S
Centers
Interpreters
Physicians:
then become farsighted,"
states ophthalmologist Jeff
Colquhoun, M.D. of the
Southwest Michigan Eye
Center in Battle Creek. He
explains that up to the age
close-up world, focusing on the faces
of persons holding them. As toddlers
learn to explore a larger world, their
vision muscles relax, enabling them
to see farther away.
easily corrected with glasses. These
include lazy eye, called amblyopia,
and a return of myopia, which is
nearsightedness, with or without
astigmatism, which is an irregular-
shaped eye.
there is relatively little change in
refractive power, although some
persons with glasses might require
a slightly stronger prescription," Dr.
Colquhoun says.
begins when a person reaches the
mid-40s. "The eye muscles of accom-
modation become weaker then, and
there's a decreased ability to focus
close up," Dr. Colquhoun states. The
common treatments include reading
glasses, bifocals, Lasik surgery,
conductive keratoplasty, and lens
implant procedures.
at age 60 and older -- or earlier in
persons with a history of trauma,
use of certain medications such
as steroids, or a family history of
eye ailments. Dry eye syndrome,
macular degeneration, glaucoma, and
drooping eye lids are additional age-
related eye disorders.
vision is possible with a healthy
lifestyle that includes a good diet and
exercise. "Vision problems associated
with vascular disorders and diabetes
are preventable," he says, "and
macular degeneration is preventable,
in part, with an anti-oxidant diet."
age 40 and earlier for children with
a family history of lazy eye and
diabetes. When visual correction
becomes necessary, most people turn
to traditional glasses. However, Lasik
surgery and multi-focal intraocular
lens implants are becoming popular.
Dr. Colquhoun identifies these as
"the most youth regeneration proce-
dures around."
due to injury or illness, there are
many clinics and schools that offer
orientation and mobility training.
Some of these facilities employ
persons trained at Western Michigan
University's Department of Blindness
and Low Vision Studies.
program show people how to become
oriented to their daily living envi-
ronment, attain mobility through
aids such as a long white cane, and
develop workaround solutions to help
retain or regain employment.
quality of life include reading magni-
fiers, books and magazines in Braille,
recorded books, and computers with
capabilities. Equally important are
training in skills such as how to
identify color-coordinated clothing in
one's closet, how to properly set the
dials on a kitchen stove, and how to
safely pour a cup of hot liquid.
learns how to do such things as a
matter of course. "If you can't see
your mother, you learn her voice and
her touch; you develop a different
frame of reference," she says. "But it's
different for people who have vision
that suddenly becomes diminished
or absent. What would it be like to
suddenly not be able to drive or use a
computer?"
of Divorce & Family Mediation, a
private divorce mediation service in
Kalamazoo, says he "never saw very
well" but gave up certain activities,
such as walking alone, in his mid-40s
when he could no longer see his
image in a mirror.