Aging Eyes


"The happy news for older people is that good vision is available. There are so many more things we can do now to improve or restore deteriorating vision. The most important thing to do is to make sure you get a competent evaluation and treatment program."

There are many diseases and disorders of the eye associated with getting older. Fortunately, new medical, surgical and optical techniques can make it possible to help people enjoy excellent or useful vision as they grow older.

Sadly, some people think there is not much that can be done to improve vision problems related to aging. This is not true.

Some age-related vision problems include:

Presbyopia.
This is an age-related change in the shape of the eye’s lens. With aging, it becomes less flexible. By age 40, the lens is usually unable to change shape as easily as it once did. When this happens, it is more difficult to read at close range. This perfectly normal condition is called presbyopia. There is no exercise or medication that will reverse this process. Reading glasses are bifocals are necessary. The power of the glasses may need to be increased over time, because the lens continues to harden.

It is important to remember that recent advances in laser and operative eye surgery enable the opthalmologist to do more than ever to correct eye problems associated with aging. Thanks to these advances many individuals continue to have useful vision for many years.