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May is Healthy Vision Month, a national observance of eye health sponsored by the National Eye Institute and the National Eye Health Education Program Partnership. Last week on Healthwatch, we started talking about healthy vision, and we'll continue our discussion this week.
While blindness can't always be prevented or treated, there are some causes of vision loss that doctors can do something about. One major one is crossed eyes or lazy eyes, where there's a significant difference between the way each eye focuses. The brain suppresses the bad eye, which then doesn't develop the potential for vision. In older people, glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration are all causes of blindness and vision loss.
For all of these problems, early detection through an eye exam is essential for the best outcome.
Next: A preventable cause of blindness.
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May 2005
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