye diseases and their symptoms.

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in Canada, according to the Doctors of Optometry Canada. Caused by an elevated pressure within the eye that damages the optic nerve, glaucoma is a progressive disease that requires early treatment to prevent vision loss.

• Usually seen in people over the age of 40, the two most common kinds of glaucoma are primary open-angle glaucoma and acute angle-closure glaucoma.
• The symptoms for these two types of glaucoma are different, and the only way to detect either type is through a comprehensive eye examination.
• With primary open-angle glaucoma, increased eye pressure occurs slowly, without noticeable symptoms.
• However, with acute angle-closure glaucoma, you may notice a sudden or severe pain in one eye, cloudy vision, red eye or a swollen feeling, as well as nausea, vomiting and rainbow-like auras around lights.

As you age, the lens of your eyes become thicker, less flexible, and the tissue within the lens begins to break down, causing cloudy areas. Although cataracts develop slowly, they eventually compromise your vision. Fortunately, surgery is a safe procedure for removing cataracts.

• When cataracts first begin to develop, you may not notice any changes in your vision, but as more of your lens becomes cloudy, you may notice blurred or dim-light vision, problems seeing at night, halos around lights, as well as sensitivity to light, fading colours and double vision in one eye.
• It's not unusual to frequently need to change your eyeglass or contact lens prescription.

Macular degeneration is sometimes referred to as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the primary cause of blindness in adults over the age of 55 in North America. This disease is chronic and causes a loss of your sharp central vision, affecting your ability to see objects clearly, read and drive a vehicle.

• Dry AMD causes a gradual loss of vision and is due to a breakdown of the macula, the centre of your retina.
• Wet AMD, which accounts for 10 per cent of all AMD cases, damages the macula quickly as blood and fluids leak from abnormal blood vessels under your retina.
• Early treatment for AMD can slow vision loss, but won't reverse damage.
• There is no pain with AMD, but a straight line that appears crooked is often an early symptom.
• Other noticeable vision changes are the need for brighter light when doing close work, blurring of words and difficulty recognizing faces.
• The brightness of colours may be dulled, and you may have a blind spot in your field of vision.

Schedule regular eye examinations as a part of your health care routine, practice eye safety and become familiar with the common eye diseases and their symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment are the key to preventing vision loss.