State of Connecticut Advocates' Corner

Aging and Your Eyes

As you get older, you may notice changes in your vision.
  • For instance, it may become harder for you to:
    • See clearly Woman wearing eye glasses
    • See small print
    • Focus on close objects
  • Two diseases that can affect your eyesight as you get older are glaucoma and cataracts.
Glaucoma can be treated with medicine.
  • Some symptoms of glaucoma are:
    • Vision that is blurry or dark around the edges
    • Not being able to see out of the corner of your eye when you are looking straight ahead
    • Eye pain
    • Bad headaches
  • Your doctor can give you medication to keep glaucoma from getting worse.
Cataracts can be treated with prescription glasses or surgery.
  • Some symptoms of cataracts are:
    • Light may seem too bright and hurt your eyes
    • Double vision in one eye
    • Trouble seeing well at night
  • If you have cataracts, your doctor may:
    • ask you to wear glasses, or 
    • treat them with surgery.
If you are having trouble seeing, talk to your doctor.
  • You should see a doctor if:
    • Objects look blurry
    • You feel pain in your eyes
    • You have to squint to see things
    • You need to hold things far away or very close to your face to read them.
There are steps you can take to keep your eyes healthy.
  • As you get older you should: eye glasses
    • Get an eye exam at least every two years
    • Eat a lot of green, leafy vegetables (like spinach)
    • Take breaks to rest your eyes if you work in front of a computer or read
    • Wear sunglasses with UV protection
    • Stop smoking, if you smoke 
You can keep your eyes healthy as you age!
  • Talk to you doctor about more ways to protect your eyes.
  • If you follow your doctor’s advice, you can improve your chances that your eyes will stay healthy as you age.