Minimize Your Vision Loss

Aging affects our vision, even if it's just in causing presbyopia and imposing that daily task of not misplacing the reading glasses. But there are many other ways aging can cause gradual loss of vision, and you can minimize or even prevent much of this loss. If you at present have no regular eye doctor, please, for your vision's sake, choose one now from this page:

• You can use the drop-down menu at the top right corner of this page; or
• Use the links at the bottom of the page

All the eye doctors you can contact from this page offer LASIK. They also offer many other services, and will be able to diagnose any early vision problems you might have, and begin treating them so as to minimize your vision loss.

Eye Disease Tests You Might Need

An eye pressure test -- to check for glaucoma. The eye's internal pressure can build up without you noticing, and damage the optic nerve, quietly destroying peripheral vision. By the time you start to notice it, that vision is permanently lost.

Visual field test -- to see if any peripheral vision is lost

A retinal exam -- to look closely at the eye's inside structures. The pupil is a natural window into the eye. By dilating it with special eyedrops, then using a lighted microscope your eye doctor can see the beginnings of many eye diseases:

• Damage on the optic nerve indicates glaucoma
• Damage on the macula indicates Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD)
• Damage on the lens indicates cataracts
• Damage on the blood vessels can point towards blood problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.

A slit lamp exam -- another way to see the eye's inside structures. It's also used to examine the cornea for dry eye syndrome, scarring, and cancerous changes; and the sclera for lesions or growths

Vision testing -- this will give you a glasses or contact lens prescription if you need one, and catch presbyopia creeping up, as it does when we reach our 40s. It will also tell your eye doctor whether you might have other health problems, such as undiagnosed diabetes or thyroid dysfunction. Many general health conditions affect the eyes in specific ways.

Annual eye testing is a wise thing to do if you'd like to keep your clearest vision possible, for as long as possible. Eye tests are typically painless, quick, and covered by insurance policies. Don't delay if you need to find a good eye doctor. Use the links below or the menu at the top of this page, and your eyes will thank you.