Celebrate Vision Awareness Month This October
What is National Vision Awareness Month?
October is just around the corner. Get ready for chilly nights, and spooky frights.
But the scariest thing this month isn’t a ghost or ghoul, it’s vision loss. That’s why October is also National Vision Awareness Month.
During this time of year, we celebrate healthy vision and promote awareness of various conditions that can cause vision loss you should keep an eye out for. Read on to learn more about the frightful things that don’t go bump in the night, and how you can protect your eyes.
Visit the Arizona Eye Doctors at Nationwide Vision
The secret to breaking the curse of vision loss isn’t some ancient tablet or mysterious hidden spell. The trick to beating this boogeyman is a healthy dose of preventative eye care.
Regular annual dilated eye exams are the key to discovering the monsters threatening your eye health before they strike. The Doctors of Nationwide Optometry are trained to deal with these plagues of darkness (i.e., eye diseases).
Schedule an appointment today to make sure you’re still Hallo-seein’ by Halloween.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Phantom of the Ocular
The first of our spooky specters is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
This condition impacts the light-sensitive center of your retina at the back of your eye, the macula.
As the condition progresses, you may notice a blurring or dimming in the center of your vision.
This condition typically effects people aged 60 and older and comes in two forms: Dry and Wet.
Once the final stages of AMD are reached, there is usually no cure.
That’s why it’s important to get annual eye exams to detect and begin treating the condition as soon as possible.
The eye doctors at Nationwide Vision use the latest techniques to detect Macular Degeneration and prescribe appropriate treatment plans to lessen symptoms.
Glaucoma and Cataracts: The Sight-Stealing Fiends
Glaucoma and Cataracts are a ghastly pair of eye conditions that can turn a pleasant Autumn night into a nail-biting Autumn nightmare.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is often referred to as the silent thief of sight for a reason.
Symptoms of the disease often go completely unnoticed until there’s irreversible damage to the optic nerve.
Glaucoma is a condition that occurs when your eye loses its ability to regulate the flow of intraocular fluid flowing between the iris and lens.
This causes a buildup of pressure within the eye that damages the optic nerve, the part of the eye that sends images from your eye to your brain.
If left untreated, Glaucoma has the potential to cause severe and permanent blindness.
Cataracts
Where Glaucoma is stealthy, Cataracts are loud and terrifying, but luckily, easier to treat.
A Cataract occurs when the natural lens in your eye begins to cloud as the proteins the lens is made of start clumping together.
This is a common occurrence to most people as their eyes age.
Cataracts may make a person’s vision look blurry or dull, and sight might continue to worsen as the Cataract gets larger over time.
However, Cataract surgery is a commonplace procedure that can eliminate Cataracts entirely.
The eye doctors and surgeons at Nationwide Vision have the training and expertise to help you banish these sight-stealing fiends before it’s too late.
If you think you may have symptoms of Glaucoma or Cataracts, schedule an appointment with an Arizona eye doctor today for better eye health.
Diabetic Retinopathy: The Vampire of Vision
If you have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes, you’re at higher risk of developing a number of Diabetic eye diseases, including Diabetic Retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy occurs when the blood vessels in the eye beginning to swell and leak.
This causes the surrounding tissues to swell, damaging the optic nerve.
At later stages in the disease, damage is irreversible.
Annual Diabetic eye exams are imperative to catch Diabetic Retinopathy early and halt it in its tracks.
Seek Out a Nationwide Vision Near You
October is meant for cozy bonfires, sweet treats, and festive thrills. Don’t let vision loss turn the month into a real horror show.
Celebrate National Vision Awareness Month by booking an appointment at your nearest Nationwide Vision.
Together, we can stop the real monsters before it’s too late.