Along with Thanksgiving Day, another important day coming on 24th November 2022 is National Family Health History Day – A good time to look into your family health history and prevent any disease or find it early. But what does family health history mean?
Your family health history is a record of the health conditions of your close relatives, including parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Knowing your family health history can help you identify diseases you may inherit.
When it comes to understanding your health, family history plays an important role. By knowing about the health conditions that have affected your relatives, you can be more informed about your health and take steps to prevent or manage certain conditions.
This blog is particularly focused on how you can take national family health history day as a reminder to prevent your vision from any inherited eye health issues. But first, let’s understand how to begin!
How to Collect Family Health History?
You can take the following steps to collect your family’s health history:
- Talk to Your Relatives
Ask them about any health conditions that run in the family and if they know of any genetic diseases or disorders that have affected family members.
- Look Through Old Family Medical Records
If you can get your hands on old medical records, they may provide helpful information about conditions that have affected your relatives in the past.
- Use a Family Tree Diagram
A visual representation of your family tree can help organize information about you gathered from your relatives. You can list down the ailments of each family member. This way, you can understand the gravity of these ailments by checking which one got inherited by most family members.
How Does Family Health History Affect Your Vision?
Your family’s eye health and vision history can affect your vision in many ways. If you have a family member with an eye condition, you may be more likely to develop that condition yourself.
Additionally, certain genetic eye conditions can cause serious damage to your vision, even if you don’t have the condition yourself. Find out what are these in the next section.
What Eye Diseases Can Occur Due to Family Eye Health History?
These are the harmful genetic eye conditions you can suffer from due to your family vision history despite your healthy eye vision.
- Myopia
Also known as near-sightedness, myopia occurs when objects in the distance appear blurry. It is usually caused when your eyeball is too long or the cornea (the clear front part of the eye) is too curved. Eye doctors recommend eyeglasses, contact lenses, or LASIK surgery to manage this condition.
- Hyperopia
Also known as far-sightedness, hyperopia occurs when objects up close appear blurry. It is usually caused by the eyeball being too short or the cornea not being curved enough. Hyperopia can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery.
- Astigmatism
In Astigmatism, Your eyes are not able to focus light evenly on the retina (the back part of the eye), resulting in blurry vision. Astigmatism is usually caused by an irregularly shaped cornea. It can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery.
- Strabismus
Also known as crossed eyes, strabismus occurs when the eyes are not aligned properly. This can be due to muscle imbalance or a problem with the eye’s nerve signals. Strabismus can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, surgery, or vision therapy.
- Amblyopia
This is a condition in which the brain fails to properly process visual information from one eye, resulting in reduced vision in that eye. Amblyopia can be caused by strabismus or cataract. It is usually treated with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery.
- Glaucoma
This is a group of eye conditions that damages the optic nerve, which carries information from the eye to the brain. It is usually caused by increased pressure in the eye. Glaucoma can be treated with medication, surgery, or a combination of both.
Read this blog to learn more about nearsightedness and farsightedness.
If you have any concerns that you may be at risk for any of these hereditary eye diseases, be sure to talk to your doctor. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential in preserving your vision.
Visit InSight Vision Center in Fresno & Madera to Secure Your Vision
If you have a family member with an eye condition, you should talk to your doctor about your risk factors. Depending on the condition, you may need to be extra vigilant about your eye health and get regular eye exams.
InSight Vision Center is the leading eye care center in Fresno and Madera with our experienced and skilled eye experts and state-of-the-art facility. But it’s also the care and personal attention we provide to every patient that sets us apart from every other eye center.
Come and discuss with us if you have a family vision history that can be troublesome for you in the future. And we will guide you on how you can ensure enjoying healthy eyesight all along.
Aaron Barriga is the online marketing manager for Insight Vision Center. With a knack for understanding medical procedures, and an interest in eye and vision health, Aaron loves to share what he knows and what he learns. He blogs to inform readers about the latest eye care technology and other topics related to eye care, especially LASIK.
