BOISE — They say the only certainties in life are death and taxes, but a close second may be vision problems.
Most of us face two stages of worsening vision as we get older, and understanding what to expect can help us to preserve our eyesight.
The first stage typically hits in our 40s.
"40s is typically the tipping point where most of develop nearsightedness," said Dr. Daniel Meltzer.
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Then the real challenges begin in our 60s.
"We get to our 60s, and we start to see a few other conditions," Dr. Meltzer said, "Things like glaucoma... and cataracts, which is that cloudiness that tends to come up."
The good news is that treatments for all these conditions have improved significantly over the years. Glasses are better, cataract surgery is more advanced, and medications for macular degeneration are more effective than ever before.
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However, the key to maintaining good vision is regular visits to the eye doctor.
"So it's really important that if people are having challenges either seeing close, far or in general, or they feel their field of vision is changing ... or they're having things like eye pain, they get screening eye exams," Dr. Meltzer said.
These visits become even more critical after age 60.
Catching a problem early can potentially preserve your vision with proper treatment and intervention.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
