Vision care at our age is most important no matter if you are using glasses or not. Like any other element in our health, our vision could also be eroded when aging therefore we have to check our eyes on a regular basis.


There are three main phenomena that are most common when we reaching the age of forty.



Slow deterioration of vision especially when reading small prints is most common and normal process after the age of 40. Aging sight phenomenon is not a disease neither a flaw but a natural process.


Our eyeball contain a natural lens which functions in the same manner that a camera auto focus does and accordingly adjusts the eye focus automatically depending on the distance of the object which we look at.

When aging, this lens loses its flexibility gradually. This makes us experience difficulty in focusing on close objects, especially when reading. The common solution is the use of reading glasses.


There are also special exercises that you can carry out yourself to improve your vision or laser treatments accomplished by vision care specialists that can solve these problems.


Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease which is considered as the number one cause of blindness in the Western world among people at the age of 50 plus.

This disease occurs when there is a violation of photoreceptor which may deteriorate and cause malfunction that can also cause blindness.
 
AMD risk factors include: advanced age (over 50), family history (genetics), hypertension, heart disease, exposure to contaminants and therefore a high exposure to dangerous free radicals, smoking and unbalanced diet.


Glaucoma is another disease in which the optic nerve is damaged, causing sight impairment. The symptoms are not easy to diagnose. It is treatable either by drugs designed to lower the intraocular pressure or laser surgical treatment aimed to plug the existing drainage channel and to pierce a new more effective one.
 

Therefore, it is quite important to protect your eye sight and visit your eye specialist for an annual check as you pass the age of 40. Moreover, for the AMD prevention it is highly recommended to include  vitamins A, C and E, beta carotene, and zinc, and also consume leafy green vegetables, like lettuce, in our diet. Most of these can also be consumed as nutrition supplements.


In general, it is highly recommended to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes against UV radiation and prevent eye problems as such problems might affect our daily functioning, independence and can also exacerbate in older age.