The Senior Times Guide to Residences is here!
Need help with your income tax?
The CLSC René-Cassin offers a free Income Tax Clinic between March 17 and April 10, 2008 to those who:
• Live in Côte-St.-Luc, Hampstead or Snowdon West
• Have yearly income under $20 000
• Need a simple income tax return
Info: 514-488-3673 ext 1496
Adopt Wally 
Wally is an affectionate 6-year-old male cat who loves life. His presence will put joy in your home. Wally is taking a supplement to protect his kidneys. Call Animal Rescue Network: 514-938-6215
What's Inside
March, 2008
The eyes have it
Kristine Berey
For most of her 79 years, Linda B. had avoided going to doctors. Her last checkup had been almost nine years ago and she stoically dismissed her little aches and pains as part of aging. Even when she noticed problems with balance and changes in her vision, she wasn’t too concerned. So imagine her shock when one day she closed one eye and looked through what she had considered her “weak” eye, and all she could see was — nothing. Without her having noticed, the eye had slowly and insidiously become blind.
Charles S., 83, never neglected his health. The retired university professor knew he had developed cataracts in both eyes but, believing in alternative medicine, deliberately put off surgery for other treatments he hoped would work. They didn’t. By the time he opted for the operation, one eye was considered legally blind.
Though Ms. B. and Mr. S. recovered their vision following cataract surgery, they admit much suffering and anxiety could have been avoided had they paid attention to their eyes earlier. Both are delighted with the results of their operations. “I was able to read again,” Mr. S. says. “I felt my life was being given back to me.”
According to Dr. Keith Gordon, Head of Research at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, more than 400,000 Canadians over 55 experience vision loss that affects their daily life. These age-related conditions include cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. This number is expected to double over the next 25 years, he says.
Some conditions creep up unnoticed and can cause permanent and irreversible vision loss. “Glaucoma is a silent threat to sight,” says Dr. Deborah Gold, co-author of You and Your Vision Health: Yes! Something More Can Be Done, published last year by CNIB. “Because it has no symptoms, you want to examine your eyes frequently.” If diagnosed, drops will be prescribed to keep the pressure in the eyes under control.
Much vision loss in seniors is preventable and treatable, so early detection makes a huge difference in eye health, Gold says. “We recommend that people see an eye doctor as early as possible. Once you see your eye professional, they’ll give you guidelines on how often you should go back.” She explains that recommendations depend on each individual’s age, health and risk level. “Usually, for the elderly, more frequent eye exams are recommended.”
Both an optometrist (an eye specialist who performs eye examinations, diagnoses eye disorders and provides optical aids) and an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosis and treatment of eye disease) can tell you whether you have a condition that needs to be more closely evaluated and monitored, Gold says. “The optometrist is seen as a front line family [eye care] provider and may be the first to spot eye disease and other diseases as well.”
Nutrition and a healthy lifestyle play an important role in eye health, and a diet rich in antioxidants can be beneficial, as can abstaining from cigarettes. “Smokers are three to four times as likely to develop age-related macular degeneration,” Gold says.
Once you get a baseline evaluation of your eyes’ health, it is important to be vigilant and see your eye doctor right away if you notice these symptoms:
• Sensitivity to light and glare
• Difficulty distinguishing colours, matching clothes
• Difficulty judging distances, feeling clumsy, bumping into people
• Tripping, falling, missing steps on stairs
• Blurred or double vision, difficulty distinguishing objects from each other, straight lines appearing to be wavy or crooked
• Difficulty driving or seeing at night or adjusting to changes in light
• Seeing flashes of light and flickering in your side vision or experiencing uncontrollable eye movement
You and Your Vision Health: Yes! Something More Can Be Done may be ordered for $9.99 from CNIB at 1-800-563-2642.
For more information on eye health, prevention or resources for people with vision loss contact the Montreal Association for the Blind at: 514-489-8201.
