Do you take your vision for granted? I know I do, even though I work with visually impaired people every day. The truth is, millions of Americans are living with eye disease and spending billions of dollars to treat it.
Roughly $139 billion dollars is being spend by Americans to fix, treat or comfortably live with eye disease.
1.3 million Americans are legally blind.
2.2 million Americans will be legally blind by 2030, based on current trends.
We want to help you continue to see the world clearly. There are 4 leading causes of vision impairment:
Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in people over age 50 in the US. Advanced AMD affects over 2 million Americans. This disease is an age-related deterioration of the macula, located at the center of the retina, which causes a loss of central vision.
Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve. More then 2 million Americans are living with the disease. It is often associated with elevated eye pressure, which results in a loss of peripheral vision and sometimes ends in blindness.
Cataracts as we age, are is inevitable, like gray hair and wrinkles. More than 24 million Americans had a cataract last year. It is cloudiness of the natural lens of the eye, causing glare & decreased vision.
Diabetic Retinopathy is caused by inadequately controlled blood sugar and damages the eye’s blood vessels. As a result, swelling or bleeding in the retina can cause poor vision.
Most major causes of vision loss are treatable and can be discovered during your annual eye exam. If you are do for a regular eye check-up, give us a call. Help us keep you healthy!
By Bart Wiggenhorn, Technician with Miwaukee Eye care Associates
Information for this article also provided by the National Eye Institute (NEI) & the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
