My Elderly Parents: Vision Loss

Very few of us are surprised that our eyesight may deteriorate over time and will correct our vision easily enough with contact or corrective lenses, but one out of three of us will develop a vision-reducing disease by the time we reach age 65.

Four of the most common vision-reducing diseases among the elderly are: glaucoma, cataract, diabetic retinopathy (disease of retina) and age-related macular degeneration. Medical advances have made these diseases somewhat treatable with various medical procedures. Some of the symptoms may include:

CATARACT: blurred vision, and glare

GLAUCOMA: visual field loss, and glare (as it progresses)

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY: blurred vision, floaters, and visual field loss.

MACULAR DEGENERATION: blurred vision, and image distortion.

According to studies by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the elderly populations suffering from a vision-reducing disease are much more likely to experience a decrease in their abilities to perform activities of daily living and a marked increase in feelings of depression.

In his later years my Father experienced a pronounced loss of vision as result of diabetes. His daily routine for years was simply driving to the coffee shop, reading the paper over breakfast, stopping at the post office and reading the mail when he returned home. By age 75 he could no longer drive. When Mother went for the newspaper and mail he was unable to enjoy not only the familiar routine but with the use of a magnifying glass reading the newspaper was no longer enjoyable for him. The small things that are taken away add together creating a huge impact on our parents daily lives.

One of the most important steps in treating any of these diseases is early detection. Insist your parents have an annual eye exam (including dilation) and if there are other factors involved, such as diabetes, the ophthalmologist may suggest they visit more often.

There are many products available to assist people with low vision including magnifying equipment, talking clocks, even a talking medication tray and after all theyve done for us, we should take the initiative and make our parents lives as normal, pleasurable and rewarding as we possibly can.

Joanne Robbins has published several articles on a variety of topics. Dealing with our parents as adult children is an extremely important topic and you can find more My Elderly Parent information at http://boomer-gear.com.

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