Eye Care For Adults Of All Ages: What Consumers Can Do Now To Help Preserve Eye Health And Prevent Vision Loss Later

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Article Date: 03 Mar 2011 - 1:00 PDT


According to the American Optometric Association's (AOA) American Eye-Q® survey, 46 percent of consumers indicate eyesight is the sense they worry most about losing. With consumer sentiment so focused on eye health, protecting the eyes and vision should be an important part of overall health care for Americans of all ages.

Age plays a major factor when caring for vision. To treat current conditions and combat future diseases, patients should take the appropriate age-related steps to help keep their vision as healthy as possible.

20s & 30s

The majority of adults in their 20s and 30s can correct vision problems by wearing corrective lenses, either contact lenses or eyeglasses. However, that doesn't mean they don't need to worry about preserving their vision for the future. At this age, it's important to take proactive steps to protect eyesight and vision. For example, eating foods rich in six nutrients - antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, essential fatty acids, vitamins C and E and the mineral zinc - can boost eye health throughout life.

40s & 50s

People often begin to notice vision changes around age 40, with a chief complaint being difficulty seeing while reading or doing close work. This normal change in the eye's focusing ability due to age, called presbyopia, will continue to progress over time. Other vision changes often experienced by those in their 40s and 50s include, difficulty seeing far away, problems seeing in low light or at night, sensitivity to light and glare, and for women, the risk of dry eye increases after menopause. An optometrist can easily test patients for proper prescriptions, offer suggestions on how to reduce sensitivity to light and glare and prescribe various treatments to ease the symptoms of these disorders.

60s and beyond

At this age, it is especially important for patients to be vigilant about seeing their optometrist to check for the onset of diseases like age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. Many of these conditions have no early symptoms, developing painlessly. For many patients, the first noticeable sign of glaucoma is loss of vision. At this point the vision loss is irreversible, making it critical for patients not to wait to see their optometrist.

Source:
American Optometric Association

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