Elder Care Roswell, GA
July is Eye Injury Prevention Month. For the elderly, there are often many aspects that they have to contend with their health, including potentially failing eyesight or other issues, such as glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition in which a white film builds over the lens of the eye and if untreated, it can lead to blindness. Glaucoma will impact every individual at least once by the time that they reach 80 years of age.
However, it’s not glaucoma that we’re talking about with regard to elder care. It’s the risk of eye injuries. The most significant risk to eyes for seniors happens to be the sun. When we’re young, we have all the time in the world. We can go outside and play and not worry about the impact that the sun will have on our eyes. We squint to minimize the amount of light that gets into our eyes, but we don’t worry about what the UV rays could do to them over time.
For seniors, spending an entire lifetime under the glare of the sun will have taken its toll, and due to the changes in the body as we age, the risks of eye injury and damage increase.
Whenever you go you with the elderly patient, make sure that he or she has one a pair of sunglasses. They should be dark and be able to block out the maximum amount of UV rays. They should also wrap around the eyes, on top, bottom, and the sides because even sunlight that comes in from an angle can still cause damage to the eyes.
Also, when the elderly individual is doing any type of activity where there is a risk of something striking their eyes, they should use protection. This would include if they are cooking, chopping onions or garlic for example, or making something. Regular glasses can help and so can goggles.
If the patient is a restless sleeper, you want to be sure that he or she doesn’t damage their eyes at night. If there is a risk of this, you can suggest that they wear mittens of some sort to bed to keep their fingers from penetrating their eyes. If they don’t want to do this, you can’t force them.
Most importantly, pay attention to the risk factors that abound throughout the day and night with regard to eye injuries. The more you focus on, the better the elder care will be. We only have one set of eyes, so they should be as protected as possible, regardless of our age.
