Eye health is about more than the ability to see. It is also about maintaining a healthy pressure inside your eye. It's about making sure issues like ocular cancer are detected early so they can be treated. You rely on your eyes almost every minute of every day, so of course you want to take eye health seriously — every aspect of it. You can learn more about the breadth of eye care and the work of optometrists on this blog. Reading here is not a replacement for seeing your optometrist, but it can be a good way to boost your knowledge.
Whether you already wear corrective lenses to get better vision or you have never worn glasses before, some vision loss can be expected by the time you hit your 40s. Among the most common vision issues as people enter their later years is the inability to see things in greater detail from up close, causing them to invest in reading glasses or other corrective lenses to read or control a device.
There are many vision loss factors that can cause your vision to change over time, so you should continue to see your eye doctor regularly. If your vision is worsening due to cataracts, glaucoma, or other eye issues, there are vision loss treatment measures you can take. Here are some signs you're suffering from vision loss that you need to bring to the attention of your eye doctor.
Trouble viewing from just one eye
Having issues seeing things from one eye can mean a variety of vision issues. You may have scratched your cornea, experienced some type of retina problems, have one eye that is lazy, or even have a cataract in one eye that is not present in the other.
Sometimes, vision loss in just one eye can be serious, especially if there is an accident involved in the situation. Make an appointment with your eye doctor right away to see what may be causing your vision loss overall.
Squinting when doing detailed tasks
Do you squint sometimes while reading the newspaper or while attempting to do a favorite hobby, like knitting or sewing? Is your vision better when you squint while doing detailed tasks in general? If you already wear glasses, then it may be time for a new prescription for eye-wear. If you don't, then it's time for a visit to the eye doctor to see if you have age-related vision loss.
Trouble driving at night
Night blindness is a vision loss concern that affects millions of Americans. While having this type of vision loss is not always a major concern, especially if you see well during the day, having your vision affected for night driving can be a concern. If you have trouble driving at night because headlights appear overly bright, shapes muddle into one, or things are too dark to see without squinting or guidance, see your eye doctor to see what they can do.
Your eye doctor may recommend special glasses to wear while driving at night. They may also upgrade your eye-wear prescription if you have not had new glasses recently.