You and eye, and aging

You know you’re getting old when everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work. You know you’re getting old when your exercise consists of standing up. When you can’t even stretch your imagination.

You know you’re getting old when you start developing eye diseases. If you’re having a hard time reading this page without the help of granny glasses, join the club.

Why do most eye diseases start showing up in old age? Dr. Leonardo Mangubat, oculoplastic surgeon and consultant of Asian Hospital and Medical Center Manila, trains his sights on the issue: “It is actually because of the poor quality of tears or dry eyes. The reason is the macular gland is no longer stimulated by the hormones to produce the right quality of tears. With poor quality of tears, there is poor cleansing of the eyes from toxic substances, so there is poor washing, that is why there is irritation. And because there is poor drainage or washing, an infection may likely occur.”

The signs and symptoms of dry eye to watch out for are: excessive tearing, burning and itching, heaviness and tired eyes, eye strain, irritation and redness, blurred vision.

Aging is the primary risk factor of dry eyes. If you are aged 50 years and above, your chances of having  dry eyes are high.

And look, Dr. Mangubat makes it crystal-clear that he’s talking about conditions outside of the eyes, not inside the eyes.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is what the eye disease of aging is called. “This is a condition that involves the retina,” Dr. Mangubat explains. “The mechanism of the physiology in our retina becomes poor and this leads to edema or macular degeneration.”

The sensory membrane that lines the eye, the retina is the immediate instrument of vision that receives the image formed by the lens and converts it into chemical and nervous signals which reach the brain by way of the optic nerve.

You and I may not be aware of AMD, but it’s not a new disease. “It’s just that it wasn’t diagnosed before because of poor diagnostic machines,” Dr. Mangubat notes. “But now, with better diagnostic machines and awareness among ophthalmologists through research and scientific conferences, AMD is better diagnosed.”

Saying goodbye to dry eyes shouldn’t be a tearful exercise. Here’s a quick (relief) tip from Dr. Mangubat: If you are exposed to environmental factors that aggravate dry eyes like overexposure to computers, air-conditioning, sunlight and wind, simply take a break every 15 minutes to blink and close your eyes for a minute or two. Blinking allows your tears to spread evenly around the eye surface. More, your best bets against eye dryness are keeping a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet and avoiding smoking, so Dr. Mangubat prescribes.

To further protect yourself, applying artificial tears two to four times a day is an ideal measure to take.

But how do you choose the artificial tears that are right for you? According to Dr. Mangubat, the ideal artificial tears are preservative-free since prolonged exposure to eye preservatives may cause damage to the eye. Preservatives are meant to keep the solution in the bottle, free from microbial contamination. However, preservatives are not needed when in the eye. Recent technology has developed a preservative that serves both purposes of keeping the solution free from contamination and at the same time eliminating the dangers of eye damage as it disappears when placed on the eye. Genteal Eye Drops offer soothing relief from the uncomfortable symptoms of dry eye while providing protection via GenAqua, a breakthrough in preservative technology. In less than 60 seconds upon instillation, GenAqua is neutralized by the eyes’ enzymes into water (for extra moisture) and oxygen (a corneal nutrient), thus protecting the eyes from the damaging effects of conventional preservatives.  

However, there are risk factors that cannot be prevented, such as family history. Likewise, stress-related factors may contribute to AMD.

The good doctor did say “eye do” to a healthy diet. What about vitamins and antioxidants? Can they help prevent AMD?

Dr. Mangubat gives us a mouthful: “Actually, our eyes have vitamins that are important for metabolism. And when these are not absorbed, they fail to fuel the metabolism, and this leads to AMD.”

But looking at the bright side of the picture, Novartis, a leading global pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare, research and development company, has come up with eye products that care for the eyes. These products are backed up by scientific studies that prove their value. There’s Vitalux that may prevent the progression of AMD. “There’s no 100-percent guarantee, but taking Vitalux may lower your risk of developing AMD,” Dr. Mangubat asserts. “It’s because there are some vitamins that you have to take in higher doses. What gives Vitalux tablets the competitive edge is that the vitamins you need are already there in concentrated form.”

While there’s no cure for AMD, Novartis has a injectable called Lucentis that’s indicated for the treatment of wet-type AMD. “Though I have not used Lucentis because my practce does not involve the retina, I would refer patients, who I see will benefit from Lucentis, to my colleagues,” Dr. Mangubat puts it pat.

Of course, for our eyes to age gracefully, like the rest of our body, we should see our eye doctor while we’re still young. How young is young?

“No matter how young you are, if your vision is already poor, consult a doctor,” Dr. Mangubat urges everyone. “Even at birth, if the baby has mucus in his eyes (nagmumuta), a doctor should be called. For any eye problems or irritation, consult an ophthalmologist, not a non-eye doctor.

To sum it up, Dr. Mangubat’s farsighted take-home message is this: “Our thrust in the society and academy (ophthalmology) is if you have eye problems or eye irritation that need medical attention, consult an ophthalmologist first. There are some patients who go to non-doctors, like the iridologists, and there are risks involved. Number two is you need to have a proper diet. And number three, proper protection. If you are elderly, you need proper protection like artificial tears.”

If you follow Dr. Mangubat’s prescription, there should be no more tears — just cheers.