There are a number of eye disorders that can influence vision. Eye disorders among the elderly are a major health problem. With advancing age, the normal function of eye tissues decreases and there is an increased incidence of ocular pathology. The most common causes of age related eye disorders and visual impairment in the elderly are presbyopia, cataracts, age related macular degeneration, primary open angle glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
   Before I discuss these eye disorders --  I have included a list further down the page --  I would like to mention a product that I have formulated that may be of benefit to some individuals. Please discuss with your physician regarding the use of Eyesight Rx. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any particular eye disorder.

Eyesight Rx Supports Healthy Eyesight
Developed by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Unlike some vision products that provide nutrients and herbs for long term healthy eyesight support, and prevention of visual impairment, but don't seem to have much of an immediate effect on visual acuity, Eyesight Rx was formulated to provide a quick and noticeable eyesight improvement within days of use.

Reports from Eyesight Rx users indicate enhanced clarity of vision, colors being brighter, better focus, and overall improvement in focus in close and distance vision.

Eyesight Rx Supplement Facts:
Vitamin C -  (Ascorbic acid)
Citrus bioflavonoids (eriocitrin, hesperidin, flavonols, flavones, flavonoids, naringenin, and quercetin)
Mixed carotenoids for better vision (astaxanthin, beta carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, Lycopene, zeaxanthin)
Bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus)
Eyebright extract (Euphrasia officianales)
Jujube extract (Zizyphus jujube)
Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba)
Suma extract (Pfaffia paniculata)
Mucuna pruriens extract (Cowhage)
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Lycium berry extract (Lycium Barbarum)
Sarsaparila (Sarsaparilla Smilax)
Alpha Lipoic Acid antioxidant

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Eye exams
To keep your eyes healthy and functioning at their best, especially as you get older, regular eye checkups after age 50 or 55 are a good option. Eye disorders such as glaucoma, cataracts, and even diabetes related eye problems can be diagnosed early and managed, preventing worse eye problems in the future.

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Consider these highly popular all natural products: Mind Power Rx for better mental focus, concentration, and mood; Diet Rx which helps you eat less. It really does curb appetite; Good Night Rx for better sleep; Eyesight Rx for better vision, often within days; MultiVit Rx a daily comprehensive multivitamin for more energy and vitality; Joint Power Rx for healthy joints; Prostate Power Rx for a healthy prostate gland; and Passion Rx for sexual enhancement, better libido, and improved performance and stamina in men and women.

The following are some common eye disorders:

Age related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration refers to damage to the macula area of the retina of the eye. Vitamins and herbs can help in this condition. Older adults who smoke are twice as likely to suffer from this degenerative eye disorder that is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly as their non-smoking peers.
   Yellow pigments in pumpkin and corn play a role in protecting people from developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The eye disorder is one of the leading causes of blindness in elderly people, but there is no cure and only limited treatment options are available to slow its progression. For several years, scientists have suspected the condition - caused by the deterioration of the back of the retina - had links to diet. In particular, it has been suggested that the pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, found in corn, pumpkin, egg yolks, and some leafy green vegetables, are beneficial in reducing the risk for this eye disorder. Fish oils may also help reduce the severity of this eye disorder.

Amblyopia or lazy eye disorder
Amblyopia or Lazy eye
is weak vision or vision loss in one eye that cannot be fully corrected with lenses. Amblyopia usually develops in children before age eight.

Astigmatism eye disorder
Astigmatism is a condition in which an abnormal curvature of the cornea can cause two focal points to fall in two different locations making objects up close and at a distance appear blurry. Eyesight Rx can be helpful.

Blepharitis
Blephariitss an inflammation of the edges of the eyelids involving hair follicles and glands that open onto the surface. Posterior blepharitis causes eye irritation from inflammation, and leads to the development of meibomian gland dysfunction.

Cataract
A cataract is an eye disorder in which the lens of the eye becomes dense or opaque and does not properly transmit light.

Chalazion
Chalazion is a small bump that develops on the upper or lower eyelid. It is caused by inflamed meibomian glands that produce the oil in tears.

Cicatricial pemphigoid
Cicatricial pemphigoid is the ocular manifestations of autoimmune bullous disease.

Congenital nystagmus
Nystagmus is an eye disorder characterized by repetitive, involuntary back and forth movement of the eyes. When nystagmus is found in an infant, it is referred to as congenital Nystagmus. Most of the time, congenital nystagmus is diagnosed by 3 months of age.

Conjunctivitis ( sometimes called pink eye)
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels in the conjunctiva, the membrane that covers the sclera and inside of the eyelids. Conjunctivitis may be caused by bacteria or viruses, making it quite contagious. For most kids with pink eye, also known as acute infective conjunctivitis, the condition will usually resolve on its own, without antibiotic treatment.

Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disorder of the retina resulting from changes in the eye blood vessels and found in some people who have diabetes.

Dry Eye Disorder
This condition happens when there is not enough moisture in the eye. When someone has dry eyes, the eyes feel sandy and gritty. Dry eye may be caused by low humidity, smoke, aging, certain diseases, and certain medications (i.e., antihistamines, decongestants).

Floaters
Floaters appear as spots, dots, or lines and affect or interrupt vision. Floaters are usually caused by bits of debris in the vitreous humor.

Q. Do you have any medication or herb or supplement eye floaters?
   A. We have not aware of supplement studies with eye floaters, but some people like to use half of an Eyesight Rx pill every other day. Please have approval by your doctor.

Glaucoma
Glaucoma is not a serious eye disorder when mild, but can be very serious when severe, potentially leading to blindness. Glaucoma is a disease that impairs the optic nerve. In glaucoma, fluid and pressure build up in the eye and damage the optic nerve.

Hyperopia or farsightedness
Hyperopia or farsightedness means a person has trouble seeing clearly up close. Eyesight Rx could be helpful.

Iritis
Iritis is an inflammation of the iris of the eye.

keratoconus
The cause of Keratoconus is unknown.

Myopia or nearsightedness
Myopia or nearsightedness - People who have this eye disorder have trouble seeing clearly in the distance. Eyesight Rx could be helpful. An eye Formula for myopia and hyperopia eye disorder.

Night blindness
Surgery on the intestines can lead to the malabsorption of vitamin A, and this in turn can create eye problems years or even decades after surgery, especially when other illnesses are present. Eye disorders that can result from vitamin A deficiency include dry eye, softening of the cornea, damage to the retina, and night blindness.

Optic Neuropathy
Impotence drugs such as Viagra and Cialis can increase the risk of eye damage in men who have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure. Scientists at the University of Alabama in Birmingham found that men who had suffered a heart attack were 10 times more likely to have optic nerve damage if they had been taking leading anti-impotence pills. Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is the most common cause of acute optic nerve disease in people over 50 years old. It can cause permanent loss of vision in one or both eyes.

Presbyopia
Presbyopia is another type of farsightedness and is caused when the center of the eye lens hardens making it unable to accommodate near vision.

Pterygium
A pterygium is an external whitish lesion on the surface of the eye, sometimes encroaching on the cornea.

Red eye - Bloodshot eyes - Red eyes - Scleral injection - Conjunctival injection.
Red eyes are a common eye disorder. They are caused by dilated blood vessels leading to the appearance of redness on the surface of the eye. Red eyes can mean a medical emergency or they can be totally benign. The red eye is usually a serious condition if there is pain and loss of vision.
   Bloodshot eyes appear red because the vessels in the surface of the white portion of the eye (sclera) become enlarged and irritated. This may result from extremely dry air, sun exposure, dust, foreign body, an allergic reaction, infection, trauma, or other conditions. One common cause of a red eye is straining or coughing. This can lead to a bright red, uniformly dense bloody area on the sclera. This is called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. Although this bloody area may appear alarming, it is a fairly common occurrence and of little significance. If you notice a bloody blotch in one eye that doesn't hurt, but just looks bad, don't worry. It generally clears up on its own within a week or two. Eye infections or inflammation can occur in different locations. They cause redness as well as possible itching, discharge, pain, or vision problems. Common causes of red eyes include blepharitis, conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, uveitis, cold or allergies, foreign objects in the eye, acute glaucoma, corneal scratches caused by sand, dust, or overuse of contacts, bleeding problems -for example, from excess use of blood thinning drugs.

Retinal Detachment
Retinal detachment is a serious eye disorder. In this condition, the retina separates from the back of the eye.

Retinal Vein Occlusion

Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is the name given to a group of hereditary eye disorders, all of which involve the eye's retina, the light-sensitive nerve layer that lines the back of the eye, and all of which cause a gradual, yet progressive, loss or reduction in visual ability.

Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma information.

Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy information
Hypertensive retinopathy - this eye disorder occurs due to high blood pressure for many years or decades. Hypertensive retinopathy improves once the hypertension is lowered.

Strabismus
Strabismus crossed eyes.

Stye
Stye is a noncontagious, bacterial infection of one of the sebaceous glands of the eyelid. A stye looks like a small, red bump either on the eyelid or on the edge of the eyelid.

Uveitis
Uveitis is an eye disorder that occurs in the uvea, or the middle coat of the eye. Because the uvea contains the blood vessels that supply nutrients to the eye, any form of uveitis may be a serious eye disorder and may be a symptom for other serious conditions

Eye disorder remedy depends on what kind of eye disorder is the problem.
Eye disorder symptom varies between different eye disorder conditions.

Eye disorders in children predict cardiac problems
Changes occur in blood vessels in the eyes of heavier and obese children from as young as six, warning signs that might be linked to cardiovascular disease in later life. Previously, these changes -- widening of veins and narrowing of arteries -- were only observed in the retinas of heavy teenagers and adults.

Eye disorder research update
High amounts of beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc in the diet may help stave off age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common eye disorder in the elderly. In a previous study, high-dose supplementation with these antioxidants was shown to slow the progression of AMD, but the effect of regular dietary consumption in preventing this eye disorder was unclear. To investigate, Dr. Paulus T. V. M. de Jong, from the Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute in Amsterdam, and colleagues analyzed data from 4170 subjects who participated in the Rotterdam Study. The subjects were all at least 55 years of age and lived in a middle-class suburb of Rotterdam. During an average follow-up period of 8 years, 560 subjects developed AMD. They found that the higher the amount of vitamin E and zinc in the diet, the less likely were individuals to develop the eye disorder. Further analysis showed that consuming a diet with above-average levels of beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc reduced the risk of AMD by 35 percent. Journal of the American Medical Association, December 28, 2005.

Eye disorder questions
Q. A 26 year old close female friend of mine has been diagnosed with PIC Punctate Inner Choroidopathy eye disorder by two eye specialists. The doctors have proposed treating the eye with an injected immunoglobulin Avastin which, it is said, will attach to and inactivate the molecule which causes the macular swelling and bleeding in the eye. It is also suggested that this may restore some vision to the right eye. The left eye has some minor signs but no loss of vision to date. The proposed treatment for this eye disorder is disturbing and not at all promising. Any guidance recommendations that you can offer would be greatly appreciated !!! As a long time follower of your written material and emails I have high regards for your medical competence
   A. Sorry but I have not studied this eye disorder in enough detail to have an educated opinion regarding natural treatment options. The majority of patients with PIC Punctate Inner Choroidopathy are young, myopic, Caucasian women, who have unilateral scotoma and blurred vision as initial symptoms. Ocular complications can occur including choroidal neovascularization and subretinal fibrosis.

This eye disorder page was last updated in Feb 2008.