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Eye Health

“More than 3.4 million Americans aged 40 years and older are blind”

What are common eye diseases?

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among working-age (ages 20–74) Americans.
Cataracts are a major cause of vision loss. Among Americans aged 40 years and older, 24.4 million, have cataracts.
About 2,000,00 Americans aged 50 years and older have AMD
Glaucoma can be controlled and vision loss stopped by early detection and timely treatment.
Amblyopia (or lazy eye) is the most common cause of vision loss among children.

Approximately 12 million people 40 years and over in the United States have vision impairment, including 1 million who are blind, 3 million who have vision impairment after correction, and 8 million who have vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive error.
Approximately 6.8% of children younger than 18 years in the United States have a diagnosed eye and vision condition. Nearly 3 percent of children younger than 18 years are blind or visually impaired, defined as having trouble seeing even when wearing glasses or contact lenses.
An estimated 93 million adults in the United States are at high risk for serious vision loss, but only half visited an eye doctor in the past 12 months.
Vision disability is one of the top 10 disabilities among adults 18 years and older and one of the most prevalent disabling conditions among children.
90% of blindness caused by diabetes is preventable.

In the United States, about 1 in 4 preschool-aged children have an undiagnosed or untreated vision problem.
Your child’s pediatrician will likely screen your child’s vision as part of their regular checkups.

Refractive errors: This eye condition includes myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism (when the cornea or lens has a different shape than normal). Refractive errors occur when light does not correctly focus on the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. This condition causes blurred vision.
Amblyopia (lazy eye): This eye condition occurs when vision in one eye is reduced because of a communication error between the brain and the affected eye. The brain will rely more and more on the stronger eye, while vision in the weaker eye gets worse.
Strabismus (crossed eyes): This eye condition can affect one or both eyes. When a child has strabismus, their eyes do not focus on the same object at the same time. As a result, their eyes have trouble maintaining the correct position.
Convergence insufficiency: This eye condition affects how the eyes work together when looking at objects close up. Convergence insufficiency can cause blurry or double vision when a person looks at any object close up, including a book, computer, or digital device.