Local Optometrist Offers Advice On The Aging Eye

By Nancy K. Crevier

Beverly Walker, a resident of Homesteads in Newtown, heard about the program on eye care and decided it would be interesting to attend. Ms Walker suffers from very dry eyes, she said, and was at the Thursday evening program, January 15, at the Mt Pleasant Road facility, in hopes that Dr Joseph Young of Village Eye Care in Newtown would address that issue.

She was not disappointed. Prominent among the articles that Dr Young included in a free goodie bag to each audience member was a pamphlet outlining the symptoms, causes, and solution to the dry eye problem that he said is one of the most common complaints brought to him by his aging patients.

Using a diagram, Dr Young briefly explained to the group how the eye functions, focusing on tear production. Tears, he said, are important in that they spread out toxicities in the eye, have antibacterial properties, and moisten the eye. When the environment of the eye is not working properly, the condition known as “dry eye syndrome” results.

There are several reasons that people develop dry eye, said Dr Young. Cold, dry weather affects tear production. Diseases can cause dry eye. “Diabetes, for instance, is one of the diseases that can create a poor eye environment,” he said. “One of the first signs of diabetes is thirst and excessive urination. We’re taking fluids out of the body and not putting it back, and that means the eye, too.”

Various medications can cause eyes to become dry and irritated, with diuretics and high blood pressure medications chief among those doing so.

Other causes of dry eye syndrome include normal decrease in tear production with age; contact lens wear; hormonal changes in women; laser vision correction; and an immune system disorder known as Sjögren’s syndrome.

While dry eye is initially just annoying, the condition can become potentially sight-threatening if the symptoms are ignored, warned Dr Young.

According to information provided in the pamphlet, 20 percent of the population is affected by dry eye syndrome, and “75 percent of the people with dry eye don’t realize it,” said Dr Young.

Patients with dry eye may notice intermittent blurriness, red, irritated eyes, light sensitivity, occasional tearing, contact lens discomfort, or tired eyes, he said. “What you need to do is regenerate moisture in the eye,” said Dr Young. Lubricating eye drops applied at least twice a day and at bedtime can increase comfort. “The drops are there to give the body time to heal itself,” he said, adding that antioxidant vitamins can also assist in slowing the inevitable aging process. “We don’t really age,” he joked, “we rust.”

Dr Young also addressed another concern of older eye patients, that of age-related macular degeneration (AMG), in which an overaging process of the retinal cells causes decreased vision. Two forms of age-related macular degeneration exist, he explained, dry and wet forms. “With the dry form, the eye is losing its integrity,” said Dr Young. The wet form of AMG is when the eye produces a growth factor enzyme that grows weak blood vessels at the back of the eye that can spring leaks, actually make vision poor. Using antioxidant vitamins created specifically for eye health, staying out of the sun, and not smoking can slow the process of AMG, he said, but the newest treatment includes an antigrowth factor medication, which previously was not available to patients with wet from AMG.

Dr Young cautioned the audience that before taking any herbal supplements or vitamins, the primary doctor must be informed. “Keep track of all the medications you take and let your doctor and your eye doctor know,” he urged. “Everything in the body affects the eye somehow.”

Dr Young also discussed the new, knife-free ultrasound procedure for cataracts, decreased night vision, laser surgery options, and floaters, those tiny particles that drift across vision, especially when looking at an all-white background. While not uncommon, floaters need to be addressed when they appear. “Big changes need to be looked at immediately,” said Dr Young. “Bad vision is sometimes the first signal something is wrong in the body.”

He encouraged the audience members to see an eye doctor on a regular basis to head off problems before they become acute. “And I know that dilation is uncomfortable and no one likes it, but please let your eye doctor dilate your eyes for a thorough exam,” pleaded Dr Young. Dilation, which increases the pupil size, allows the doctor a better look into the eye. “Your doctor is trying to look through a key hole. I’m asking you to let him open wide the doors,” said Dr Young, who said that many diseases and illnesses are identified through an eye exam. The old proverb “The eyes are the window of the soul” was echoed in Dr Young’s statement that the eyes of each human being are unique. “It is impossible to look in someone’s eye and see what you saw in someone else’s,” he said.

In closing, Dr Young reiterated that any disturbance to vision should be reported to an eye doctor, and offered a final, encouraging message: “Most of what happens with the eyes now, we can fix or slow down.”