Sight for Sore Eyes: Treatments for Vision Loss

Sight is perhaps the most important of the five human senses given that it allows you to perceive and respond to the world around you. The loss of sight can thus render you clueless about your immediate environment and, worse, at risk of fatal accidents. Blindness can be congenital, although most people lose their ability to see due to various health complications.

Conditions such as diabetic retinopathy (damage to light-sensitive inner surface of the eyes), cataracts, and glaucoma initially manifest as blurred vision. These conditions, however, gradually decrease visual clarity until the eyes can barely see anything. Fortunately, those afflicted by these conditions can undergo corrective procedures that can restore optimal vision.

In the olden days, eye correction consisted mainly of cumbersome and expensive prescription eyewear. These days, minimally invasive procedures like laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis or LASIK surgery enable safe and accurate visual correction by reshaping the cornea and thereby changing the focal point of the eye. While LASIK can correct conditions such as myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism, it should be noted that patients will need to undergo separate treatments to treat cataracts or glaucoma.

With innovative laser eye surgery, those suffering from blurry vision or the inability to focus on near objects no longer have to put up with severe eyestrain and headaches. You may even find that you no longer need to wear corrective lenses after the procedure.