Did you know that 80 percent of what we perceive about our environment comes through our sight? That’s right. You might say that vision is possibly our most important sense. Even though many of us may have taken our healthy eyes for granted when we were young, as we start experiencing age-related vision changes, we realize that we must take action to continue enjoying good vision throughout our life.
What common eye problems affect people in their forties and fifties?
Eye health problems facing persons in their 40s and 50s fall into two broad categories. The first has to do with increased exposure to risk factors that can negatively impact eye health and the second has to do with physiological changes in your eyes that occur as you age.
Increased exposure to risk factors for vision problems
Adults over 40 have a higher probability of being exposed to health conditions and work environments that can place them at higher risk of developing eye health and vision problems. These scenarios include:
- Having chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes
- Working in a job that’s visually demanding or that exposes workers to eye injuries, irrespective of whether they use protective eyewear
- Having a family history of glaucoma, macular degeneration, or other eye conditions
- Developing health conditions requiring medications that can have visual side effects, such as high cholesterol, thyroid problems, depression, anxiety or even arthritis.
Symptoms of vision changes associated with middle age
Starting in the mid-40s, the most common challenge that people begin to experience is seeing clearly at close distances, such as while reading or using a computer. This occurs as a result of changes in our eyes’ focusing ability: a problem known as presbyopia (Greek for “aged eyes”).
As your eye ages, the lens hardens and becomes less flexible. As a result, the lens cannot accommodate sufficiently, making it more difficult for your eyes to focus on nearby objects.
Other symptoms of age-related vision changes include:
Need for more light. At first, you might find yourself needing more light than you previously did in order to see reading material or computer screens clearly.
Problem reading or doing close up work. You need to hold printed material further away in order to be able to see it clearly. Or, perhaps you might take off your glasses in order to see up close objects more clearly. Perhaps restaurant menus or newspapers appear blurry, particularly in low lit rooms, prompting you to purchase reading glasses.
Difficulty with glare. You find yourself struggling with increased sensitivity to glare from sunlight reflecting off windshields or pavement during the day or perhaps bright headlights at night. As your eyes age, changes in the lenses make light rays entering the eye scatter instead of focusing on a single point on the retina and this creates more glare.
Changes in color perception. As we age, our lenses start to lose their clarity and start to turn yellow. This can affect our ability to see colors clearly and to distinguish between certain color shades. Over time, our lenses can become increasingly hazy to the point where cataract surgery may be required to replace the hazy natural lens with a clear artificial lens.
Decreased tear production. As we age, our tear glands produce fewer tears, causing our eyes to feel dry and irritated. Dry eye is particularly common among post-menopausal women who are the biggest users of eye drops. This is worrisome because having an adequate tear supply is key to maintaining our eyes healthy and our vision clear.
What is presbyopia?
Presbyopia is characterized by the loss of our ability to focus for near vision. It is caused by the gradual loss of flexibility in the eye lens that can occur with aging. This flexibility is needed to allow the eye to change its focus from far to nearby objects.
Unfortunately, lens flexibility cannot be recuperated and so, presbyopia inevitably worsens with age. This means that you may need to change your eyeglass or contact lens prescriptions more often than before, although these visual changes usually stop around age 60.
While presbyopia cannot be prevented or cured, the good news is that folks with presbyopia have several options for regaining clear, comfortable near vision, such as:
- Eyeglasses, including single vision readers, bifocals, or multifocal glasses (also known as progressives)
- Contact lenses, including monovision lenses that correct for either near or far vision in one eye only, or bifocal lenses that allow both eyes to see clearly at near and far distances
- LASIK and other refractive surgery to achieve long-lasting vision correction without assistive devices
Concerning symptoms that can signal serious eye health problems
Did you know that during your 40s and 50s you are at increased risk of developing a number of serious eye health problems? In fact, the leading cause of blindness and low vision in the United States are mostly age-related eye diseases like macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.
That’s why it’s so important for everyone in this age group to get regular eye examinations and to be vigilant for the appearance of early warning signs of serious vision problems.
Symptoms in the older eye that require immediate attention include:
- Sudden vision changes. Fluctuations in the clarity of your sight can be a sign of high blood pressure or diabetic retinopathy. Both medical conditions cause damage to tiny blood vessels within the retina – the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye that converts light rays into signals that go to your brain for interpretation.
- Seeing floaters and flashes. It’s not uncommon for adults in their 40s and 50s to occasionally see floating specks or “hairs” in their visual field. These are usually harmless particles floating within the fluid of our eyeball and are a natural part of aging. But it is not normal for you to see a whole lot of floaters appear suddenly, accompanied by bright flashes of light. This could be a sign of a retinal detachment, which is an ocular emergency that can threaten your vision. This requires an immediate presentation to your eye doctor for an assessment.
- Loss of side vision. If you notice a loss of vision in the periphery of your sight, don’t dismiss it as just eye strain. Peripheral vision loss may be a sign of glaucoma which is known as the “silent thief of sight” because it doesn’t show symptoms until vision loss has begun.
- Seeing distorted images. If you notice that parallel lines that should appear straight look wavy in the center of your vision, this can be a sign of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is a disease affecting the macula, or central part of your retina, that results in central vision loss.
How to keep your eyes healthy as you age: regular eye exams
The American Optometric Association recommends that every adult between the ages of 19 and 40 receive a comprehensive eye exam at least every two years. However, if you’re at risk of eye problems due to a family history of eye disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or if you have had prior vision problems, your eye doctor might recommend more frequent check-ups. Why? Because most serious eye problems can be prevented if diagnosed early.
Even if your vision seems fine, getting regular eye exams can help you maintain good vision for the rest of your life. Make it a habit to schedule your annual eye exam around your birthday, that way you won’t forget 😉 After all, taking care of your eye health is the best birthday present you can give yourself.
Why Choose Assil Gaur Eye Institute for your eye care?
The eye care professional team of ophthalmologists and optometrists at Assil Gaur Eye Institute (AGEI) offer world class eye care treating dry eye conditions, cataracts, glaucoma, LASIK and laser eye correction as well as a wide variety of cornea and retinal conditions.
At AGEI, you will experience a state-of-the-art health care facility that brings together revolutionary technologies with experienced vision care professionals. Our goal is to help you achieve your personal best vision.
Please call 866-945-2745 or visit us here to make an appointment online. If you are experiencing any concerning symptoms, contact us immediately to determine the best time to schedule an exam.
At Assil Gaur Eye Institute we take our patients’ safety seriously. Our facility’s Covid-19 patient safety procedures exceed all CDC recommendations. Masks are required in our institutes at all times.
We are conveniently located for patients throughout Southern California and the Los Angeles area at locations in or near Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City, Hollywood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, and Downtown Los Angeles, to name a few.
After college he earned his Doctorate of Optometry from the State University of New York, completing clinical rotations at Montefiore Medical Center and the West Haven VA Medical Center. Subsequently he finished a residency in primary eye care and geriatric optometry at the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center.
Dr. May has previously lectured on advances in refractive surgery as an invited speaker and served as a consultant for the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education. He also completed advanced studies in ocular pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (previously at Walter Reed Army Medical Center). Currently he is a guest lecturer at USC College of Pharmacy.
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