When you wake up in the morning and start a new day, imagine seeing your surroundings through a frosted glass. Moreover, it is not a momentary situation; You have to go on with your life like this all day long, for months or even years.
We know it sounds scary. How about empathizing with those who live with visual impairments, even if only for a few minutes?
Myopia: It is the result of the eyeball becoming longer than it should be, resulting in the image falling in front of the retina.
We see people around us who squint to see the distance clearly. This involuntary movement of the person signals that he or she is probably nearsighted.
Those with myopia, which is among the most common visual disorders, may have difficulty choosing the number of the bus coming from afar or reading the subtitles while watching a movie on TV. As the situation gets serious, that is, as the degree of myopia increases, the distance that the person can see clearly becomes shorter.
Hyperopia: It is the result of the image being formed behind the retina with the eyeball getting a slightly flattened position from the edges.
Especially after a certain age, we witness that our parents try to read what they want to look away while reading a book or if they have adapted to technology, while surfing social media. Hypermetropic patients, unlike myopic ones, have difficulty seeing up close.
However, contrary to what is thought, hyperopia is not only a type of visual impairment that begins to be seen with age, but also an eye defect that can occur at any age. The visual comfort of the person can be increased with glasses and contact lenses designed using convex lenses.
Astigmatism: It is the condition that the cornea in the front of the eye is not symmetrical.
We remember from our high school knowledge that the light is refracted and forms an image on the retina in the cornea, which has an outward curved, oval structure. In astigmatism, the refracted light falls on more than one point on the cornea. So, as a result, how does someone with astigmatism see?
In astigmatism, which mostly occurs due to genetic reasons, the person cannot clearly distinguish objects and sees blurry or even double. The effects of this visual defect, which can be seen together with myopia and hyperopia, can be eliminated with the help of glasses or contact lenses.
Yellow Spot (Macular Degeneration): It occurs as a result of the degeneration of the macula, the central point at the back of the eye, which is located in the retina, the part that perceives the image, and at the same time, the clearest image is formed.
In people with macular degeneration, vision loss begins at the focal point of the visual field, and as the cells there decrease over time, the visual field restriction spreads to the edges.
Although there is no complete blindness, this disease, which seriously reduces the quality of life of patients, begins to manifest itself especially in advanced ages. A number of side treatments are applied to increase the quality of life of people in macular degeneration, which does not have a definitive treatment method.
Cataract: It is a visual disorder that occurs as a result of the loss of transparency of the eye lens, which allows the image to fall on the retina, usually with age.
People with cataracts report seeing as if they are looking through a frosted glass. Cataract, which is considered an eye disease according to some, is a result of aging according to some doctors.
At the beginning of the disorder, dulling of colors and slight blurring are seen, and the quality of vision decreases over time. Thanks to advanced surgical operations, a great improvement can be achieved.
Diabetic Retinopathy: As can be understood from its name, it is an eye disease seen in diabetics, in which the vessels and nerves in the eye are damaged.
In general, diabetes, that is, diabetes, affects the nerves and vessels seriously. In diabetic retinopathy, the retina, the region of the eye where the vessels and nerves are located, is damaged.
With laser therapy, the patient’s quality of life can be greatly improved. However, the first thing to do to avoid coming into contact with this disease is to take care of a healthy diet and to stay away from diabetes by keeping blood sugar at ideal levels.
Glaucoma (Eye Pressure): It is an eye disease caused by damage to the optic nerves due to increased intraocular pressure.
The nerves in the eye provide the transmission of the image falling on the retina to the brain, so these nerves are one of the biggest factors in realizing the visual function. Glaucoma, which is a very insidious disease, progresses gradually from the moment it starts to form. Early diagnosis of this disease, which may result in vision loss, is extremely important.
Retinal Detachment: It is an eye disease caused by the separation of the retina layer in the eyeball.
After the retina starts to tear, the disease process continues with retinal detachment, that is, the separation of the retina from the layer. In retinal detachment, which seriously threatens vision, the person encounters intensely flying flies and flashes of light. When detected in the early period, it can be largely corrected by surgical intervention.
In all eye diseases and visual disorders mentioned above, as in many other diseases, early diagnosis of the problem is very important. If you are experiencing similar visual disturbances, you can immediately make an appointment with an ophthalmologist and solve the problem before the situation becomes serious.
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