Worried about your vision? As we grow older and begin to experience the effects of normal aging, we often begin noticing changes in vision. We may need bifocals where we once had perfect eyesight, or we may have more difficulty reading small print. For most of us, it’s a simple fact of life, caused by growing older. However, sometimes there’s something more serious at work, which is why regular vision screenings with your optometrist in Pittsburgh, PA, are so important.

Refractive Errors

Refractive errors include near-sightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Most of us are familiar with near-sightedness and farsightedness. Usually, the answer to both is corrective lenses. Astigmatism is caused by an imperfection in the curvature of your eye’s cornea and causes blurry vision at all distances. Presbyopia, lastly, makes it difficult for your eyes to focus on objects that are close up. Eyeglasses or contact lenses can usually correct refractive errors.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

This common eye condition related to aging causes a loss of central vision. You may also see straight lines as wavy. AMD is a result of damage to your eye’s macula — the part of your retina that allows you to see colors and fine details. Normal aging causes AMD in some people. Treatment includes making simple lifestyle changes, taking medication, and undergoing eye injections or laser treatment.

Cataracts

Cataracts happen when a cloud-like film develops over the lens of your eye, obscuring your vision. Many people develop cataracts as they age. Fortunately, they’re usually simple to treat through surgery that removes the cloudy lens and places an artificial one in its place.

Keeping regular appointments with your vision specialist can help with early detection of common eye disorders in Pittsburgh, PA. Call Lappen Eye Care today to schedule an appointment.

Healthy eyes don’t just happen on their own. There are many things that you can do to help maintain your healthy eyes. Wearing sunglasses outside, eating foods that promote eye health and using PPE when engaging in dangerous tasks are all things that you can do to make your eyes healthier. Here’s what you need to know about maintaining eye health.

1. Wear Sunglasses Outside
Sunglasses help protect your eyes from UVA and UVB rays. If you’re buying non-prescription sunglasses, look for the label or sticker that says the glasses you’re buying protect from UV rays. If you’re buying prescription sunglasses from the eye doctor in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, the glasses should have a protective coating – check with your eye doctor to be sure.

2. Eat Foods That Promote Eye Health
There are many foods that promote eye health, including salmon (contain Omega-3 fatty acids that help promote visual health), carrots (which contain beta-carotene to help promote good vision), red peppers (contain vitamins that prevent the development of cataracts) and kale (rich in antioxidants found in the retina).

3. Use Personal Protective Equipment
If you’re engaging in dangerous activities like using power tools or playing a high-contact sport, then it’s important to use personal protective equipment to protect your eyes. Using PPE can prevent injuries of the eye, so find out what kind of PPE you should be using.

4. Get Regular Eye Examinations
When you go in for regular eye exams in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, you give your eye doctor a chance to catch eye diseases in their early stages. If you have prescription lenses, you probably get eye exams once every year or two.

Depending on your medical and family history, your eye doctor may recommend getting yearly eye exams even if you don’t have corrective lenses. If you’re not sure how often to see the eye doctor, call Lappen Eye Care today.

Most people know that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect every part of your body, but most people don’t consider that this can mean their eyes are affected too. When around 1.3 million people suffer from RA, it’s important to know how the symptoms manifest and why an optometrist in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, South Hills, and McMurray, PA may be able to help.

Dry Eyes

When your body is attacking itself for no apparent reason, the consequences can be severe. Your autoantibodies are largely going after the joints, but they can end up going after your eyes as well. The glands that make tears won’t be able to do their job, and the results will have you blinking more often than you’d like.

Dry eyes in South Hills, PA aren’t dangerous on their own, but they can impact your overall vision. If you’re driving or chopping a bell pepper, you can imagine why you’ll want to get treatment for your dry eye sooner than later.

Inflammation of the Sclera

While this is less common, you may experience pain and redness in the sclera (white portion). Again, what’s attacking the healthy parts of the body isn’t going to stop at just the eye. Talking to an eye doctor in McMurray, PA can help you understand more about how RA is linked to your eye health and what you can do to give yourself an edge over your illness.

Eye Doctors in the Pittsburgh Area

At Lappen Eye Care, we don’t just treat individual symptoms. Medical eye care in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, South Hills, and McMurray, PA can help you discover issues before they have the chance to progress. Often, things like dry eye are an indicator of autoimmune diseases – long before official tests confirm it. Here, you’ll find a staff that’s focused on your overall health, so contact us today if you have questions or concerns about your RA.