Most of us start to notice changes in our vision after the age of 40. At first, you may need to have anything you’re trying to read farther away to see the words clearly. Or you may need to remove your glasses to see better up close. Print in the newspaper or on a restaurant menu may seem blurry, especially under dim lighting. Most of the time, these are just typical changes in the eye’s focusing ability, called presbyopia. It’s a condition that appears and progresses as we get older. You may also notice that your eyes are drier and/or you see ‘floaters’ or ‘flashers,” small shapes or flashes of light that appear in your field of vision.
Some eye conditions that emerge as we get older can be serious and cause vision loss if left untreated. More than half of Americans over the age of 60, for example, face the prospect of cataracts. Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss in adults over the age of 50. Chronic health conditions become more common as we age, and they can affect vision in a number of different ways, some seriously. For example, diabetes can lead to diabetic retinopathy, a serious eye condition. And glaucoma, a complex disease in which damage to the optic nerve leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss, is the second leading cause of blindness. It’s estimated that 3 million people have glaucoma in the U.S. but don’t know they have it. Left untreated, glaucoma can cause blindness.
Don’t let those statistics alarm you. Rather, find some comfort in knowing that there are treatment options and preventive care that can dramatically reduce your chances of a debilitating eye condition and vision loss. Here at the Utah Eye Centers, we have years of experience providing patients with nothing but the best, most effective optical care when their vision becomes a little less clear than it used to be. Our friendly, knowledgeable team of professional eye care specialists will work with you to form a thorough, effective plan of attack that both addresses your personal health challenges and provides optimum results.
Since everyone’s needs are different, just like everyone’s eyes are different, it’s important that we have a one-on-one consultation with you in order to fully examine your eyes and see what treatment options will be most effective.
To learn more about us, just visit us here: http://www.utaheyecenters.com/ We look forward to working with you to make sure you have the best possible vision for the years ahead.