We often say that we value our sight, but how often do we think about our eye health when our vision appears perfectly normal?
This World Sight Day, the global Love Your Eyes campaign is encouraging people to make their eye health a priority. For Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon Gurjeet Jutley, who specialises in glaucoma and cataract care, there is an important message behind that call.
Looking after your eyes should not begin only when your vision becomes noticeably poor.
Some eye conditions can develop without obvious symptoms in their early stages. Others change our vision so gradually that we can adapt without immediately appreciating how much our sight has altered.
So, what does it really mean to love your eyes? It starts with understanding your eye health, recognising changes and knowing when an examination or specialist assessment may be important.
Good vision does not always mean there is nothing wrong
One of the most important messages in eye health is also one of the easiest to overlook: being able to see well does not necessarily mean that every aspect of the eye is healthy.
Glaucoma is a particularly important example.
Glaucoma describes a group of conditions in which the optic nerve, which carries visual information from the eye to the brain, becomes damaged.
The most common form, primary open-angle glaucoma, generally develops gradually and may cause no noticeable symptoms during its early stages.
Peripheral vision is typically affected first. Because the changes can occur slowly, people may be unaware that their sight is being affected.
This is one reason why glaucoma is frequently identified during an eye examination rather than because the individual has noticed a problem.
Once vision has been lost as a result of glaucoma, it cannot currently be restored. However, diagnosis, appropriate treatment and continued monitoring can help reduce the risk of further damage.
Protecting sight therefore sometimes means looking for a problem before you can see the problem yourself.
Understanding your eye pressure
Eye pressure is often discussed in connection with glaucoma, but it is important to understand that the relationship is not as simple as high pressure automatically meaning glaucoma.
The pressure inside the eye is known as intraocular pressure.
Some people have higher-than-normal intraocular pressure without evidence of glaucomatous damage. This is known as ocular hypertension.
Conversely, glaucoma can also occur in people whose eye pressure falls within a statistically normal range.
Assessing glaucoma therefore involves more than taking a single pressure measurement.
Depending on the individual, an assessment may include examination of the optic nerve, measurement of intraocular pressure, visual-field testing, assessment of the eye’s drainage angle and imaging such as optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Age, family history and other individual risk factors can also be important.
Cataracts remind us to notice gradual changes
Cataracts provide a different example of why understanding our own vision matters.
A cataract develops when the normally clear natural lens inside the eye becomes cloudy. Cataracts become increasingly common as we get older and usually develop gradually.
Unlike early primary open-angle glaucoma, cataracts generally begin to cause noticeable visual symptoms as they progress.
However, because these changes can occur slowly, people may adapt to them.
Vision may become increasingly cloudy or misty. Colours can appear less vivid. Bright lights may produce more glare, while driving at night can become increasingly uncomfortable because of headlights.
Some people find that they need brighter lighting to read or perform everyday tasks. Others may notice that updating their glasses no longer provides the improvement they once expected.
When these changes happen over months or years, it can be surprisingly easy to accept them as part of getting older.
Do not assume deteriorating vision is simply ageing
Our eyes naturally change as we age, but a deterioration in vision should not automatically be dismissed as an inevitable consequence of getting older.
Blurred vision, increasing glare, difficulty seeing in lower light or changes in your glasses prescription can have several possible causes.
An eye examination can help establish what is responsible.
If cataracts are present but are having little effect on everyday life, they may simply be monitored. Cataract surgery is generally considered when the effect on vision and daily activities means that the expected benefits of surgery outweigh the potential risks.
Importantly, there is no need to wait for a cataract to become “ripe”.
The appropriate time for surgery will be different for each person and can depend on their vision, lifestyle, work, driving requirements, other eye conditions and individual circumstances.
Know your family eye history
Loving your eyes is not only about recognising changes in your own vision. It can also mean understanding your risk.
Family history is particularly relevant to glaucoma.
Having a close relative with glaucoma can increase your likelihood of developing the condition. Knowing whether parents or siblings have been diagnosed and sharing that information with your optometrist or ophthalmologist can therefore be useful.
Age and ethnicity can also influence glaucoma risk, alongside other clinical factors.
Understanding these risks does not mean that someone will necessarily develop glaucoma. It helps eye-care professionals determine whether further investigation or closer monitoring may be appropriate.
An eye examination is about more than glasses
For many people, visiting an optometrist is associated primarily with checking whether their glasses prescription has changed.
But a routine eye examination can also provide an opportunity to assess the health of the eyes.
An optometrist may identify signs that warrant further investigation or referral to an ophthalmologist, even when someone feels that their vision is satisfactory.
This is particularly important for conditions such as glaucoma, where significant disease can develop without obvious early symptoms.
Regular examinations can also help monitor conditions such as cataracts and determine whether a change in vision is likely to be caused by the cataract or by something else.
How frequently someone should have their eyes examined will depend upon their individual circumstances, age, eye health and risk factors.
Know when not to wait
Being proactive about eye health also means recognising when a change requires more urgent attention.
Many conditions, including cataracts and primary open-angle glaucoma, usually develop gradually. Sudden changes in vision are different.
Sudden loss or significant deterioration of sight, new flashes or floaters, a dark shadow or curtain moving across the vision, severe eye pain, a suddenly red and painful eye, or new persistent double vision can require urgent assessment.
These symptoms should not simply be left until the next routine eye examination.
Regular eye care helps identify gradual or symptomless problems. Sudden changes to vision may require prompt medical attention.
So what does it really mean to love your eyes?
World Sight Day gives us an opportunity to think about something that is easy to take for granted.
Loving your eyes does not simply mean responding when your vision becomes poor.
It means understanding your eye health.
It means attending appropriate eye examinations even when your sight appears good.
It means knowing whether eye conditions run in your family.
It means recognising gradual changes rather than simply accepting them.
And it means seeking advice promptly when something changes suddenly.
For Gurjeet Jutley, whose specialist practice includes the diagnosis and management of glaucoma and cataracts, these are particularly important messages.
With glaucoma, protecting sight can depend upon identifying and controlling disease before someone becomes aware of significant changes to their vision.
With cataracts, it can mean recognising how gradual changes are beginning to affect everyday activities and discussing when treatment may become appropriate.
This World Sight Day, loving your eyes can begin with something very simple: paying attention to them.
Understanding your eye health today can help you make informed decisions about protecting your vision for the future.
Gurjeet Jutley is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon specialising in glaucoma and cataract care. If you have concerns about changes to your vision, have been diagnosed with glaucoma or cataracts, or require specialist advice about an existing eye condition, an ophthalmic assessment can help determine the appropriate next steps.
This article is provided for general information and does not replace individual medical advice. Sudden loss of vision, severe eye pain or other acute changes in vision may require urgent medical attention.