How To See Clearly

Age-related eye conditions are common in Australia, but there are some simple steps you can take to maintain healthy eyes, says Professor Kerryn Phelps.

- Professor Kerryn Phelps

Losing your vision as you get older is not inevitable. Any sudden loss of vision is a medical emergency and needs to be investigated urgently, but there are many other, more subtle forms of gradual vision loss which deserve your attention.

A sure sign of getting older is that you wish your arms were longer so that you could focus on the fine print. This condition, called presbyopia, is caused by loss of flexibility of the lens in your eye, affecting your ability to focus on objects close to you. The usual way of dealing with this is to wear prescription glasses for reading and close work, but there are some surgical procedures, such as replacement of the lens with an artificial multi focal lens.

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)