HHS HealthBeat (July 9, 2012)

Older Eyes

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Vision, like a lot of things, is less sharp when you’re older than when you’re younger. But there’s a difference between normal aging and things that go wrong. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Xinzhi Zhang:

``Some vision problems are a normal part of aging, like having trouble reading small print in a newspaper. And those can be corrected with glasses. However, many serious vision problems are caused by age-related eye diseases.’’

These include cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. That last one – related, as it is, to diabetes – could be prevented, along with diabetes, through weight control with proper diet and physical activity.  

And a preventive visit to an eye specialist can head off trouble.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss

Last revised: July 9, 2012