Did you know that blindness affects women more than men? The National Institutes of Health reports that 2/3rds of the people with blindness or visual impairments are women. Often, hormones, and especially life changes such as pregnancy and menopause, cause changes in women’s eyes.

Low vision generally means impaired vision, and it can happen whether you are young or old. Many people have low vision (meaning they can’t see well) due to hereditary conditions, eye diseases or eye injuries. Some people don’t see well at sunset with changing light and others have vision that deteriorates slowly as they age.

You may have had a stye (sty) at some point in your life and not realized it. Styes can happen easily if you wear makeup around your eyes or if you don’t wash your face often. A stye is an infection along your eyelid caused by bacteria. You may notice a small, red bump near the edge of your eyelid that may even look like a pimple.

The childhood years are a time of crucial eye development. A child’s eyes continue developing up through their pre-teen years. This is a critical period for eye problems to manifest and for vision problems to be corrected. You can correct a child’s vision problems by choosing glasses for them.

Between the harsh winter winds outside and the dry heat inside, our eyes can quickly become irritated and dried out in the winter months. Being exposed to either of these atmospheres can trigger a sudden onset of moisture evaporation inside of our eyes. Tear glands can’t produce fluid quick enough to maintain the protective, liquid coating that our eyes need to stay hydrated.

Many people know that it’s important to protect their eyes during the summer months. This is a time when the sun is out most days and UV damage to the eyes and skin is high. However, many people aren’t aware that the sun can cause just as much damage on an overcast day or during the wintertime.

The American Cancer Society provides community education about eye cancer to help you diagnose symptoms and discover treatments. Two types of cancers can be found in the eye. The first category of eye cancer starts inside your eyeball itself. These are known as primary intraocular cancers with melanoma being the most common form in adults.

According to the American Macular Degeneration Association, macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss, affecting more than 10 million Americans. This makes it even more common than cataracts and glaucoma combined. All of these conditions can lead to blindness, but not all of their progression can be reversed. Macular degeneration causes vision loss in the center of your field of vision. Once it’s gone, there’s no getting that vision back. This is a painless disorder that can affect either eye.

Color blindness affects more than 3 million Americans each year. Men are more prone to this condition than women. Even though millions of Americans are affected by it, not many know what it actually is. This condition is also known as “specific color vision deficiency (CVD)”, because there are different types of blindness when it comes to seeing colors.

Receiving a comprehensive exam is always recommended for adults, but what about a pediatric eye exam for your child? How important are they? The American Optometric Association recommends that children receive their first eye exam starting at age 3.