Changes To Watch For In Your Vision As You Age

We all recognize that our bodies change as we age.  Our eyes are no exception to this.  Modern day technologies are available to help us have our best vision and combat the changes that occur due to disease, but they can’t prevent the natural occurring changes that happen to our eyes as we age.  We should be on the watch for both the natural occurring age-related changes taking place and the harmful age-related conditions that can form.

Natural Occurring Age-Related Changes to Our Vision

Below are some of the most common changes you’ll notice in your vision as you age:

• Presbyopia. You might notice that right around the age of 40 years old your near vision begins to get blurry.  This happens because the lenses in our eyes begin to become more rigid and less flexible, requiring reading glasses, bifocals, or progressive lenses to adjust.
• Difficulty seeing at night. As we age, we begin needing more light to help us see clearly, which can affect our night driving.
• Decrease in tear production.  Our tear ducts will begin producing fewer tears as we get older.  As a result, our eyes become dryer and more irritable.
• Increase in sensitivity to glare.  Glare can be an annoyance as is, but as we age, it becomes more of an issue as our eyes grow more and more sensitive to it.  Wearing polarized lenses is a great way to help block the glare.
• Color perception.  Overall color perception will likely begin to dull some as you age and lend itself to more yellowish hues.

Harmful Age-Related Conditions

Although the natural occurring changes to our sight as we age may be inconvenient, they aren’t threatening to our vision like some of the following conditions known to be correlated with increased age:

• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Macular Degeneration
• Retinal Detachment
• Diabetic Retinopathy

Early detection of any of these serious conditions is important in treating them and minimizing their effects on your vision.  Many great technologies are available today to correct them or slow their progress, but cannot be implemented until properly diagnosed. It is crucial you maintain your annual eye exams as you age.  If you have fallen behind on your exams, call us today to schedule at 435.359.2020 or click the following link to schedule:

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