Almost two-thirds of all visual impairments and eye problems occur in women. Women are also at a higher risk of developing cataracts and glaucoma as compared to men and have a higher propensity towards autoimmune conditions which are often accompanied by visual deficiencies. Due to the hormonal effects associated with aging, women are also more prone to developing conditions such as dry eyes as compared to men. All of this calls for a lot of attention and consideration being given to eye health in women, and women should do all in their power to gain more information about eye conditions: Website resources, Google searches, and medical journals are all oceans full of knowledge about eye health and pertaining conditions, and women should, in particular, seek such information.
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Eye diseases that women should know about
While the list of eye-related diseases that women are susceptible to goes on, there are three common eye diseases that women should particularly be aware of which include cataracts, AMD, and dry eyes.
1. Cataracts
Cataracts are defined as when individual experiences a loss in vision due to the lens of their eye becoming cloudy. If not treated, cataracts could often lead to eventual blindness. Since age and longer life expectancy are crucial factors for individuals developing cataracts, women are highly susceptible to them as they live longer than men on average. Cataracts are easy to cure through minor surgery, and women should schedule annual comprehensive eye exams to catch and treat a cataract promptly.
2. AMD
AMD or Age-related Macular Degeneration is highly prevalent in women as age is a high-risk factor in it and women statistically live longer than men. AMD can blue the patient’s central vision as it damages the eye’s macula. The macula is the part of the human eye that controls or enables sharpness in vision and is a highly sensitive tissue present in the back of the eye. While prolonged AMD does not typically cause blindness, it affects an individual’s ability to drive, read, and focus on work that requires them to zoom in.
3. Dry eyes
Dry eyes are caused due to dry eye disease which is essentially when the eye does not make enough lubrication to keep the eye surface moist. While long-prevailing dry eyes rarely cause blindness they can affect the quality of life amongst individuals and cause their ability to read or focus tremendously. The use of birth control is a major contributing factor in those developing dry eyes and hence women are highly susceptible to it. Simple treatments such as the use of ointments, tear solutions and eye drops can cure dry eyes among women.
What women can do to protect their eye health
Since women are twice as susceptible to eye problems and diseases, they should be taking precautions that are twice as crucial and effective. Given below are some of the measures that women can take to ensure eye health and wellness amongst them:
1. Annual eye exams
Instead of DIY-ing their way through eye health, women should simply leave the job for professionals and sign up for comprehensive eye exams on an annual basis. A dilated eye exam with an optometrist or eye doctor would help them discover if anything is wrong with their vision and help treat their conditions timely.
- Maintain a healthy diet
Our diet can either lead to or steer clear of a lot of diseases and eye diseases are no exception. Women should incorporate tons of green and leafy vegetables, salmon, eggs, nuts, and non-meat protein sources in their diet to keep eye diseases at bay. They should also limit smoking which is linked to both cataracts and AMD.
- Wear sunglasses and eye gear
Women should wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Prolonged exposure to the sun’s rays can increase the probability of women developing eye diseases. Women should also particularly wear protective eyewear if they work around chemicals, debris, grounds, or play sports. Eyewear such as goggles and safety glasses would protect them from any harmful objects entering their eye.
Conclusion
The innate fact that women have lower access to healthcare further implodes the chances of women being more susceptible to eye-related conditions. Taking into account the above-presented information, women need to pay more attention to their eye health and take necessary precautions to maintain healthy eyesight and to keep eye-related health conditions at bay.
