How age affects your vision

How age affects your vision

Normally, these vision problems stabilize once growth is complete, around age 21. It is rare for myopia or hyperopia to continue progressing beyond the twenties. That is why it is generally recommended to wait until this age before undergoing surgery.

For patients under 40, ULTRALASIK is the most common procedure. In some cases, when refractive errors are more significant, a phakic lens is the safest option.

After 40

Presbyopia is an age-related vision problem. Throughout life, the crystalline lens, the eye’s natural lens, gradually loses the elasticity that allows it to shift focus from distance vision to near vision. This function is called accommodation. The loss of accommodation, or presbyopia, is a natural physiological process that affects everyone after age 40. It then continues into the fifties, when the crystalline lens has lost nearly all of its flexibility.

Telltale signs of presbyopia when wearing your distance glasses:

• You tend to hold reading material farther away
• You experience eye strain or blurred vision during prolonged near work
• If you are myopic, you tend to remove your glasses to see better up close

After 55

After age 55, it becomes more common for people to develop cataracts. It is estimated that half of people between the ages of 65 and 75 will have cataracts. That number rises to 70% among those over 75.

If we live long enough, we will all eventually develop cataracts.

To date, no medication, vitamin supplement, or exercise has been shown to prevent or treat cataracts effectively. Surgery remains the only definitive treatment for this condition.

At IRIS Ophthalmology Clinic, your optometrist will discuss your options with you and help guide you toward the lens choice that best suits your needs.