As we age, so do our eyes. Aging eyes can mean decreased sharpness in our vision, an inability to distinguish between shades, problems with glare, slower adaptation to darkness and reductions in how much of our surroundings can be seen at one time. Any one of these changes increases the risk of a fall and it’s the consideration involves prevention.
Considering age-related eye disease
AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD), CATARACTS, GLAUCOMA AND are the major causes of vision impairment that result in falls. These eye diseases increase the risk because they can affect the following:
- More than 4.2 million Americans aged 40 years and older are either legally blind (having best-corrected visual acuity of 6/60 or worse (=20/200) in the better-seeing eye) or are with low vision (having best-corrected visual acuity less than 6/12 (<20/40) in the better-seeing eye, excluding those who were categorized as being blind).
- The leading causes of blindness and low vision in the United States are primarily age-related eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Other common eye disorders include amblyopia and strabismus.
If you’re looking for for more information regarding age-related eye disease in Markham, Ontario, reach out to Optomeyes Vision Care.
