Growing older is unavoidable, and certainly full of twists and turns. Your eyes are just one set of the many body parts that change as you age. Here’s how to properly care for your eye health after passing your sixtieth year and beyond!
Regular Eye Exams
Older adults are at risk for many more eye ailments, such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, and for diabetic patients, retinopathy. Your optometrist is your first line of defense against these conditions, all of which can steal your vision alarmingly quickly. By adhering to a yearly exam schedule (at minimum), your eye doctor has a baseline of your eye health and can compare for subtle changes from year to year. Stopping these diseases in their early stages will help you keep more of your vision. Plus, your vision at older ages is likely to change so vision correction should be evaluated frequently.
Be Prepared and Realistic
As you grow older and possibly also develop cataracts, you may find that your night and low-light vision changes substantially. Eventually you may find that night driving becomes more challenging, so may need eyewear designed to amplify available light and color contrast, or know when it’s safer to have someone else drive in the dark. Even driving into shaded areas can be a difficult situation since your eyes do not react as quickly to changing light and may not be able to make out other vehicles or people.
Medical Care
Older adults commonly find that their medical health changes rapidly. It is critical that you communicate medical changes to your optometrist, including any new medications. Certain drugs and conditions have a major impact on your eyes and can significantly increase your risk of glaucoma and other eye health problems resulting in blindness.
Your sixties and beyond are a wonderful era of your life, but do take care to monitor your eye health and be conscious of any developing vision limitations. Ask your optometrist for information on life’s eyecare phases so you know what to expect.
