Does age affect eye health?

As you head towards retirement and beyond, scientists predict that the number of people with age-related eye problems will rise. Age-related changes to your eyes cannot be prevented, though you can take steps to protect your vision and reduce your risk for fatal eye disease in the future. Research at the University of Alabama, vision impairment and blindness are among the top five causes of disability in older adults. Vision changes can make it difficult for you to perform everyday activities like

Shopping
Reading the mail
Cooking
Walking and driving safely
Losing your vision affects your quality of life.

According to the Healthy Vision Association, “the curved lens at the front of your eye may be one of the first parts of your body to show signs of age. The lens bends to focus light and form images on the retina at the back of your eye.” This flexibility is responsible for letting you see at different distances, whether close or far away. As you get older, the lens hardens. It may begin as early as your 20s but happens gradually, so it takes decades before it manifests.

Also associated with aging is having trouble focusing on up-close objects, a condition called presbyopia. If you are over 35, you have chances of suffering from presbyopia. A clinical researcher at NIH’s National Eye Institute state that when you find that you are holding your book farther away or feeling like your arms are not long enough, you may need reading glasses.

Over time, the tiny muscles of the eyes that control your eye’s pupil size can weaken. The pupils become smaller and less responsive to change in light. It is the reason people in their 60s need three times lighter for comfortable reading than those in their 20s.

At Accent Eyes we strongly recommend yearly regular eye exams. Consider that some as we age more serious age-related eye diseases like glaucoma and diabetic eye disease may have no warning signs in their early stages.