How does aging affect the eyes?

As you get older, your eyes will start to do things differently than they have before. You might find yourself reading things from a distance, squinting more often, finding your eyes are constantly tearing-up, and seeing specks float across your vision. These are all-natural parts of aging.  

Under-eyes

Let’s start with something simple that affects most adults, long before their golden years. Under-eye bags, or rings, are incredibly common. These wonderful cosmetic details can show up anytime throughout your life but become more common as you age. They often present as light-purple crescents that appear under your eyes at first, then slowly turn into ‘bags’ which are just loose skin. 

There are a variety of causes for under-eye bags and rings. The most common causes are: sleep deprivation, smoking, allergies, fluid retention, and genetics. As we get older the tissue that sits beneath our eyes will begin to weaken, then eventually sag. Luckily, these under-eye bags and rings are almost completely harmless. 

You have plenty of options if you want to fight these bags, even if they are harmless. A cold compress a couple times a week, with a consistent moisturizing schedule can do wonders. You will also want to make sure you get enough sleep and reduce your salt intake to avoid retaining fluids. 

Eyesight

There are a significant number of changes that happen to our eyes as we get older. Most are easily corrected with a quick trip to the eye doctor and often require a simple solution. Even if they are fixed, finding yourself dealing with any of these issues can be frustrating. One thing you don’t have to worry about is finding your contacts when you get a new prescription. We have the largest inventory of contacts in the US and will make sure you get your order on time.  

These are the most common issues we might encounter as we age. If you find yourself identifying with any of these descriptions, it might be time to visit your eye doctor for check-up.  

Presbyopia

This is a form of farsightedness and is very common. After the age of 40, reading smaller print or doing tasks that require tiny details may become much more difficult. 

Nyctalopia

Studies suggest that the rods which help with low light vision become weak as we age. This results in your eyes taking longer to adjust and focus to different lighting environments. 

Dry eyes

As we age, our eyes will naturally start producing less tears to lubricate our eyes. This often makes your eyes create more tears to compensate for the lack of moisture. Both irritation from lack of tears and an overabundance of tears can be a sign of dry eyes. 

Floaters

A floater is something in your vision that moves across your line of sight then disappears. It is often easiest to see these floaters when looking a white or light blue background. The frequency of floaters may increase with age, as the jelly-like substance in our eyes thickens. They are usually harmless but could indicate something more serious.

Cataracts

By about age 65 years around 90% of people have some form of a cataract, and then by 75 years old about 50% of people have some vision loss from the cataracts. It often results in distorted vision due to the lens inside the eye becoming cloudy. 

What to watch out for

If you found any of those descriptions familiar, we would encourage you to schedule an eye appointment soon to get a check-up. Most age-related eye conditions are slow and take a long time to manifest. Being aware of your eye health and taking preventative steps to protect your vision early will help you worry less about your eyes later.