Do you find yourself squinting more often – even when the sun isn’t out?  Our skin shows our age as we get older, but so do our eyes.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have 20/20 vision, but what is normal aging vs. an eye disorder?  According to MayoClinic.com, common changes in your vision as you age are:

  • Reduced sensitivity to light. You might notice that you need brighter lighting near your favorite reading chair or at your workstation.
  • Decreased visual acuity. Colors appear dim, and glare forms when light shines directly at you. This might cause you to avoid night driving.
  • Difficulty reading small print. The lens in your eye becomes less elastic and loses its ability to focus — a condition called presbyopia. You might need reading glasses or a magnifying glass to read small print.

These are just signs of aging, but they also make you more susceptible to eye diseases such as:

Cataracts:  blurred or cloudy vision are a sign of cataracts and about half of Americans aged 80+ have or have had this disease.  Surgery can correct this problem, but please see your doctor if you experience any of the following:

  • Sensitivity to light and glare
  • Halos around lights
  • Fading or yellowing of colors
  • Double vision

Glaucoma: Glaucoma is a group of diseases that are usually associated with an elevated fluid pressure inside your eyeball. This pressure can damage your optic nerve.  This can be treated if caught early enough.  Please see your doctor if you experience:

  • Sensitivity to light and glare
  • Trouble differentiating between varying shades of light and dark
  • Trouble with night vision and halos around lights
  • Loss of side vision
  • Eye pain or discomfort, with certain types of glaucoma

Macular Degeneration:  Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) occurs when tissue in your macula — the part of your retina that’s responsible for the center of your visual field — deteriorates. A blind spot forms in the center of your vision as a result.  This is the most common reason for loss of vision in people 60 in older.  It is not reversible, but can be treated if caught early enough.  Please see your doctor if you experience:

  • The need for increasingly bright light when reading or doing close work
  • Printed words that appear distorted or increasingly blurred
  • Colors that seem washed out and dull
  • A gradual haziness of your overall vision
  • Difficulty seeing when moving from a bright room to a dimly lit room

For more details about each of these conditions, please click on this LINK or ask your optometrist.