How To Maintain Healthy Eyes As You Age

As the years pass, you continue to notice increasing issues with your vision. Maybe small print is getting harder to read, it takes longer for you to adjust from light to dark, or you find it harder to notice differences in colour or contrast. Such changes are typical with ageing and normally nothing to worry about. But there’s much you can do to prevent further deterioration, and even improve your vision, by maintaining healthy eyes.

Eat the Right Foods

A diet that is high in saturated fat and sugar may increase your chances of eye disease aside from being detrimental to your overall health. Healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetable, not only improve overall health but may prevent certain vision problems. Studies have shown that people who eat diets consisting of healthy proteins, vitamins and minerals, suffer less from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and such eye conditions as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Rely on Physical Aids

The quickest way to improve normal age-related vision loss is by using glasses. Discerning small print is easier with reading glasses that can be bought over-the-counter at drugstores, supermarkets, and fashion boutiques. Sunglasses are also recommended on bright and sunny days for cutting down glare and guarding the eyes against ultraviolet light. A hat with a brim that shields the eyes provides additional protection.

Improving lighting conditions can help maximize vision. Increase the brightness of bulbs in existing fixtures and add additional lighting fixtures to areas where you use your eyes such as on kitchen counters or desks. Shifting many of your eye-related activities such as reading or crafting from the evening to the day lets you take advantage of natural sunlight.

Check with Your Doctor

If none of these strategies work, a doctor may be able to prescribe medicine to improve your eyesight. It’s recommended that you visit your eye doctor at least once a year if you’re an older adult. He’ll be able to quantify any changes in your vision before recommending any modifications. He can also detect problems that have no early symptoms, such as glaucoma, which is treatable with eye drops, medicine, or surgery.

It’s also important to consult your medical professional right away if you notice certain symptoms. This can include floaters across your field of vision that may signal serious eye disease, unexplained flashes of light that reveals a detached retina, and cloudiness caused by cataracts that can be removed by surgery.

Though you may not have the vision you once had, the above measures can help keep your eyes healthy for years to come.