Aging and Your Eyes

Print the whole article here!

As you get older, you may notice changes in your vision.

For instance, it may become harder for you to:

• See clearly
• See small print
• Focus on close objects

Two diseases that can affect your eyesight as you get older are glaucoma and cataracts.

Glaucoma can be treated with medicine.

Some symptoms of glaucoma are:

• Vision that is blurry or dark around the edges
• Not being able to see out of the corner of your eye when you are looking straight ahead
• Eye pain
• Bad headaches

Your doctor can give you medication to keep glaucoma from getting worse.

Cataracts can be treated with prescription glasses or surgery.

Some symptoms of cataracts are:

• Light may seem too bright and hurt your eyes
• Double vision in one eye
• Trouble seeing well at night

If you have cataracts, your doctor may:

• ask you to wear glasses, or
• treat them with surgery.

If you are having trouble seeing, talk to your doctor.

You should see a doctor if:

• Objects look blurry
• You feel pain in your eyes
• You have to squint to see things
• You need to hold things far away or very close to your face to read them.

There are steps you can take to keep your eyes healthy.

As you get older you should:

• Get an eye exam at least every two years
• Eat a lot of green, leafy vegetables (like spinach)
• Take breaks to rest your eyes if you work in front of a computer or read
• Wear sunglasses with UV protection
• Stop smoking, if you smoke

You can keep your eyes healthy as you age!

Talk to you doctor about more ways to protect your eyes.

If you follow your doctor’s advice, you can improve your chances that your eyes will stay healthy as you age.