If you have difficulty reading or cannot drive a car because you no longer see well, don’t worry! You aren’t becoming blind – you’re most likely experiencing age-related vision loss.
Here are the most common effects that age has on vision:
Small print becomes blurry
As the aging lens becomes less flexible, it becomes more difficult to change focus from far objects to near objects. This complicates the focus on close objects.
Warning signs:
The sharp decline that is associated with such disorders is macular degeneration, in which central vision is suffering. You may also experience vitreous hemorrhaging, which occurs due to an aneurysm, and is often related to diabetes and retinal detachment.
Dryness in the eyes
When you’re young, your tears contain the necessary components to completely cover and moisturize the eye. When you get older, your tears may lose the ability to moisturize your eyes. In tears, there is a layer of protein, a layer of fat and an aqueous layer. If one of these layers is faulty, then there is dryness of the eye.
At the same time that you experience dryness or irritation, there may be increased watering to compensate for the imbalance. Medications for high blood pressure, antihistamines, diuretics, or hormone replacement therapy can help dry eyes.
Post-menopausal women often develop dysfunction of the meibomian gland. This gland is located in the century, and it creates a layer of fat tears.
Cause is lagophthalmos, which occurs when the patient is is not blinking enough.
Warning signs:
Sudden dryness of the eyes may be a sign of damaged lacrimal gland or tear duct blockage, which is caused by an infection, or a tumor or a scar from being hit in the eye. In these cases, you may need to massage the area to open the duct, and in extreme cases you may require surgery.
Difficulty with night vision
Nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, where there is irregular curvature of the cornea, may be the main reasons why you see glares and halos at night, especially around headlights and traffic lights.
Warning signs:
In some forms of cataracts may be a reason for loss of night vision and nighttime glare. It is more common among those suffering from diabetes and people who use steroids and have experienced the trauma of the eye. You should contact your doctor to determine the cause.
Flying points in the eye
Flying points in the eye are small thread or specks that float in your field of vision. This is nothing more than jut shadows cast by fibers and particles of protein in the gelatinous substance in your eye. With aging, the gelatinous substance liquefies and separates from the retina.
Warning signs:
Lots of new front sights can talk about the break or retinal detachment, which can lead to blindness if not correct it promptly. (this sentence is a little confusing. What are ‘front sights’? usually things don’t “talk”, they “indicate”. So these may indicate retinal detachment) You may need surgery to repair the damage.
If you notice at any warning signs, you should contact Boothe Eye Care & Laser Center to schedule an appointment at (214) 328 – 0444.

