The Aging Of The Eye
• Development of the eye
• Fetal Development
• Maturity
• Geriatric
Today we are going to discuss the eye, and it’s development from the fetus to senior age and death. We’ll talk about key periods in life when the eye is changed by the age of the person.
Fetal Development:
•The eye starts developing in the 4th week of pregnancy
•Eyes are an extension of the brain (CNS)
•The eyes become visible at 8 weeks
•At 14 weeks the eyes face forward
The eye starts developing in the 4th week of pregnancy. The eyes become visible by the 8th week. By the 14th week of the fetal development the eyes face forward.
Eyes are an extension of the human brain. It is part of the Central Nervous System. Thus, just like brain tissue, if the internal structures of the eye are damaged, it is irreversible. We must take care of our neurological tissue!
The First Months of Life:
•Babies Learn How To See
–The Eyes Don’t Work Together
–More Activity
•First 3 Months
–Focal Point Very Close
•Six Months
–Should See 20/20
Babies learn how to see. During the first few weeks of life the eyes don’t work together, or what we commonly refer to as “binocular vision.” Proper stimulation can increase curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system development. So be sure to give your baby plenty of interesting things to see. During the first 3 months newborns can only focus about eight to 12 inches from their face, and they see only black, white and gray. Over the next ten to 12 weeks, you will notice your baby following moving objects and recognizing things, especially toys and mobiles with bold, geometric patterns. As their color vision begins to develop, babies will see red first – they will see the full spectrum of colors by the time they reach three months of age. The three main color receptors (or “cones”) in the retina are wired to see Red, Blue, and Green. Depth perception and eye-hand coordination begin to develop when infants reach four months. From four to six months, your baby begins to reach out and touch an object – something that previously only happened by chance.
By six months, your child’s vision can already be as good as 20/20, which is what we commonly think of as “normal.” You’ll see how eyesight becomes a crucial element in your baby’s ability to coordinate full-body movements such as standing and walking.
The Baby Ages:
•6 To 7 Months
–1st Eye Exam
•8 To 12 Months
–Eyes, Movement, Memory Sync
At 6 months, you should have your child scheduled for their first eye exam. This is the earliest point many ocular abnormalities can be detected. Vision screenings at your pediatrician will not suffice. A comprehensive dilated eye exam is needed and only your optometrist or ophthalmologist can provide that for your child.
From 8 to 12 months, the connection between eyes, movement, and memory is strong as your baby approaches his or her first birthday. In the past year you’ve probably noticed tremendous improvements in your baby’s attempts to roll a ball, pick up small toys and objects, and feed themselves foods like cereal or sliced fruit.
Activities that encourage hand-eye coordination, like playing with stacking boxes and rings, blocks or snap-together toys, will help strengthen your baby’s ability to see an object, touch it, and remember things about it.
Adolescent Eye Problems:
•Ambylopia
–Lazy Eye
•Strabismus
–Eye Alignment
During the childhood period of development (2-11) there are two eye problems that can develop, Ambylopia and Hyperopia. Ambylopia, commonly known as “lazy eye,” usually develops before the age of 6, and it does not affect side vision. Symptoms may include noticeably favoring one eye or a tendency to bump into objects on one side. Symptoms are not always obvious. Amblyopia, is the loss or lack of development of central vision in one eye that is unrelated to any eye health problem and is not correctable with lenses. It can result from a failure to use both eyes together. Lazy eye is often associated with crossed-eyes or a large difference in the degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness between the two eyes. Again, it is important to stress that amblyopia isn’t just caused by a turned eye.
Strabismus is one of the most common eye conditions in children, affecting between 2 and 4 percent of the population.
Strabismus occurs when the eyes are not aligned properly. One or both of your child’s eyes may turn inward (esotropia), outward (exotropia), upward (hypertropia) or downward (hypotropia).
Your child can be born with strabismus or it be acquired later in life. Strabismus can also develop as the result of an accident or other health problem.
In some children, strabismus is intermittent, while in others it is always present.
Early diagnosis is essential in preventing vision loss that occurs as a result of amblyopia. Amblyopia from strabismus occurs when vision does not develop normally during childhood because the eyes are not aligned.
Treatment of strabismus may include eyeglasses, patching or eye muscle surgery.
It is important to note: Ambylopia can essentially only be fully treated during the developmental ages of childhood.
The Teen Years:
•Teenage Onset Myopia
Adolescence is period of great change. During puberty, many teens can develop eye problems they did not have in their childhood. It is also normal for teens with vision problems to have prescription changes throughout their adolescence. Teenage onset myopia occurs in the teen years as the skull develops more into it’s adult shape, and the bony structure that develops around the eye expands and elongates, increasing the length of the eye. Just as other structures of your body lengthen during these years, so does your eye; a longer eye = more myopia. As the eye and skull develop, the myopia can increase on an annual basis, and will stabilize in the early twenties.
The Teen Years:
•UV Radiation
–80% of damage to the eye by UV radiation occurs by age 18
80% of the damage caused by UV radiation to the eye occurs by age 18. Children outside playing are more susceptible to damage from the sun with unprotected eyes as their ocular structures aren’t fully formed and mature. Sunglasses that eliminate UV radiation can greatly increase the health of the eye, and reduce the damage of the harmful rays.
The most harmful UV radiation is UV-C, UV-B, and UV-A. Thankfully, earth’s atmosphere blocks out most of the UV-C radiation. However, UV-A and UV-B does get through the atmosphere and is harmful to the structures of the eye.
The Eye Ages:
•Presbyopia
–Old Sight
As the eye ages, and generally around 40 years, we start losing the ability to focus on near objects. This condition is known as presbyopia, or commonly called “my arms are too short”. The muscles in the eye that allows for the focus on near objects becomes weaker and the lens inside our eye loses it’s elasticity and we find ourselves holding objects out farther to read. A common solution is over the counter reading glasses. This solution does not make up for an annual eye exam, which would prescribe “readers” or a multifocal lens that would take into consideration astigmatisms, and any other eye condition, such as myopia. This condition usually affects someone who is farsighted first, then someone who doesn’t wear visual correction, and last, nearsighted people (as nearsighted people can simply take off their distance corrected glasses to use their natural nearsightedness to read). You can now also correct presbyopia with the use of multifocal contact lenses.
The Mature Eye:
•Cataracts
–Hardening of the lens in the eye
–Starts slow
–Corrected by surgical removal
A cataract is a clouding of the lens on the inside of the eye that can cause a decrease in vision. Most cataracts develop slowly and don't disturb your eyesight early on. But with time, cataracts will eventually interfere with your vision. Thankfully, it usually, but not always, a slow progressing condition.
At first, stronger lighting and eyeglasses can help you deal with cataracts. But if impaired vision interferes with your usual activities, you might need cataract surgery. Fortunately, cataract surgery is generally a safe, effective procedure. Fact: cataract surgery is the most common surgical procedure performed in the US.
Most cataracts are due to age-related changes in the lens. However, other factors can contribute to their development including:
Diabetes mellitus - Persons with diabetes are at higher risk for cataracts.
Drugs- Certain medications have been found to be associated with the development of a cataract. These include:
Corticosteroids
Chlorpromazine and other phenothiazine related medications
Ultraviolet radiation - Studies have shown that there is an increased chance of cataract formation with unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Smoking - An association between smoking and increased nuclear opacities has been reported.
Alcohol - Several studies have shown increased cataract formation in patients with higher alcohol consumption compared with people who have lower or no alcohol consumption.
Nutritional deficiency - Although the results are inconclusive, studies have suggested an association between cataract formation and low levels of antioxidants (e.g. vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids). Further studies may show that antioxidants have a significant effect on decreasing cataract development.
The common solution for a cataract is removal with surgery. This procedure is done by removing the lens of the eye, and replacing it with a artificial intraocular lens, or an “IOL.” This procedure is common, and the patient is usually seeing better than before the surgery within the first 24 hours of the operation.
•Macular Degeneration
–Most common cause of blindness
–Age related/Genetic
Symptoms of AMD:
Gradual loss of ability to see objects clearly
Objects appear distorted in shape. Straight lines look wavy or crooked.
Loss of clear color vision.
A dark or empty area appears in the center of vision.
Diagnosis of AMD:
In its early stages, signs of macular degeneration can go unnoticed by the person but easily detected by an optometrist. Yet, if you experience any signs/symptoms, contact your doctor of optometry immediately. In a comprehensive eye exam, your optometrist will perform a variety of tests to determine if you have macular degeneration, or any other eye health problems.
Treatment of AMD:
With “dry” macular degeneration, the tissue of the macula gradually becomes thin and stops functioning properly (i.e. the macula degenerates). There is no cure for dry AMD and any loss in central vision cannot be restored. However, doctors now believe there is a link between nutrition and the progression of dry AMD. Dietary changes favoring low-fat content and dark green leafy vegetables can slow vision loss. Nutritional supplements also may be beneficial, especially the AREDS2 multivitamin formula found over the counter. This AREDS2 formula has been statistically found to slow the progression of AMD for patients with early to moderate AMD.
Less common but more severe, “wet” macular degeneration results when fluids leak from newly formed blood vessels under the macula and blur central vision. Vision loss can be rapid and severe. If detected early, “wet” AMD can be treated with laser treatment, which is often called photocoagulation. A highly focused beam of light seals the leaking blood vessels that damage the macula. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) uses a medication injected into the bloodstream, which is then activated with a laser shone into the eye. In certain cases, steroids are injected into the eye’s vitreous gel. A new therapy available, where a medication is injected into the back of the eye, is showing favorable results. These are not permanent cures but are used to slow the rate of central vision loss.
Did You Know:
•Which is the most active muscle in the body?
•How many pictures do your eyes take during a normal lifespan?
•It’s physically impossible to do this with your eyes open. What is it?
•What on your face has a lifespan of 5 months?
•Who is colorblind at birth?
•The eye muscles are the most active muscles in the whole body.
The eye can process 36,000 bits of information every hour and in a normal lifespan you will see almost 24 million images of the world around you.
It is physically impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. (Try it!)
Each of our eyelashes has a life span of approximately five months.
•Everyone is colorblind at birth.
•When do babies produce tears when they cry?
•How much of your eye is external, or visible to others?
•How many people are affected by cataracts?
•Presbyopia can be corrected with?
•How many times a minute do you blink?
Babies cry but don’t produce tears until they’re one to three months old.
Only about 1/6th of your eyeball is external of the body.
Cataract affects nearly 22 million Americans age 40 and older. By age 80, more than half of all Americans have cataract.
Presbyopia can be corrected with reading glasses, bifocals, or “no line” multifocal lenses. Even though you only require a reading prescription you can get a no line solution, and you will be able to read, and also look across the room, without having to remove your eyeglasses. A solution that is gaining in popularity is contact lenses. Multifocal contacts allows the wearer to read materials up close and see in the distance AT THE SAME TIME!
•You blink on average 12 times a minute.
•Can doctors transplant an eyeball?
•What percentage of the world’s vision problems are avoidable or curable?
•When was the last time you had an eye exam?
•Where can you conveniently get your annual eye exam?
Doctors have yet to find a way to transplant an eyeball. Again, this is because it is neurological tissue and an extension of the brain. Hence, we cannot transplant a brain either. The optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain is too sensitive to reconstruct successfully.
80% of vision problems worldwide are avoidable or even curable.
• Development of the eye
• Fetal Development
• Maturity
• Geriatric
Today we are going to discuss the eye, and it’s development from the fetus to senior age and death. We’ll talk about key periods in life when the eye is changed by the age of the person.
Fetal Development:
•The eye starts developing in the 4th week of pregnancy
•Eyes are an extension of the brain (CNS)
•The eyes become visible at 8 weeks
•At 14 weeks the eyes face forward
The eye starts developing in the 4th week of pregnancy. The eyes become visible by the 8th week. By the 14th week of the fetal development the eyes face forward.
Eyes are an extension of the human brain. It is part of the Central Nervous System. Thus, just like brain tissue, if the internal structures of the eye are damaged, it is irreversible. We must take care of our neurological tissue!
The First Months of Life:
•Babies Learn How To See
–The Eyes Don’t Work Together
–More Activity
•First 3 Months
–Focal Point Very Close
•Six Months
–Should See 20/20
Babies learn how to see. During the first few weeks of life the eyes don’t work together, or what we commonly refer to as “binocular vision.” Proper stimulation can increase curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system development. So be sure to give your baby plenty of interesting things to see. During the first 3 months newborns can only focus about eight to 12 inches from their face, and they see only black, white and gray. Over the next ten to 12 weeks, you will notice your baby following moving objects and recognizing things, especially toys and mobiles with bold, geometric patterns. As their color vision begins to develop, babies will see red first – they will see the full spectrum of colors by the time they reach three months of age. The three main color receptors (or “cones”) in the retina are wired to see Red, Blue, and Green. Depth perception and eye-hand coordination begin to develop when infants reach four months. From four to six months, your baby begins to reach out and touch an object – something that previously only happened by chance.
By six months, your child’s vision can already be as good as 20/20, which is what we commonly think of as “normal.” You’ll see how eyesight becomes a crucial element in your baby’s ability to coordinate full-body movements such as standing and walking.
The Baby Ages:
•6 To 7 Months
–1st Eye Exam
•8 To 12 Months
–Eyes, Movement, Memory Sync
At 6 months, you should have your child scheduled for their first eye exam. This is the earliest point many ocular abnormalities can be detected. Vision screenings at your pediatrician will not suffice. A comprehensive dilated eye exam is needed and only your optometrist or ophthalmologist can provide that for your child.
From 8 to 12 months, the connection between eyes, movement, and memory is strong as your baby approaches his or her first birthday. In the past year you’ve probably noticed tremendous improvements in your baby’s attempts to roll a ball, pick up small toys and objects, and feed themselves foods like cereal or sliced fruit.
Activities that encourage hand-eye coordination, like playing with stacking boxes and rings, blocks or snap-together toys, will help strengthen your baby’s ability to see an object, touch it, and remember things about it.
Adolescent Eye Problems:
•Ambylopia
–Lazy Eye
•Strabismus
–Eye Alignment
During the childhood period of development (2-11) there are two eye problems that can develop, Ambylopia and Hyperopia. Ambylopia, commonly known as “lazy eye,” usually develops before the age of 6, and it does not affect side vision. Symptoms may include noticeably favoring one eye or a tendency to bump into objects on one side. Symptoms are not always obvious. Amblyopia, is the loss or lack of development of central vision in one eye that is unrelated to any eye health problem and is not correctable with lenses. It can result from a failure to use both eyes together. Lazy eye is often associated with crossed-eyes or a large difference in the degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness between the two eyes. Again, it is important to stress that amblyopia isn’t just caused by a turned eye.
Strabismus is one of the most common eye conditions in children, affecting between 2 and 4 percent of the population.
Strabismus occurs when the eyes are not aligned properly. One or both of your child’s eyes may turn inward (esotropia), outward (exotropia), upward (hypertropia) or downward (hypotropia).
Your child can be born with strabismus or it be acquired later in life. Strabismus can also develop as the result of an accident or other health problem.
In some children, strabismus is intermittent, while in others it is always present.
Early diagnosis is essential in preventing vision loss that occurs as a result of amblyopia. Amblyopia from strabismus occurs when vision does not develop normally during childhood because the eyes are not aligned.
Treatment of strabismus may include eyeglasses, patching or eye muscle surgery.
It is important to note: Ambylopia can essentially only be fully treated during the developmental ages of childhood.
The Teen Years:
•Teenage Onset Myopia
Adolescence is period of great change. During puberty, many teens can develop eye problems they did not have in their childhood. It is also normal for teens with vision problems to have prescription changes throughout their adolescence. Teenage onset myopia occurs in the teen years as the skull develops more into it’s adult shape, and the bony structure that develops around the eye expands and elongates, increasing the length of the eye. Just as other structures of your body lengthen during these years, so does your eye; a longer eye = more myopia. As the eye and skull develop, the myopia can increase on an annual basis, and will stabilize in the early twenties.
The Teen Years:
•UV Radiation
–80% of damage to the eye by UV radiation occurs by age 18
80% of the damage caused by UV radiation to the eye occurs by age 18. Children outside playing are more susceptible to damage from the sun with unprotected eyes as their ocular structures aren’t fully formed and mature. Sunglasses that eliminate UV radiation can greatly increase the health of the eye, and reduce the damage of the harmful rays.
The most harmful UV radiation is UV-C, UV-B, and UV-A. Thankfully, earth’s atmosphere blocks out most of the UV-C radiation. However, UV-A and UV-B does get through the atmosphere and is harmful to the structures of the eye.
The Eye Ages:
•Presbyopia
–Old Sight
As the eye ages, and generally around 40 years, we start losing the ability to focus on near objects. This condition is known as presbyopia, or commonly called “my arms are too short”. The muscles in the eye that allows for the focus on near objects becomes weaker and the lens inside our eye loses it’s elasticity and we find ourselves holding objects out farther to read. A common solution is over the counter reading glasses. This solution does not make up for an annual eye exam, which would prescribe “readers” or a multifocal lens that would take into consideration astigmatisms, and any other eye condition, such as myopia. This condition usually affects someone who is farsighted first, then someone who doesn’t wear visual correction, and last, nearsighted people (as nearsighted people can simply take off their distance corrected glasses to use their natural nearsightedness to read). You can now also correct presbyopia with the use of multifocal contact lenses.
The Mature Eye:
•Cataracts
–Hardening of the lens in the eye
–Starts slow
–Corrected by surgical removal
A cataract is a clouding of the lens on the inside of the eye that can cause a decrease in vision. Most cataracts develop slowly and don't disturb your eyesight early on. But with time, cataracts will eventually interfere with your vision. Thankfully, it usually, but not always, a slow progressing condition.
At first, stronger lighting and eyeglasses can help you deal with cataracts. But if impaired vision interferes with your usual activities, you might need cataract surgery. Fortunately, cataract surgery is generally a safe, effective procedure. Fact: cataract surgery is the most common surgical procedure performed in the US.
Most cataracts are due to age-related changes in the lens. However, other factors can contribute to their development including:
Diabetes mellitus - Persons with diabetes are at higher risk for cataracts.
Drugs- Certain medications have been found to be associated with the development of a cataract. These include:
Corticosteroids
Chlorpromazine and other phenothiazine related medications
Ultraviolet radiation - Studies have shown that there is an increased chance of cataract formation with unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Smoking - An association between smoking and increased nuclear opacities has been reported.
Alcohol - Several studies have shown increased cataract formation in patients with higher alcohol consumption compared with people who have lower or no alcohol consumption.
Nutritional deficiency - Although the results are inconclusive, studies have suggested an association between cataract formation and low levels of antioxidants (e.g. vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids). Further studies may show that antioxidants have a significant effect on decreasing cataract development.
The common solution for a cataract is removal with surgery. This procedure is done by removing the lens of the eye, and replacing it with a artificial intraocular lens, or an “IOL.” This procedure is common, and the patient is usually seeing better than before the surgery within the first 24 hours of the operation.
•Macular Degeneration
–Most common cause of blindness
–Age related/Genetic
Symptoms of AMD:
Gradual loss of ability to see objects clearly
Objects appear distorted in shape. Straight lines look wavy or crooked.
Loss of clear color vision.
A dark or empty area appears in the center of vision.
Diagnosis of AMD:
In its early stages, signs of macular degeneration can go unnoticed by the person but easily detected by an optometrist. Yet, if you experience any signs/symptoms, contact your doctor of optometry immediately. In a comprehensive eye exam, your optometrist will perform a variety of tests to determine if you have macular degeneration, or any other eye health problems.
Treatment of AMD:
With “dry” macular degeneration, the tissue of the macula gradually becomes thin and stops functioning properly (i.e. the macula degenerates). There is no cure for dry AMD and any loss in central vision cannot be restored. However, doctors now believe there is a link between nutrition and the progression of dry AMD. Dietary changes favoring low-fat content and dark green leafy vegetables can slow vision loss. Nutritional supplements also may be beneficial, especially the AREDS2 multivitamin formula found over the counter. This AREDS2 formula has been statistically found to slow the progression of AMD for patients with early to moderate AMD.
Less common but more severe, “wet” macular degeneration results when fluids leak from newly formed blood vessels under the macula and blur central vision. Vision loss can be rapid and severe. If detected early, “wet” AMD can be treated with laser treatment, which is often called photocoagulation. A highly focused beam of light seals the leaking blood vessels that damage the macula. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) uses a medication injected into the bloodstream, which is then activated with a laser shone into the eye. In certain cases, steroids are injected into the eye’s vitreous gel. A new therapy available, where a medication is injected into the back of the eye, is showing favorable results. These are not permanent cures but are used to slow the rate of central vision loss.
Did You Know:
•Which is the most active muscle in the body?
•How many pictures do your eyes take during a normal lifespan?
•It’s physically impossible to do this with your eyes open. What is it?
•What on your face has a lifespan of 5 months?
•Who is colorblind at birth?
•The eye muscles are the most active muscles in the whole body.
The eye can process 36,000 bits of information every hour and in a normal lifespan you will see almost 24 million images of the world around you.
It is physically impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. (Try it!)
Each of our eyelashes has a life span of approximately five months.
•Everyone is colorblind at birth.
•When do babies produce tears when they cry?
•How much of your eye is external, or visible to others?
•How many people are affected by cataracts?
•Presbyopia can be corrected with?
•How many times a minute do you blink?
Babies cry but don’t produce tears until they’re one to three months old.
Only about 1/6th of your eyeball is external of the body.
Cataract affects nearly 22 million Americans age 40 and older. By age 80, more than half of all Americans have cataract.
Presbyopia can be corrected with reading glasses, bifocals, or “no line” multifocal lenses. Even though you only require a reading prescription you can get a no line solution, and you will be able to read, and also look across the room, without having to remove your eyeglasses. A solution that is gaining in popularity is contact lenses. Multifocal contacts allows the wearer to read materials up close and see in the distance AT THE SAME TIME!
•You blink on average 12 times a minute.
•Can doctors transplant an eyeball?
•What percentage of the world’s vision problems are avoidable or curable?
•When was the last time you had an eye exam?
•Where can you conveniently get your annual eye exam?
Doctors have yet to find a way to transplant an eyeball. Again, this is because it is neurological tissue and an extension of the brain. Hence, we cannot transplant a brain either. The optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain is too sensitive to reconstruct successfully.
80% of vision problems worldwide are avoidable or even curable.
