Mulhollaand Drive Star Naomi Watts Opens Up About Rare Symptoms Women Should Know: Can Menopause Affect Your Eyes?
Recalling the times when she found out about the early symptoms of menopause, Naomi Watts said, "I was trying to start a family at 36...so that was a shocking discovery."
Mulholland Drive Star Naomi Watts, 57, has always been vocal about women's perimenopausal and menopausal phase which she is experiencing with her own health. It is a phase in women's life when their menstrual cycle stops permanently and she can no longer get pregnant. Menopause is not considered as a disease or disorder, but it is a normal part of ageing for women. And the time leading up to menopause is called perimenopause or menopausal transition.
The Connection Between Hormones And Eye Health
While speaking to a leading media outlet, the 57-year-old star said that she started experiencing perimenopausal symptoms right after delivering her second child, Kai, 17. What she experienced was something that was rarely talked about, i.e., the connection between hormones and eye health during menopause. The Mulholland Drive star said, "The eyes just continued to be a strain, but I certainly didn't know that that was anything to do with, you know, estrogen levels dropping, you know, causing dryness."
How Naomi Watts Found Out About Menopause
Recalling the times when she found out about the early symptoms of menopause, she told the media, "I was trying to start a family at 36 and I was told that I was close to menopause, so that was a shocking discovery."
She added, "I felt lonely and panicked and completely unprepared. I managed to navigate getting pregnant not once, but twice, and then went into serious, kind of hardcore, symptoms."
Early Menopause Ran In Family
Talking about the early symptoms that ran in her family, the 57-year-old star said, "The first time I got that piece of news from my doctor, I called my mom immediately and I did remember that she had said she had menopause early."
Naomi Watts added, "I said, 'Why didn't you tell me before?' And she said, 'Well, these were the conversations I never had with you because my mother never had them with me.'"
Can Menopause Affect Eye Health?
The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that women can experience vision changes throughout their adult life because of the changes in estrogen and progesterone levels. Experts note that it can affect the eye's oil gland, resulting in dryness. Estrogen can also make the cornea less stiff with more elasticity. Therefore, the dryness and the changes in refraction can lead to blurry vision.
Elena Jimenez, MD, a comprehensive ophthalmologist in Puerto Rico, explains, "With the hormonal influence of birth control pills, pregnancy, and menopause, women can deal with a lifetime of fluctuating vision. We may have some blurry vision or irritated, uncomfortably dry eyes. Often, lubricating eye drops can help with the dryness associated with hormonal changes."
The good news is that blurry vision can be resolved when hormones return to normal levels. However, if the vision problem does go away after a couple of months or it becomes very blurry, visit an ophthalmologist right away to rule out more serious medical conditions linked to eye health.
Sharing a piece of advice to women going through the perimenopausal or menopausal period, Naomi Watts said, "I would say, don't fear it. Don't think this is the end despite what, you know, the generations before had to deal with. We're living longer and just taking charge of this time. Go to your doctor, have your list of symptoms at the ready, don't let them gatekeep."
