Autopilot.
November 29, 2008 | Filed under Body, Family & Friends
I’ve had the luxury (also the curse) of time over the past two days to think about this situation. This is what happens when you’re spending the whole day with a three-year-old: you shut down and you go on autopilot playing with her, while your thoughts run a million miles an hour.
Firstly, we always knew that this, or something like this, could happen. My mother has been short-sighted since a young age (I made a brief mention of it here), and as I replied to Belinda, she’s actually only been using a single eye for the past two decades. She has one functional eye, and as a result, that eye is continually strained and pushed beyond the normal healthy limits.
The thing with short-sightedness is that it elongates the eyeball itself, so that the vitreous (or the jelly inside the eyeball) doesn’t quite manage to fill the entire eyeball, thus pulling against the retina and increasing the chances of tearing or detachment. Combined with the fact that the vitreous shrinks with age (this happens in everyone, regardless of eyesight), my mother was in perhaps the 5% of the population that is most at risk of something like this happening.
Curiously, there are studies that show that retinal detachment and/or tearing can be hereditary, or at least, there is a greater chance of the occurence presenting in the descendants of those who have had such a problem. So there is a significantly higher chance that this could happen to me at some point in my life (especially considering my own short-sightedness) – whether it be tomorrow, next month, next year, or fifty years from now.
And my blind ninety-year-old great-grandmother back in China? With some reflection, hers wasn’t a gradual blindness we originally attributed to old age, but rather, a retinal detachment as she had floaters first, then flashes of light and finally a black curtain crossing her line of vision…typical signs of a retinal detachment.
I guess a large bosom wasn’t the only thing I inherited from the maternal side of my family.
9 Responses to Autopilot.
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Oh that’s double terrible! I forgot about your mother’s short-sightedness from your earlier post. It would explain the increase strain which led to the increased risk though.
But hopefully since there’s better medical advances than the years of your great-grandmother, your mother has a better fighting chance of getting her eyesight back! I really hope that turns out to be the case!
Belinda on November 30, 2008 #
aah terrible. That’s why I always get my eyes checked annually and dilated from time to time. Eyes can be very strange. Like in glaucoma, your optic nerves could be degenerating for years before you lose your vision or even have ANY unusual problems with your vision. If caught early, it can be treated, but most people just cannot tell.
I hope everything goes well.
marilyn on November 30, 2008 #
It sucks to inherit bad things such as the eye-issue. I seem to have inherited a few ‘bad’ things myself (such as the jaw problem and arthritis)
I hope that it stays with the short-sightedness for you!
Chans on November 30, 2008 #
That sounds awful. I really really really hope everything goes well for you (now that you’ve mentioned the hereditary thing) and your mom. You have my full support.
Noellium on November 30, 2008 #
Pretty bad situation, but at least you know now that you are at risk and can get checked regularly. Hopefully your Mother can be treated.
iago on November 30, 2008 #
Yikes! I hope everything turns out okay. *hug* Hang in there!
Rebee on November 30, 2008 #
Oh dear, that’s rather worrying. Are there any preventative measures? I mean, I know yearly (bi-annual?) optometrist visits are recommended but I don’t think they really check for things like this.
I’m short-sighted too, so that’s rather depressing news indeed.
Carmen on November 30, 2008 #
With science advancing as it is, maybe there is something out there that will help.
Veronica on November 30, 2008 #
Being myopic does increase the chances of vitreous tears and detachments, as well as retinal tears and detachments as one ages.
There are nutrients that can fortify the retina and connective tissue, and help prevent tears and detachments including: Glucosamine Sulfate, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Silica for the connective tissue, and lutein, zeaxanthin, bilberry, betacarotene/Vitamin A, gingko biloba among others for retinal strength.
Michael Edson, MS, L.Ac. on December 1, 2008 #