Seeing clearly does not always equate to healthy eyes. These are some of the common eye conditions in Singapore that you need to be aware of. Many eye conditions if detected early can be successfully managed.
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Cataracts, a leading cause of vision impairment, cataracts are cloudy areas in the crystalline lens – which is clear when younger. Cataracts can develop in one or both eyes. The more opaque (cloudier) the lens becomes, the worse the person’s vision will be.
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Dry eye syndrome is where glands around the eye do not produce enough tears or dysfunction of the meibomian glands that reduces oil output, leading to evaporation of tears. Dust and debris irritate the eye when tears are insufficient to clean and moist the eyes.
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Vitreous Floaters are deposits of various size, shape, consistency, refractive index, and motility within the eye’s vitreous humour, which is normally transparent.
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Diabetic / Hypertensive Retinopathy is an ocular manifestation of diabetes or hypertension, a systemic disease, which affects up to 80 percent of all patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or more. Research indicates that at least 90% of these new cases could be reduced if there were proper and vigilant treatment and monitoring of the eyes.
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Glaucoma has been called the “silent thief of sight” because the loss of vision often occurs gradually over a long period of time, and symptoms only occur when the disease is quite advanced. Once lost, vision cannot normally be recovered, so treatment is aimed at preventing further loss. Worldwide, glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness after cataracts.
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Macular Degeneration often known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a progressive degeneration of the macular tissue of the eye, resulting in loss of central vision. The vision loss makes it difficult to recognize faces, drive a car, read, print, or do close work, such as sewing or fixing things around the house.
