Nursing Aging Week 10 Discussion

(Week # 10: March 8 to March 15 – Main post under Assignment by Wed, March 11 at 11:59 PM EST). APA FORMAT

Chapter 19 – Diseases Affecting Vision and Hearing.

Chapter 20 – Metabolic Disorders.

Question(s): Choose and explain one of the eye diseases / disorders discuss in you textbook. Discuss its possible treatments.

Guidelines: The answer should be based on the knowledge obtained from reading the book, no just your opinion. If there are 3 questions in the discussion, you must answer all of them. Your grade will be an average of all answers.

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Visual impairment has a negative impact on the quality of life
More than two-thirds of those with visual impairment are older than 65 years of age
Those older than 80 years of age account for 70% of the cases of severe visual impairment
Significant racial and cultural disparities in vision impairment
Vision Impairments

Glaucoma
Cataracts
Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic macular edema
Macular degeneration
Detached retina
Dry eye
Diseases of the Eye

A clouding of the eye’s normally clear crystalline lens, causing the lens to lose transparency or scatter light
Most common causes are heredity and advancing age
Categorized by their location
Nuclear cataract
Most common type

Incidence increases with age and cigarette smoking

Cortical cataract
More common with age

Related to a lifetime exposure to ultraviolet light

Posterior subcapsular
Cataracts

Most common symptom is cloudy or blurred vision
Other symptoms include glare, halos around lights, poor night vision, perceiving that colors are faded or that objects are yellowish, and the need for brighter light when reading
Red reflex may be absent or may appear as a black area
Signs and Symptoms

Surgery is the most common
Involves removing the lens and placing a plastic intraocular lens (IOL)
Usually done on an outpatient basis
Nursing interventions include
Teaching
Avoid heavy lifting, straining, or bending at the waist

Wear glasses during the daytime and a shield at night

Administer eye drops to aid the healing process and to prevent infection
Treatment

Natural fluids of the eye are blocked by ciliary muscle rigidity, pressure builds, and damage to the optic nerve occurs
Second leading cause of blindness in the United States
Types include congenital glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, low-tension or normal-tension glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, and acute angle-closure glaucoma (medical emergency)
Glaucoma

Most common form
Risk varies by race and age
Other high-risk groups include those with diabetes, hypertension, history of corticosteroid use, and family history of glaucoma
Usually affects side vision first and may go unnoticed for years
Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Headaches
Poor vision in dim lighting
Increased sensitivity to glare
Complaints of “tired eyes”
Impaired peripheral vision
A fixed and dilated pupil
Frequent changes in prescriptions for corrective lenses
Signs and Symptoms

Occurs when the angle of the iris causes obstruction of the aqueous humor through the trabecular network
Medical emergency; blindness can occur in 2 days
Those with smaller eyes, Asians, and women are most susceptible
May occur with infection or trauma
Symptoms include redness and pain in and around the eye, severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, and blurred vision
Angle-Closure Glaucoma