Preserving your eyesight – into old age
Eyesight diminishes with age – for everyone. Find out here what you can do to preserve your eyesight as long as possible.
Vision – our most important sense
Our eyes provide us with more than 80 per cent of all information about our environment, making vision the most important sense. The level of eyesight, also known as visual acuity, of a healthy eye is around 100 per cent at birth. To pass the eye test for a driver’s licence, visual acuity of at least 70 per cent is required. With a healthy diet and life style our eyesight can be preserved for a long time, while aids such as glasses, contact lenses or surgery help to reinstate it. There are life circumstances in which the additional intake of vitamin and micronutrient supplements is beneficial to support the eyesight.
Altered eyesight with increasing age
Your eyesight can change as you get older. Many people notice from the age of 45 onwards that their close vision is deteriorating and they have problems reading. Presbyopia, the medical term for the loss of eyesight with advancing age, is due to the decreasing capacity of the lens to switch between viewing close and distant objects. Presbyopia affects everyone, which is why it is not considered an eye illness. This vision impairment can be corrected with glasses for close vision or bifocal glasses, thus preserving eyesight with advanced age. Short-sightedness (myopia) up to -6 dioptres is also a form of vision impairment that is not considered an eye illness but is, among other factors, based on the inherited nature of the eyeball. It can develop gradually and deteriorate due to growth, especially among children and adolescents. In these cases too, the eyesight can be maintained by glasses or contact lenses. If the short-sightedness becomes very severe and thus pathological, there is a risk of various eye illnesses. For example, the retina may become detached if it is overstretched due to the spurts and excessive growth of the eyeball.
Age-related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an illness that usually proceeds gradually and is located at the centre of the retina, the yellow spot (macula). AMD is among the most frequent causes for severe deterioration of our eyesight. There are two forms of AMD, dry and wet (neovascular). Wet AMD is treated with so-called VEGF inhibitors. For dry AMD there is no medicine-based therapy so far. However, studies have found that taking a special combination of micronutrients and vitamins can lower the risk of further deteriorating dry AMD.
For your eyesight – regular check-ups by the ophthalmologist
Eye illnesses such as macular degeneration often proceed gradually. Regular check-ups starting at age 40 by an ophthalmologist are therefore important for eyesight preservation. Modern diagnosis and therapy options allow the detection and treatment of many illnesses much sooner today.
How can you help preserve your eyesight?
When our eyesight deteriorates it has a major impact on our lives. A healthy lifestyle is as beneficial to the eyesight as it is to general health. A healthy diet plays a particularly important role in this: vegetables such as bell peppers, beetroot, broccoli, lamb’s lettuce and citrus fruits contain key vitamins for eye health. Exceptional amounts of vitamin A that is essential for eye health are provided by carrots when eaten in combination with fatty foods such as nuts or cheese. Green vegetables such as spinach provide a nutrient that is believed to have a protective function for the retina: lutein. In addition to a healthy diet, a healthy lifestyle, including not smoking and exercise, is also important for your eyesight. In addition to a healthy diet it may be beneficial to promote the health of your eyes with additional vitamin and micronutrient supplements from OmniVision. To maintain normal eyesight, OmniVision offers in its CentroVision® product range for example CentroVision® Lutein direkt in the form of granules to be taken daily in a monthly or quarterly pack. It is particularly well suited for persons with trouble swallowing.
Our vitamins and micronutrients
CentroVision® Lutein direkt
Vitamin and micronutrient granules for the eyes: the alternative to capsules and tablets
CentroVision® AMD
Capsules for diet management for patients with age-related macular degeneration
CentroVision® AMD Premium
Innovative 3-layer tablet for diet management for patients with age-related macular degeneration
CentroVision® Retina + Q10
Micronutrient combination with vitamins and minerals and coenzyme Q10