That’s because eyes change over time, and just as their joints might be feeling a bit more creaky than they did when they were in their twenties, their eyes aren’t as flexible or as strong as they were before. Here’s what they can expect from their eyes after 40 and what they can do about it. 

1. “Long Arms” for Reading

The lens of the eye flexes to allow for the switch between near and far vision. Over time, it loses its flexibility, and even those who never needed glasses before may find that they need specs for reading. “It’s one of those things,” says Australian behavioural optometrist Jacqueline Gattegno, proprietor of Eyes in Design Bondi. “If you haven’t been going for regular eye tests before the age of 40, you should certainly begin to do so.”

2. Dry Eyes

Every time someone blinks, their eyes are lubricated with tear fluid. There are a lot of different reasons for dry eyes including long hours spent in front of the computer, dry air, and ageing eyes. One can experience dry eyes at any time of life, but once someone is over the age of 35, the chances increase. Women who are experiencing menopause or are past menopause are more likely to get dry eyes than men are, but that doesn’t leave men with one less thing to worry about. They can get dry eyes too. 

Although dry eyes are uncomfortable, they aren’t ordinarily a direct threat to a person’s vision. Nevertheless, one should let an optometrist take a look and see what’s causing the problem. “Special drops can relieve dry eyes,” says Jacqueline. “You can also try helping your eyes by taking fish oil capsules and drinking lots of water.”

3. Reduced Night Vision

In time, the photoreceptors in the eyes begin to age and that means that seeing in poor light becomes more difficult. “An optometrist can’t improve your night vision per se,” says Jaqueline, “but making sure that your eyewear prescription is correct will help to some degree.”

4. Glaucoma

There was a time when having glaucoma meant that the person would experience vision loss – sometimes even total vision loss. Glaucoma is a build-up of pressure inside the eye and it can damage the optic nerve. However, if glaucoma is diagnosed early, it is treatable: one more reason to go for those eye examinations. The older a person is, the more important this becomes. Glaucoma is still a leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 60. 

5. Cataracts

Cataracts form when the proteins in the eye’s lens clump together, clouding the lens and blurring vision. Someone might notice them because they’re seeing halo effects when they look at lights, because their night vision is becoming worse, or because they’re experiencing blurry vision. 

“If cataracts are so bad that stronger glasses can’t restore vision, laser surgery solves the problem,” says Jacqueline. “It’s not a major procedure, and the success rate is excellent. Surgery may sound worrying, but it doesn’t require a stay in hospital, and the chances are excellent that your vision will be better than ever before. It’s definitely not something to be scared of.”

6. Macular Degeneration

The macula is part of the eye, and it consists of light-sensing cells. If the macula begins to degenerate, vision becomes blurry. Left untreated, it is likely to end in loss of vision, but, says Jaqueline, treatments can slow the process, preventing severe vision loss. Macular degeneration affects in the region of 14 percent of people over the age of 80. “It’s not something that affects all people with ageing eyes,” says Jacqueline, “but it’s something to look out for since the damage isn’t reversible.”

Take-Home Message

Eye examinations become even more important once a person is over 40. There’s no need for people to be overly worried about any problems an optometrist may pick up – as long as they’re going for fairly regular check-ups. Some age-related eye problems may require treatment or surgery, but in general, the outlook is good as long as the diagnosis is early.

HEAR: Ultra106.5FM Interview with Jacqueline Gattegno – Changes in Eyesight Due to a Rise in Stress Levels

For more information on eye health, visual skills and therapy, or to book an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

Syndicated by Baxton Media, The Market Influencers, Your Digital Marketing Agency.

He says: “Those who want their car to run well, will ensure the right fuel and oil is used so all its systems work smoothly. It makes sense that eyes, the organs which provide 80% of the information which shapes and guides people’s lives and how they see the world, should be given the same treatment.”

Lessening the Worst of the Worst

According to Rodney, research has shown that the wrong food can impact on vision in general, and also play a role in the development or worsening of chronic eye diseases.  On the contrary, an eye-friendly diet keeps the eyes healthier, lessens the likelihood of eye problems, slows the progression of chronic eye conditions, and lowers the risk of vision loss.

He says an eye health diet is vital when it comes to the top four vision destroyers. These include the eye-clouding cataract; age-related macular degeneration that blurs central vision; diabetic retinopathy which impacts on the retina’s blood vessels; and glaucoma, the world’s largest cause of blindness in those over 60. This eye disease which affects around 76 million people globally, raises the pressure levels in the eyes and damages the optic nerve responsible for conducting visual data from the eyes to the brain.

Eating the Way to Healthier Vision

Rodney says an eye-healthy diet should not include highly processed foods, frequent take-outs and fast-foods like burgers, milkshakes, pre-packed dinners, as well as carbohydrates, fried foods and margarine, which can clog the thin arteries supplying blood to the eyes.

Diabetics, or those who are insulin resistant, should keep clear of sugar to lower the chances of diabetic retinopathy, or slow its progression if already present. Carbonated drinks, and specially those sweetened with corn syrup, are also not recommended, as they can increase blood pressure, which can lead to vision problems. 

Using What’s Good in the Food

On the other hand, a diet which is low in fat, sugar and chemicals, but rich in fruits and vegetables can help protect the eyes’ health, says Rodney, and certain vitamins and minerals have long been seen to support eye health.

Among these stalwarts is Vitamin A, which keeps the eye’s light-sensing cells, used in the harvesting of visual information, in shape. It’s found in orange vegetables and fruits such as carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots and cantaloupes.

Studies also suggest the Vitamin C in oranges, lemons, grapefruit, strawberries,  blackberries, raspberries, bell peppers and tomatoes; and the Vitamin E from avocados, almonds and sunflower seeds and nuts may, at the very least, slow age-related macular degeneration and cataract, and protect the eyes from  environmental problems, smoking, and over-consumption of processed food and take-outs.

So will the two anti-oxidants, lutein and zeaxanthin, found in leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, peas and broccoli and in eggs;  and the zinc in chickpeas, beans, oysters, lean beef and yogurt.

Omega-3s have been associated with a reduction in the risk of diabetic retinopathy in older adults, and it’s also being investigated with regard to helping with dry eyes. Omega-3s are found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna, as well as in nuts.

NOTE: Rodney says any eye-health diets should be discussed with eye doctors, whether they’re for coping with severe and sight-threatening diseases, or for improving general eye health and sight. This is important as some supplements or vitamins will only show positive effects if there is a deficiency in them. 

For more information on eye health, its treatment and management, or to make an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

Syndicated by Baxton Media, The Market Influencers, Your Digital Marketing Agency.

The Gift That Doesn’t Keep Giving

Rodney, a fellow of the International Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control (FIAOMC), says that, unfortunately, instead of being a permanent vision change, this spell of clear close-up vision is more like a temporary respite. Many of the retirees who find themselves able to read without glasses for the first time in years, and experience this “gift” at a point in their lives when they actually have time to do so, should probably remember where they stored their glasses, for the time when the sight holiday slowly reaches an end and books start to return to blurs.

It may also be advisable when they start to notice a difference in this “gift” of sight to consult an eye doctor as to whether or not they were duped into a sense of comfort by thickening lenses in the eye. It’s a natural process that may happen as the eyes age, and is often an indication that cataract could be forming on one or both lenses. This is usually the cause of the so-called second sight, which gives aging eyes a last window of opportunity to enjoy some clear close up vision, before the curtains start to close, says Rodney.

The Ageing Process of Eyes

According to Gattegno, the first sign of aging eyes, which can start setting in when people are still in their 40s, is usually the onset of presbyopia, a refractive error which improves their distance vision, and worsens their ability to see things close up. It develops as the lenses in the eyes start to lose their elasticity, and along with it their ability to bend the light rays that enter the eye in such a way that they fall on the retina.

That’s when many people start donning reading glasses to help with close work, studying, and reading, and, as they get older, Rodney says, fall into a pattern of changing them regularly for new and stronger ones as the lenses get harder, and they gradually find it harder to read or do close work.

The Holiday of Sight

Rodney says it isn’t surprising that those who’ve been affected by presbyopia are overwhelmed when they start to see nearby objects like books clearly without the aid of spectacles, and may see it as being the gift of second sight. But in the eyes themselves, changes are happening, and the ultimate outcome of these changes can be very severe. As eyes age, the hardening at the centre of the lenses, also known as nuclear sclerosis, reaches a point where the lens may again be able to focus the light rays on the retina, even though the elasticity, lost a couple of decades earlier, is no longer there.

However, the process does not stop there, according to Rodney. If the hardening process doesn’t stop it’s developmental surge at that point and keeps on toughening the lens, the central part of the lens may become opaque, creating a nuclear cataract. This could at first merely require the spectacles to be brought out of storage and back into use, or for getting new ones and again adopting a policy of changing them regularly until vision becomes so bad that cataract surgery may be the only alternative to total vision loss.  

For more information about the myopia epidemic, its treatment and management, and more importantly what you can do to prevent it, or to make an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

Syndicated by Baxton Media, The Market Influencers, Your Digital Marketing Agency.