Cataracts are one of the most common eye conditions in the United States. Although it is most commonly associated with the senior years, the risk of getting cataracts starts to increase from around the age of 40.

A cataract is a condition that results in a cloudy, dense area in the eye’s lens. It starts developing when proteins in the eye form clumps or masses that prevent the eye’s lens from transmitting clear images to the retina. The retina is to converts the light coming through the lens into signals. It then sends those signals to the optic nerve, which transmits them to the brain.

Healthy eyes are an important part of living a healthy lifestyle. You depend on your eyes to see and understand the world around you. However, some eye illnesses can threaten your ability to see. Having your eyes checked as often as your eye doctor recommends is one way of caring for your eye health. Here are other ways you can keep your eyes hale and hearty.

April is the Sports Eye Safety Month. It is time to consider the importance and ways of protecting your eyes. If you have vision loss in one eye, you should be careful not to lose vision in both eyes. Consult with your optometrist to see if there are any eye protectors you can use. If your doctor requests you to avoid some sports, you should do so. It is better to be safe than seek medical treatment when it is too late.

When did you last visit an ophthalmologist? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 61 million American adults are likely to experience severe vision loss. More shockingly, nearly 50 percent of the projected millions have not seen an ophthalmologist in a year.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye condition that gets worse with age. It is one of the leading causes of severe vision problems in people over the age of 50. As much as it hardly causes blindness, it can affect your everyday life.

Dry eye disease refers to your eyes drying, characterized by chronic lack of moisture and lubrication on your eye’s surface. There are several reasons for the dryness. It could be that your ducts are not producing enough tears or that the tears produced are of low quality. The effects of this may be a subtle eye irritation or a severe inflammation and scarring on the front of your eye.

Studies show that cases of myopia or nearsightedness continue to grow on a global scale. Experts say that more people are developing this eye condition because of excessive digital work. Even if there are eyeglasses that can help this condition, most patients prefer ortho-K lenses. The American Academy of Optometry recognizes the importance of ortho-K lenses in correcting myopia. If you want to find out why ortho-K contact lenses are recommended for patients with myopia, here’s what you should know.

Comprehensive eye exams are an important part of your preventative care. This is because regular appointments with your eye doctor give them an opportunity to closely monitor the health and condition of your eyes and vision. If there are any concerning changes then they can act on them to diagnose and treat the problem promptly, before it has any long-term consequences for your vision.

Halloween is upon us and it probably comes as no surprise that this spooky celebration is the one night of the year where people are most likely to dress in costume. Whether you are changing into a wailing witch, a melancholy mummy, a zombie bride or a demon doctor, your costume may potentially put your eyes at risk. To help avoid an eye-related horror, here are our frightfully helpful Halloween eye safety tips.