Page 128 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2024

GOLDEN YEARS
THE EYES HAVE IT!
Taking Care of Your Vision Can Be Easy
story by Cherie Ward
You do a lot of good things to lead a healthy lifestyle. You exercise, eat nutritious foods, and regularly seek preventive care from a dentist as well as a primary care doctor. But... don’t forget about your eyes. Vision and eye health are an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle.
“Many health problems become more common
during our golden years,” said Dr. Clayton Stevens, ophthalmologist and owner of Stevens Eye Care in Biloxi. “This is true for eye health as well. I tend to see patients with problems that glasses or contacts cannot fully correct.”
The most common issue Dr. Stevens and his team deal with is cataracts, which is the clouding of our natural lens inside the eye. “This is something that happens to every person,” he explained. “It varies with age of onset, but eventually affects us all.”
He added cataract surgery is the most common surgery performed in the United States and he strives to explain the process and expectations as clearly as possible to his patients. “It can be a very rewarding surgery due to the improvement in vision as well as the potential to become independent from glasses,” he said.
Unfortunately, other eye health problems are not
as correctable as cataracts. “However, many can be controlled and, if caught early, can be treated to prevent permanent vision loss,” he said noting glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide.
“It is a condition that damages the nerve that connects our eye to the brain and tends to be asymptomatic until late in the disease process,” he said. “Every decade of life after our 50s, the disease becomes exponentially more common. Glaucoma is one of the primary reasons doctors recommend annual checkups in your golden years. Several medical and surgical treatments can stop the natural progression of the disease.”
Diabetes is another significant concern that can cause visual disability. “Like glaucoma, if problems are caught early then major issues can be prevented,” he said. “Most good primary care doctors will urge their patients to get annual eye exams for this reason. At Stevens Eye Care, we strongly believe in preventive care as well as cost-effective care. We aim to deliver quality care and excellent surgical outcomes in a manner that is respectful of our patients’ time. Excellent eye care doesn’t have to be an all day affair.”
128 | November 2024
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