Our eyes are the windows to our hearts and minds, and having a bright pair of eyes makes our lives colorful, but as we age, many eye diseases come along with us, especially in middle and old age. How to do a good job of eye care, so that we can try to keep away from eye diseases, which is vital for the quality of life of each of us. Therefore, it is essential for us to be aware of the common eye diseases among the middle-aged and elderly. What are the common eye diseases that affect our vision in the elderly? Let’s introduce them separately. Cataract 1. What is cataract and what are its clinical manifestations? When our eyes are working, the principle is similar to that of a camera. A camera images a negative through a lens, and our eyes have a lens-like transparent lens through which light can be imaged on the retina (similar to a negative). A cataract is like a clouding of our camera lens (lens) that prevents light from entering the eye, thus affecting vision. The incidence of cataracts is still quite high in the elderly and is one of the major blinding eye diseases worldwide. If you know you have a cataract, don’t panic because with advances in surgical techniques and equipment, cataract is now a curable form of blindness. The main clinical manifestations of cataracts: painless progressive vision loss. From blurred vision at the beginning, it gradually progresses to blindness. In addition, it can also be manifested as myopia deepening, requiring frequent replacement of glasses; double vision in one eye, foggy feeling in front of the eyes, gray and dark vision and photophobia. 2.How is cataract caused? How to prevent it? The exact cause of cataracts is still unclear, but it may be related to ageing, genetic factors, excessive exposure to ultraviolet light, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking, diabetes, high myopia, trauma and so on. It most often occurs in people over 50 years of age, and the older the age, the higher the incidence. There is no definite prevention method worldwide. Avoid taking some hormonal drugs for a long time, try to control blood sugar for diabetic patients, and wear UV protection glasses for those who are active outdoors, etc., but do not blindly use drugs to prevent cataracts. 3.How should cataract be treated? When is it more appropriate to receive surgery? So far, there is no drug in the world that can completely treat cataract. Some drugs may only slow down the development of cataract, but cannot cure it fundamentally. Currently, the mainstream surgical procedure is cataract ultrasound emulsification combined with IOL implantation. Generally speaking, as long as cataract affects daily life and work, surgery can be considered. Some patients with good vision but with obvious discomfort such as photophobia or glare can also have surgery as early as possible to improve their quality of life. If you wait until the cataract is ripe before surgery, it will extraordinarily increase the risk of surgery and the difficulty of surgery. 4.What is IOL? An IOL is an optical lens that is implanted in the eye instead of a cataract, and its performance is extremely stable, equivalent to “small glasses” in the eye. IOLs have been implanted for more than 50 years. Because of their biocompatibility, IOLs are usually implanted once for life. Before surgery, patients need to choose the right IOL according to their eye condition and personal habits under the guidance of doctors, not the more expensive the better. 5.What should I pay attention to after cataract surgery? ① Avoid spicy food, smoke and drink as little as possible, and eat more fresh vegetables and fruits in the early postoperative period (1-2 weeks). ②Pay attention to eye hygiene, do not rub your eyes hard, move lightly after surgery, do not cough hard and keep your bowels unobstructed. ③ Wash your face and shower gently, and try not to let dirty water flow into your eyes within 1 week ④ Due to individual differences, some patients may have dryness and foreign body sensation for a long time after surgery, which are normal reactions and do not need to be overly nervous, and may require some time for recovery and adaptation. Glaucoma 1.What is glaucoma? What are the clinical manifestations? Glaucoma is a common eye disease that endangers human health. Its characteristic performance is the gradual reduction of the field of vision and eventual blindness. If effective treatment is not taken, the field of vision may be completely lost and eventually lead to blindness, and it is impossible to reverse and recover from the current level of medical technology. 2.Who is prone to glaucoma? Glaucoma is a preventive disease, and the following people should pay special attention: a. People with a family history of glaucoma b. Older people who were farsighted when they were young c. People with a history of hypertension and diabetes d. People who are anxious or worried e. Patients with migraine The above patients, especially those over 40 years old, should go to the ophthalmology department for necessary examinations and regular reviews. 3. How should glaucoma be treated? The basic treatment principles for glaucoma are: lowering the intraocular pressure and protecting the optic nerve. Especially, the first one is more important. For chronic glaucoma whose IOP is easy to control in the early stage, topical treatment with eye drops is the common method, together with certain drugs for nourishing the optic nerve. If eye drops are not effective in lowering IOP, other treatments, including laser treatment and surgery, should be used early. Glaucoma is a lifelong eye disease, and treatment of glaucoma must be persistent. As a patient, you should learn to treat glaucoma correctly, adapt to coexist with glaucoma, and go to the hospital for regular checkups. 4, Glaucoma patients daily treatment and life instructions ① If you have glaucoma, do not be afraid, but must be taken seriously. ②The diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma is a continuous process, and we advocate that patients should fix the place of treatment as much as possible for the best. ③Eat a reasonable diet, eat more vegetables and fruits, and keep your bowels open. Avoid smoking, drinking strong tea and coffee, and drinking small amounts of alcohol. Avoid intake of large amounts of fluid at one time. Avoid prolonged activity in a dark environment (e.g. cinema). Turn on the headlights in the house when watching TV or studying at night. ④ Adjust your mind to reduce the anxiety and anxiety caused by the disease. 3. Diabetes-related eye diseases 1. Do I need to see an ophthalmologist after finding diabetes? Diabetes can cause diabetic cataract, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathy, uveitis, dry eye, glaucoma, strabismus and other pathologies in the eye. 2. Can I have surgery for diabetic cataract? Cataract is one of the main complications of diabetes mellitus. If the blood sugar control is stable and the general condition allows, cataract surgery should be performed as soon as possible. The main purpose of surgery is to remove the cataract to improve the patient’s vision and to improve the quality of life. Removal of cataract is beneficial for clearer examination and treatment of fundus lesions. 3. How to treat diabetic fundopathy? Diabetic fundus lesions focus on early prevention and treatment, and the earlier the treatment, the better the final result. In the early stage, when there are only minor lesions, oral medication to improve microcirculation can be taken; in the middle stage, retinal hemorrhage and neovascularization and other lesions often need laser treatment; if you miss the time to play laser and make the disease develop to the late stage, there will be serious lesions, which must be treated by complicated surgery, and the effect is not ideal. 4. Age-related macular degeneration 1.What is age-related macular degeneration? What are the clinical manifestations? Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), also known as age-related macular degeneration, has become an important cause of blindness in the elderly as they age, and is one of the major causes of severe vision loss in people aged 50 and above in Western countries. In the center of the retina (also known as the “negative”), there is a depressed area without blood vessels called the macula, which is like the bull’s-eye of a target, and it is the most acute part of vision. Once there is a lesion, the initial vision is blurred, color discrimination is diminished, and vision is progressively reduced. When combined with macular hemorrhage caused by retinal choroidal neovascularization, the vision can suddenly drop, bend, and obscure black shadows in front of the eyes, even leading to blindness. 2.How to prevent and treat age-related macular degeneration? The disease is divided into two kinds: dry and wet. Dry age-related macular degeneration has no effective treatment method so far, but it is slow, so some drugs can be used to control and stop its development. None of these can bring back the vision completely, but only delay its further development. Wet age-related macular degeneration is very harmful, and its treatment has been explored since the 1970s. Laser treatment, surgical treatment, oral medication or intraocular injection medication can be chosen to treat it according to the condition, and some of the treatments have achieved promising results. In conclusion, the above-mentioned diseases may affect our eyesight and reduce our quality of life to a certain extent. Knowing some necessary general knowledge about these diseases will not only allow us to take care of our eyes in advance and prevent them before they happen, but also allow us to reduce panic when facing the diseases, so that we can have a good idea of what to expect and face them more calmly.