Regardless of a person’s genetics or vision changes in the younger years of life, it’s inevitable that everyone will experience vision changes in their 40s and 50s. These changes are normal and expected, and it’s important that you maintain regular eye exams to ensure that you have the right vision correction lenses to support your lifestyle.
Why are your eyes changing during this stage of life? And what can you do about it? Here are a few things that you should understand about the most common vision changes in mid-life:
The most common change that no one can avoid is a gradual loss of close vision. For example, you might start noticing that it’s harder to focus on close objects or it’s more difficult to read small print. Over time, the eye lens starts to stiffen, which causes these vision changes.
Some of the symptoms of presbyopia include:
Our eye care team offers multiple options to support your vision in this stage of life. Options include reading glasses, bifocals, progressive lenses, or multifocal contact lenses.
At this age, the risk of all types of eye diseases increases. Some people have relatively minor symptoms, such as more sensitivity to glare (especially with night driving) or chronic dry eyes because tear production decreases.
Other eye conditions that are more common with age include:
Many times, these conditions don’t have many early symptoms. Once you start noticing the symptoms, then it means that irreversible eye damage has already occurred. So, the best solution is to maintain regular eye examinations so that our team can identify potential issues in the earliest stages. The earlier we diagnose the issues, the easier it is to use proactive treatments that minimize further damage to your eyes.
Regardless of your age, it’s important that you take a proactive approach to protect your vision and eye health. In addition to maintaining regular checkups and vision tests, you should also reach out to our team immediately if you notice any changes in your vision.