3 exams to check your eyesight
Cataracts, glaucoma, AMD… are more frequent ailments after 45-50 years. “Monitoring is about preventing loss of visual acuity over time. And you have to do it early, by carrying out regular checks, ”warns Professor Jean-François Korobelnik, from Bordeaux University Hospital. He explains the three essential assessments to be made. And know that before the exams, the consultation always begins with an interrogation on your perception, your lifestyle as well as the medical context and a measurement of the vision.
• Examination of the lens
To do what? The practitioner observes the quality of the lens and its transparency to detect a possible cataract, which is to say, an opacification of the natural lens located at the back of the iris.
For who? People over 50.
Particularly with regular consumption of alcohol, tobacco, or certain medications (corticosteroids), high myopia, diabetes, and repeated exposure to ultraviolet rays.
How's it going? First, using a biomicroscope (slit lamp). Then by performing biometry to measure the dimensions of the eye and its refractive power.
It's painful? Completely painless.
Frequency Every two or three years in the absence of diabetes and warning signs (glare at night, backlighting problems, feeling that more light is needed to read, feeling of haze, etc.).
• The pressure and tension of the eye
To do what? Identify the onset of glaucoma (degeneration of the optic nerve leading to a reduction in the field of vision).
For who? From 45 years old. Especially in cases of unfavorable inheritance, diabetes, high blood pressure, and imperceptible high intraocular pressure.
How's it going?
The ophthalmologist can use two techniques: applanation (a small cone affixed to the eye) or air (pulsed air jet that bounces off the surface of the cornea) to measure resistance pressure. High blood pressure signals a buildup of vitreous fluid in the eye which can damage optic nerve fibers and lead to blindness.
It's painful? Only surprising.
How often Every two to three years in the absence of diabetes and warning signs.
• The fundus
To do what? Detect macular degeneration or AMD (damage to part of the retina, the macula, leading to loss of central vision).
For who? Those over 45 and essential after 70 years, and in particular in cases of unfavorable inheritance, smoking, and obesity.
How's it going? The doctor first puts one drop of tropicamide (eye drops that dilate the pupil for two hours) into each eye. The fundus can be done using a three-mirror glass on the cornea or with a "non-contact" wide-field lens to observe the retina, the quality of the vessels, the head of the optic nerve, and the macula. It's painful? Especially annoying because tropicamide limits visual acuity, and more or less unpleasant depending on your sensitivity to light.
Frequency Every two or three years in the absence of diabetes and warning signs (a black or gray spot in the center of vision, deformation of straight lines, etc.) in people over 45 years old. Every year from 55 years old.
• Info + Ophthalmic emergencies: when to go?
The following situations deserve to consult as soon as possible. Describe the symptoms to your ophthalmologist who must find you a place in his consultation in the hours that follow, or join a hospital service.
- Pain or an abnormality in only one eye can signal acute glaucoma, herpes, or ophthalmic herpes zoster, the latter two being infections that may spread to the cornea. Sudden onset of floaters or lightning may indicate a tear in the retina.
-
Reminds of an infection that can be complicated by abscess threatening the cornea.
- The discomfortfortomfortomfortfortt persists after a trauma (DIY ...)
Even painless, the presence of a particle in the deep layers of the eye can wreak havoc.
- Irritation after a chemical splash
Rinse thoroughly with physiological saline or water, then consult quickly to avoid a complication.
0 Comments