‘Global Healthcare Week 2023’ special corner
Enter 2023.07.31 20:45 Modify 2023.07.31 20:59 Hit 35 Enter 2023.07.31 20:45 Modify 2023.07.31 20:59 Hit 35
Recently, a research team from the Department of Ophthalmology at Seoul National University Hospital published a study showing that “the risk of suicide increases when blindness is diagnosed.” The risk of suicide for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and exudative macular degeneration increased by 1.09, 1.40, and 1.20 times, respectively.
In particular, “patients with blindness had a 5-fold higher risk of suicide 3 to 6 months after the initial diagnosis,” he said. The blow of blindness is so great that it reminds one of suicide.
[사진=클립아트코리아]However, the blindness of losing sight can now come to anyone. In addition to losing an eye due to a sudden accident, diabetic retinopathy is already the biggest headache for adults in their 50s and 60s, and macular degeneration for the elderly in their 60s and older. Because it comes silently.
In addition, the age of getting this disease is gradually decreasing, and it is no longer safe to be young. Even children are no exception. The same is true for advanced Asian countries such as Japan and Singapore. In Korea, until the 1980s, ‘corneal’ diseases such as cataracts were the biggest cause, but after that, ‘retinal’ diseases such as macular degeneration rose to the top. Retinal disease is an advanced disease.
The retina is a thin, transparent nerve membrane that is the innermost part of the eyeball. If you compare it to a camera, it is equivalent to film. The information connected here is transmitted to the brain and can see things.
If the retina is diseased, the eyes will open, but the person in front of you will not be able to see them. In particular, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal detachment are the most dangerous. It is a 3 major retinal disease.
The problem is that people know about cataracts and glaucoma, but they don’t. Because the initial symptoms are not clear, it is often regarded as a simple ‘aging phenomenon’ and the treatment period is missed.
“If there is a problem with the retina, it affects vision, and in the worst case, it can lead to blindness,” said Park Seon-ho, director of the Sujeong Eye Clinic in Busan. “Two of the three leading causes of blindness worldwide are retinal diseases.” said “Blindness is not someone else’s problem, but it can happen to me too.”
Park Seon-ho, the head of the clinic. [사진=수정안과]
Let’s learn about the three most dangerous retinal diseases. – macular degeneration
The macula is the center of the retina and is responsible for more than 90% of visual acuity. Here, degenerative changes such as aging occur, which is macular degeneration. It is the number one cause of blindness in people over the age of 50. If it happens in one eye, it will soon appear in the other too.
Director Park said, “At first, objects are blurry or blurry, but gradually, ‘metamorphosis’ appears, in which the central part of the visual field is bent. If it gets worse, a central scotoma appears that covers the middle of the visual field.”
The causes are diverse. Tobacco is particularly closely related. Exposure to ultraviolet rays, blood cholesterol, and levels of antioxidant vitamins are also closely related.
It is broadly classified into two categories, dry and wet. The stage in which waste products called ‘drusen’ are accumulated is ‘dry’. In contrast, in the weakened macula, ‘bad’ blood vessels called choroidal neovascularization form, and blood and exudate leak out of the blood vessels through the vessels and accumulate in the macula, reducing vision in the ‘wet’ stage.
In case of dryness, there is still no fundamental treatment. It is necessary to continuously observe the waste products accumulated on the macular side. Director Park said, “(After passing dry), intraocular injection, laser treatment, photodynamic treatment, and surgical treatment are possible. Recently, most of them are treated with intraocular injections, which prevent the progression of degeneration and maintain and improve vision.” “To prevent the occurrence of macular degeneration, taking antioxidants containing lutein and zeaxanthin, blocking ultraviolet rays and preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases are also recommended.”
– Diabetic retinopathy
It is one of the three major complications of diabetes. It is a disease in which microvessels in the retina are damaged by continuous hyperglycemia, resulting in retinal hemorrhage or swelling due to leaky exudate from the blood vessels.
The problem is that there are almost no subjective symptoms until it gets worse. This means that it is easy to miss the point of treatment. It is also the part that ophthalmologists who specialize in the retina feel most sorry for.
Dr. Park also stressed twice or three times, “For people with diabetes, even if there are no uncomfortable symptoms in the eyes, it is important to go to an ophthalmologist to check for complications of diabetes at least once every six months.”
Treatment of diabetic retinopathy includes laser treatment, intraocular injection, and surgery. It has the effect of suppressing the occurrence of bad ‘new blood vessels’ and has the effect of sinking the swelling caused by the macula.
If the new blood vessels burst and the amount of bleeding increases, or if the traction membrane that pulls the retina is severely formed, a ‘vitrectomy’ operation may be performed.
– retinal detachment
If we compare our eyes to a room, the retina is attached to the wall of the eye just like wallpaper. In addition, there is a sticky water called ‘vitreous body’ inside the eye that fills the empty space.
However, when there is a hole in the wallpaper, water leaks through the gap and the wallpaper falls off. This is ‘retinal detachment’. To be precise, the multi-layered neural retinal part of the retina is separated from the retinal pigment epithelium.
If there is a hole in the retina, it is like a mosquito floating in front of the eye, causing ‘epithelial syndrome’ (飛蚊症), and if the retina is detached, that is, to the extent that it falls off, one side of the field of vision is covered, and vision deteriorates.
Therefore, when symptoms such as sudden floaters or blurred vision occur, you should visit the hospital as soon as possible and receive treatment. This is because when there is only a hole and the retina has not yet fallen off, laser treatment can prevent water from entering the hole.
However, if water has already entered and the retina has fallen off, surgery is required to attach the fallen retina.
Eye diseases are diseases that are important to prevent, such as regular eye fundus examinations. Park Seon-ho, director of the clinic, explains these three major retinal diseases in more detail in the special corner “Finding the top secret to protect my health” prepared by Haeundae BEXCO ‘Global Healthcare Week 2023’ from August 17 to 19.
2023-07-31 11:46:13
#Blindness #happen
