Help aging eyes by reviving the optimal performance and functions that usually degrade over time but due to a recent discovery, scientists may have found a solution to remedy the problem.
Help aging eyes without going through surgery
This, after the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) recently approved two new devices that may solve vision loss and degeneration problems mostly associated with age.
The first one is called Raindrop is used like contact lenses placed on the surface of the eye. It is mostly made of water and functions by reshaping the cornea to allow the eyes to focus better on objects close-up.
Another one, called KARMA, has a similar function with Raindrop and these implants both go into only one eye and the free eye will be used for distance.
“So the other eye needs to have good distance vision without glasses,” says Dr. D. Rex Hamilton, director of the Laser Refractive Center of Stein Eye Institute of the University of California Los Angeles. Hamilton adds that that sometimes people have laser surgery “to improve the distance vision in the eye that won’t be getting an implant to improve vision close-up.”
Not a silver bullet
Although these new implants can help improve vision, it is not an ultimate solution to the problem, pointing out that the eye’s lenses could still change as a person ages and may soon end up to people still needing to have cataract surgery for lens replacement.
Cataract procedures are done to improve both far and near vision which could last throughout one’s lifetime. According to statistics from the National Eye Institute, almost half of Americans have been diagnosed with cataracts or have undergone cataract surgery by the age of 80.
Walk-in outpatient process
The procedure to install the Raindrop and KARMA takes no more than 5 minutes, where doctors create a small pocket in the cornea using a laser and insert the device.
After a brief rest, patients will be able to see clearly in a short a 15 minutes.
“There’s a healing process after the inlay is put in that requires eye drops be put in on a daily basis for around three months,” says Hamilton. “You need to be monitored by your surgeon during that period of time.”
For now, the procedure is still not covered by medical insurance, for which costs per procedure can be between $4000 to $5000.
The post Help Aging Eyes With These New Breakthrough Devices appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.
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