Save your sight: 7 things to know about your ageing eyes

Don't wait till it's too late, warn doctors. If something feels off, get your eyes checked.

- Sumiko Tan

If you know that doing something is bad for you, why would you wilfully do it anyway?

I often ask myself this when I'm in the middle of yet another doom-scrolling session on my phone.

In February, I averaged four hours and 28 minutes a day on my phone. That's about a quarter of my waking hours.

Relentless scrolling has left me with not only a stiff neck but also dry, tired eyes. It's not helped by how I spend another six hours on average staring at the computer on weekdays, and the same amount of time watching TV on weekends.

You would think I'd be doing my vision a favour by cutting back on screen time, and yet, here I am, still scrolling.

Like most people, I fear losing my vision as I age, not least because I've always had poor eyesight.

I developed myopia in primary school and am what is known as a high myope, with short-sightedness around the -7.00 diopters range (or 700 degrees, as we used to say).

I had Lasik surgery when I was 43 to correct my sight. I still remember the awe, relief and happiness I felt when I could make out the leaves on a distant tree and see birds sitting on a faraway roof.

I chose monovision Lasik where my left eye was corrected for distance vision (I can see far) and my right eye under-corrected (some myopia retained). This combination has let me function without needing far or near glasses.

In the last few years, however, both my far and near vision have deteriorated. My ophthalmologist says I have the beginnings of cataracts on both eyes.

When I was in my early 50s, I had posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), first in my right eye, then my left.

PVD is an age-related condition where the vitreous gel inside the eye liquifies, shrinks and separates from the retina. In my case, it was foreshadowed by an increase in floaters and arcs of flashing light.