National Eye Health Week is a good moment to think about the health of your eyes, and our social media campaign has focused on the good news in eye care.
Understanding the risks posed by eye disease is important. But advances in imaging, diagnosis and treatment also mean there are many reasons to feel positive about the future of our sight, and those reasons apply all year round. Here are seven of them.
1. Glaucoma: earlier detection can protect sight
More than one million people aged over 40 in the UK are estimated to have glaucoma, and around half may be undiagnosed.
Glaucoma often develops without noticeable symptoms, but OCT scanning allows optometrists to examine the nerve-fibre layers at the back of the eye and identify subtle changes. Comparing scans over time can be particularly valuable.
If you have glaucoma, use your drops as advised and keep every follow-up appointment. As glaucoma can run in families, encourage close relatives to have regular eye examinations too. Early detection and consistent treatment provide the best opportunity to preserve vision.
2. Cataracts: they do not have to be severe to be treated
Many people have cataracts that cause little difficulty and simply need monitoring.
Surgery is usually considered when cataracts begin to affect everyday activities such as driving, reading or enjoying hobbies. There is no single vision “cut-off”, and cataracts do not need to become “ripe” before treatment can be offered.
Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed operation in the NHS, with more than 680,000 procedures undertaken in England annually. It is an extremely well-established and highly successful procedure, although no operation is entirely risk-free.
3. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): diagnosis and treatment continue to advance
OCT scanning provides a detailed view of the macula and plays an important role when wet age-related macular degeneration is suspected.
Anti-VEGF injections have transformed wet AMD treatment, while newer medicines can allow longer intervals between injections for some patients. Research into photobiomodulation, or light therapy, for dry AMD is also encouraging, although more evidence is needed.
Do not smoke, eat a balanced diet and report new distortion, blurring or grey patches promptly. With wet AMD, acting quickly can make an important difference.
4. Myopia management: we can do more than watch it progress
Twenty years ago, there was often little we could do when a child’s short-sightedness increased other than make their glasses stronger.
Today, specialist spectacle lenses, myopia-control soft contact lenses and orthokeratology can all help slow myopia progression. Rawlings offers Ortho-K at Purley and Winchester, with other myopia-management options available more widely across our practices.
Slowing myopia is not simply about reducing the strength of a child’s glasses. Higher myopia is associated with an increased lifetime risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma and myopic macular disease.
5. Retinoblastoma: excellent survival when treated
Retinoblastoma is a rare eye cancer affecting babies and young children. The positive news is that around 98% of children diagnosed with it in the UK survive.
A white reflection in the pupil, a new squint or an unexplained change in an eye should always be checked promptly. These signs are usually caused by something else, but early diagnosis matters. CHECT, the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, do wonderful work with families affected by retinoblastoma.
6. Diabetes: regular eye care can help detect problems early and protect sight
More than 4.7 million people in the UK have diagnosed diabetes, while almost 1.3 million more may have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. Occasionally, an eye examination can reveal changes that prompt further investigation.
If you have diabetes, never miss your routine eye examination. Diabetes increases the risk of cataracts and glaucoma, which diabetic eye screening is not designed to detect. Screening specifically checks for diabetic retinopathy, which is damage to the small blood vessels in the retina.
Regular eye examinations and diabetic eye screening perform different but equally important jobs. Make sure you attend both.
7. Keratoconus: progression can now be treated
Keratoconus often begins in the teens or early twenties, causing the cornea to become thinner and change shape.
Corneal cross-linking can strengthen the cornea and stops progression in more than 90% of treated cases. For eligible patients with progressive keratoconus, it is available through the NHS as a day-case hospital treatment.
Increasing or changing astigmatism can provide an early clue. It is also important not to rub itchy eyes, particularly for people with eczema, asthma, hay fever or allergies.
