Eyesight Insight
Are you wondering why every manufacturer is suddenly making the print on their packaging so darn small? Do you find yourself saying things like “Let me find my glasses? “and “Can someone read this?” Is your every growing collection of pharmacy reading glasses becoming a source of clutter?
We all seem to perfect the long arm reading stretch eventually as we get older and a decrease in vision happens to almost everyone. Most of us have even grown to expect that we will wear glasses or have some sort of eye surgery as we age, and that remains mostly true, but hormone changes during times of a woman’s life can also affect her vision.
Hormones and vision
Hormonal changes, including puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and perimenopause can affect a woman’s eyesight. Estrogen affects every part of a woman’s body, and that includes her eyes. Many of the hormonally induced changes in vision coincide with the milestones of a woman's reproductive life, making estrogen important for clear vision.
During periods of fluctuating hormone levels, various eye changes happen. Puberty, the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, and menopause can all find women wondering why their eyesight isn’t quite as good as it normally is. The female sex hormone, estrogen, can also cause the cornea of the eye to become more elastic, causing a change in how light travels through the eye.
Hormone-induced changes can change the way a contact lens fits on the eye because these changes can also change the shape of the eye, making contact lenses uncomfortable to wear. Estrogen’s influence on eyesight can also cause increased water retention that can trigger inflammation of the cornea and blurry vision. Estrogen is vital in protecting the eye from sun damage and aging and when we lose estrogen, we lose yet another healthy eye benefit.
During menopause, some women develop a different eye condition called chronic dry eye. This frustrating condition can include sensitivity to light, blurred vision, excessive tearing, and red or swollen eyelids. Dry eye happens because estrogen affects the tear film that lubricates the eye, and the irritation causes a feeling of “sand in the eye”.
Therapies are available to help with dry eye, so seeing your ophthalmologist is key to avoiding any permanent vision complications, then talk to MedStudio ™ and their medical clinic experts to learn solutions that can help alleviate your dry eyes.
Cataracts can happen to anyone, but studies show that more postmenopausal women than men in the same age group develop cataracts. With cataracts, vision problems come on slowly and include cloudiness, reduced night vision, loss of color intensity, and double vision.
Watch for environmental factors, like toxins, smoke, and sun damage. A healthy lifestyle also reduces the risk of developing eye problems. Avoiding smoking, controlling or preventing diabetes, maintaining a healthy weight and controlling high blood pressure, all lead to healthier eyes.
Eat your carrots! Eating colorful fruit and vegetables a few times each day can reduce the inflammation in your body and especially in the eyes. Eye health is dependent on nutrition and avoiding processed foods and increasing your intake of fresh produce, all promote healthy vision.
See more clearly
Avoiding eye issues that are common during menopause is essential to maintaining your vision as you age. Continue to see your eye doctor regularly. A comprehensive eye exam can address vision changes that may be the result of fluctuating hormones and treat them early.
Talk to your healthcare professional at MedStudio ™ private medical clinic about incorporating nutritional balancing and natural hormone therapies to help protect your eye health and keep your vision in check. To correct hormonal imbalances that may be leading to unwanted vision changes MedStudio ™ can help balance protective hormones and help to restore a women’s body to a more natural and comfortable state.