My Vision Loss

What is vision loss or legal blindness? Have you had vision loss or experienced any eye diseases?

My vision loss experience made my life miserable. These age-related macular degeneration vision problems made me depressed and anxious. The blindness changed my life, and I realized how vision is so important. Loss of vision is crucial. Read my vision loss story here.

challenges faced with eye issues.
Source: pixabay.com

It has been a month since I lost my vision. With this problem, the vision struggle was very challenging for me as I almost felt like living life was out of options. As much as I want to stay in this visual field and be a visionary, things around me seemed so frustrating, heartbreaking, and unbearable because of the loss. If you’ve had vision loss before, then you’d know how vision loss can be so debilitating and depressing.

The Start Of My Vision Loss

My sudden vision loss story all started a few months ago when I had this visionary infection due to my contact lenses. I never thought that I could suffer from visual impairment or partial vision loss because I always clean and store my contact lenses properly. For someone like me who had a lot of knowledge in terms of vision safety and precautions, I never imagined getting eye problems or infection on my eye blood vessels and that the visionary infection would lead to sudden vision loss.

But the unexpected visionary loss still happened. The last time I wore my contact lenses before I could even get an infection, the outer part of my eye, one or both eyes, was a bit itchy. Since I am used to that feeling, I thought it was okay and didn’t need any medical attention since it sometimes happens, especially when I get exposed to windy situations. I was able to manage it. But a few days after that, my eyes began to turn red, and it was as if the vision condition had already penetrated through my eye. Again, as I have said, it was typically common to happen, especially when I was overusing my contact lenses. Vision loss or being legally blind never came into my mind. Vision loss was so far from my thoughts.

Experiencing Partial Vision loss

Another day went by without vision rehabilitation, and I somehow found it hard to open my eyes. I’m experiencing partial vision loss. There’s just a lot of fluid coming out of it. It was the first time something was coming out of my eyes, and I was unsure what it was. So to address my worries, I went to see an eye specialist. The moment the doctor told me about my irreversible vision impairment, I paused for a while and reflected on the days that I didn’t immediately seek help to get an early diagnosis of the eye disease and consider low vision aids.

Will the use contact lens impair eyesight?
Source: pixabay.com

Corneal Ulcer
The eye specialist told me that my eye condition was so severe that treatment and surgery were not an option anymore due to higher risk factors that made my visual acuity worse. It would eventually lead to partial vision loss. The doctor said I was dealing with a corneal ulcer. Hearing all those negative things about my vision health loss made me heartbroken, and the fact that the doctor told me that it would cause visual impairment or central vision loss made me lose all my senses.

Leading Causes of Loss of Eyesight Among Individuals

According to the World Health Organization, the global prevalence shows that the leading causes of vision impairment are:

      • Diabetic retinopathy due to diabetes (or high blood sugar)
      • Uncorrected refractive error
      • Glaucoma (damage in the optic nerve) or angle closure glaucoma
      • Cataracts (can be treated by cataract surgery)
      • Age-related macular degeneration
      • Uncorrected presbyopia
      • Giant cell arteritis
      • High blood pressure (due to lack of blood supply due to blood pressure)

It is important to get regular eye examinations to help detect eye conditions, especially for people with vision problems. Thus, it will greatly help in the prevention and early detection of certain eye diseases to avoid vision loss and blindness. Check out the National Eye Institute for more information and their disease control.

My Doctor’s Recommendation: Unbelievable!

It was not my visual loss that made me mentally unstable but the doctor’s decision.

He said that the only way I could get rid of the pain was to remove the pair of my eyes, and most doctors can’t do much to restore vision. I felt so devastated thinking about the anticipated vision loss that I panicked and burst into tears despite suffering from eye pain, but I still ended up choosing to remove my eyes – I had sudden vision loss.

lady encounters ocular issues
Source: pixabay.com

Sudden Realizations
I was dealing with an infection in my eye for a long period. I was still hopeful that I could make it, have it successfully treated, and recover. I was trying so damn hard to stay positive despite losing my vision. I even told myself that despite what happened, I still had other senses that I could use. But who am I kidding? Living life with vision loss is so difficult that it made me rely on others.  I couldn’t be alone and do things on my own. Vision impairment made me helpless and dependent on others around me. The hardest part of my visual impairment is when I get so frustrated and overthink what could happen to me when others surrounding me get fed up.

a couple strolling on a park
Source: Pixabay.com

A Traumatic Experience with Vision Loss

Vision loss is worse than any trauma I experienced in my life. I regarded it as a dead-end for my capabilities. It made me hate myself more. My vision loss from that improper use of contact lenses, which resulted in an affected eye, made me regret all the things I did with my eyes. So, for those of you out there, remember that eye care is really important. If you think that you are used to doing something great, do not ever think that you can secure everything.

As with any uncertainties, permanent vision loss or hearing loss can follow you around, and if bad luck hits, you might endure irreversible damage of severe vision loss or even complete loss, in which you’ll be considered legally blind. Make sure to seek medical attention and schedule regular checkups and eye examinations with your eye doctor, even if it’s for one eye. Common eye disorders are always around us; even a simple distorted vision can lead to something like retinal detachment. I tell myself that it is part of age-related macular degeneration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes sudden vision loss?

What are the three types of vision loss?

Can vision loss be cured?

What diseases can cause vision loss?

What is the most common cause of sight loss?

Can stress cause visual impairment or vision loss?

Can depression affect your vision?

Does anxiety affect eyesight?

Why is my eyesight getting worse so quickly?

What are the early warning signs of macular degeneration?

How do I get my vision back?

Can blind eyes be cured?

Does vision loss affect the brain?

Who is most at risk for vision loss?

Can stress cause vision loss?

 

Diseases of the Eye

Here, we will be discussing an important topic – ocular diseases. Needless to say, this is a very significant subject as people all over the globe experience different eye conditions and common complications and infections all the time.

Source: pixabay.com

Vision impairment or disorders are of a wide variety. With the fast-evolving rise of technology, many children and adults are now unaware of the damage they do to their overall well-being. And despite a lot of information one can gather from reading and watching educational videos, many people are still not taking care of their eyesight and often incur macular degeneration. Let’s talk more about it!

Taking Care Of Your Vision

Perhaps you are also guilty of spending too much time on the said devices that you haven’t noticed the impact the gadgets can have on your vision health, the risk of related macular degeneration, and central vision. You might think that as you age, it is normal to experience refractive errors. But the truth is, your daily activity from your early childhood is the most common cause of why your eyesight might suffer from common diseases like cataracts, clear vision loss, eye problems, and diseases. Using an eye remedy or wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses can only do so much to have a better-seeing eye. Those solutions are temporary solutions to protect one eye, let alone two.

Fortunately, there are ways that you can help reduce and prevent common eye disorders, like a cataract, which can affect your line of sight, from happening. Thus, below are some eye care tips that you might probably be familiar with to get an early diagnosis.

Eye Care Tips To Prevent Eye Complication

Watch Your Cholesterol To Prevent Or Avoid Vision Problems

You might not seem to believe it, but according to the National Eye Institute, lowering your cholesterol level and decreasing your saturated fat can help prevent vision loss. Some studies show an elevated amount of cholesterols in the body, and consuming many saturated fats entirely contributes to the development of age-related illnesses, such as wet AMD and degenerative diseases. If you don’t want to go through the pain of losing your eyesight, it’s better to control your cholesterol now.

And since cholesterols are known for damaging your body and contributing to other kinds of diseases, such as different types of diabetes and high blood pressure, it supports the medical impact of blurred and distorted vision since these diseases are linked to retinal infection.

Pay Attention To Your Overall Health: Bad Fats Can Cause Cholesterol Plaques

In some unfortunate circumstances, the bad fats can cause an early detection of cholesterol plaques that apparently get stuck in the blood vessels which then affect your eyes and lead to a disease or eye stroke known as Hollenhorst plaque. That explains why choosing the right food for your diet is a must.

You might want to reduce your intake of fast foods, processed meats, junk foods, carbonated drinks, etc. It is also vital that you pay attention to your overall health and drink a lot of water, watch what you eat, and regular exercise in general.

Source: pixabay.com

Increase Omega-3 Intake To Reduce Inflammation

While you are advised to decrease the cholesterol levels and saturated fats in your body, increasing the good fats in return is beneficial for your eye health.
Omega-3 fatty acid is a must-obtain mineral in the body, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It is considered one of the beneficial sources of minerals that helps the brain, muscles, and immune system develop.

Decrease The Risk Of Significant Eye Related Problems

Omega-3 fatty acids are most common in some natural food sources such as oily fish, particularly salmon, and other vegetables such as seeds and nuts. But with the vast contribution of omega-3 in the body, many experts claim that it can help with preventing retinal detachment, related macular degeneration, aids dry and lazy eyes, glaucoma, eye diseases, and other symptoms. Low vision can cause straight lines, the wet form, and fine details to appear out of focus or blurred. The leading cause or leading causes of blurry eyes can vary from temporary conditions, such as dryness or fatigue, to more serious underlying issues like refractive errors, cataracts, glaucoma, or diabetic retinopathy. It’s important to consult with an eye doctor if you experience persistent blurriness in your vision to determine the underlying cause and receive appropriate treatment.

There are also tons of consistent studies that show people who eat a diet with a higher amount of omega-3 experience a decreased risk of developing age-related macular degeneration or degenerative disease.

Eat Foods With High Antioxidants

Antioxidants help fight free radicals from the body cells and reduce or prevent the harm caused by oxidation. A diet rich in antioxidants, primarily from fruits and vegetables containing high amounts of vitamin E, vitamin C, zinc, Zeaxanthin, and, of course, Lutein, can help prevent or alleviate the harm caused by oxidative stress and reduce the risk of eye disease, including optic nerve diseases such as lazy eye and glaucoma.

Lutein: A Powerful Nutrient

Lutein is a powerful eye nutrient that keeps your eye’s lens immune from certain vision problems and common eye problems. It allows the photoreceptors of the retina to regenerate healthily and reduce cell loss and death related to an infection.

Lutein enhances the sharpness of your vision, reduces glare impairment, and improves your visual contrast sensitivity. It also plays a protective role for light-sensitive tissue, reducing the risk of conditions like age-related macular degeneration, and it helps alleviate symptoms of dry eye by suppressing inflammation and combating oxidative stress.

Source: pixabay.com

Take Supplements
If you are a picky eater and you find eating vegetables and fruits unenjoyable, you might want to consider taking eye health supplements. It might be the best alternative for you to maintain good vision health without trying to force yourself to change your diet instantly. There are tons of eye vitamins that you can easily find on the market.

You can easily buy one at drug stores or over-the-counter groceries. But note that for most people, eye supplements aren’t necessary, especially if they haven’t entirely got prescription eye drops for any eye sickness. But still, there are different eye vitamins out there that you can take to help you get structural eye support and prevent aging macular degeneration.

Healthy Foods To Prevent Macular Degeneration

But if you can, you should consider practicing eating healthy foods and taking care of your eyesight properly. Some of the habits that you might also consider are getting exercises for your eyes, resting them from time to time, and getting enough sleep. It is also vital that you schedule regular eye exams, even if you are taking eye supplements or an eye remedy for macular degeneration. It would also help if you could avoid smoking and create better, eye-friendly surroundings to prevent the disease from progressing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are serious ophthalmic diseases?

They include conditions such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cataracts, all of which can lead to significant vision impairment or blindness if left untreated.

What is the most common eye infection?

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is the most common eye infection, causing redness, itching, and sometimes a discharge from the eye.

What neurological disorders cause eye problems?

Neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, myasthenia gravis, and brain tumors can cause eye problems, including double vision, loss of vision, eye movement disorders, and optic neuritis.

What are some rare ophthalmic conditions?

What are the four most common vision problems?

Can a person suddenly go blind?

What causes blurred vision?

Can eye problems be serious?

Is glaucoma curable?

What are the five ophthalmic conditions?

How many types of ophthalmic conditions are there?

What are the most common ophthalmic conditions?

What are the symptoms of eye problems?

Is astigmatism a disease?

What ophthalmic diseases have no cure?