How Aging Affects the Structure of Your Eyes

CHICAGO, IL, July 29, 2012 (Press-News.org) Just as your physical strength tends to diminish with age, your eyes will also start to decline in their overall performance - especially when you reach age 60 and beyond. Some age-related changes in your eyes are completely normal and do not indicate any kind of disease process. For example, presbyopia is a normal development once you pass the age of 40. As your lens begins to harden and lose its natural focusing ability, you will notice that it's harder to focus on nearby objects.

Most people compensate for this change by holding reading material further away from their eyes, but eventually, you will need to invest in some reading glasses or multifocal contact lenses. Refractive surgery can also help alleviate presbyopia, such as Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) and monovision LASIK.

Age-Related Eye Diseases

As you grow older, your eyes will become more susceptible to certain diseases that can threaten your eyesight if they are not treated in a timely manner. Some of the most common age-related eye diseases are:

- Cataracts - Around half of all 65-year-old Americans have some type of cataract formation in their eyes. Thankfully, modern cataract surgery is safer and more effective than ever.
- Macular degeneration - Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in American seniors, affecting over 1.75 million people throughout the U.S.
- Glaucoma - Each decade after you turn 40, your risk of developing glaucoma increases. For example, it will jump from around 1% in your 50s to 12% in your 80s.
- Diabetic retinopathy - If you have diabetes and you are over the age of 40, you have a 40% chance of developing some degree of diabetic retinopathy. In fact, one out of every 12 diabetic seniors has advanced retinopathy that threatens their vision.

Other Changes to Your Eyes

Apart from eye diseases and presbyopia, there are plenty of other, more subtle changes that will occur in your eye structures as you age. Some of these changes include:

- Dry eyes
- Reduced pupil size
- Loss of peripheral vision
- Limited color vision
- Vitreous detachment

By maintaining a healthy diet and making wise lifestyle choices - such as abstaining from smoking - you can help prevent major vision loss as you age. Additionally, it is important to have regular eye exams performed by an experienced ophthalmologist to detect diseases in their early stages. At Doctors For Visual Freedom, Dr. Golden can inform you about the medications, vitamins, herbs, and supplements you can take to help you keep your eyes healthy for a lifetime.

If you have further questions about how aging affects the eyes, please visit the website of experienced Chicago eye surgeon Dr. Mark Golden at Doctors For Visual Freedom at www.doctorsforvisualfreedom.com.