How Your Eye Prescription Changes with Age: What to Expect Decade by Decade

It’s not exactly a eureka moment to state that our bodies change with age—but it’s not something most of us think about regularly. Your eyes also alter, with age-related vision changes being something that affects everyone.

Knowing what to expect as the years roll by not only means you won’t be taken by surprise but can actively help you manage and prepare to ensure your best eyesight throughout your life. 

A Decade-by-Decade Overview

First of all, it’s important to know that there are many external and internal influences that will affect your prescription and how your eyes age. These include:

• Genetics.
• Health conditions.
• Screen use.
• Environment.
• Your lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, exercise, weight management, etc.)

But even taking all of these into account, it’s still possible to understand the general progression of changes in eyesight over time.

The first 20-odd years of life is a time of eye development. This is a time of major eye changes. From growing in size to multiple and frequent prescription changes, the child and teen eyes are in flux and need regular monitoring. This is when typical childhood conditions, like lazy eye, myopia, and squints, may be diagnosed and treated. How often eye exams are needed will depend on the individual, but can range from every 1-2 years to as often as every 6 months or so.

• Eyesight in your 20s: Your eyes are still stabilizing, especially in your early 20s. But as you progress through the decade, it’s likely that you’ll find this begins to settle. However, it’s possible that activities, such as screen use, can have an impact. Any visual changes should be mentioned to your eye doctor, who can adjust your prescription as needed.
• Eyesight in your 30s: This tends to be the sweet spot for prescription stability. However, it can still change, so it’s still important to keep up those regular eye exams as recommended by your eye care professional.
• Eyesight in your 40s: This is the decade where issues with aging eyes typically first begin to come into play. Presbyopia, a condition caused by the eye lens becoming stiffer, is one of the most common. It causes issues with seeing objects close up, hence the classic arm stretch to hold something further away to improve focus. You might also find you have to increase the text size on your cell phone or computer to clearly focus on it.
• Eyesight in your 50s: Presbyopia continues to progress, perhaps leading to more frequently changing prescriptions. Many people start to struggle with increased light sensitivity during this decade, especially with night glare when driving. Again, your eye doctor can adjust your prescription to help deal with this. Your ophthalmologist will also be screening you for the first signs of any other conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
• Eyesight in your 60s: Presbyopia tends to stabilize, but this is the most common decade for other age-related conditions to be diagnosed (cataracts and AMD being the most usual). The former tends to follow a very slow progression, so probably won’t need treatment for many years. AMD, on the other hand, needs careful care to slow the development.
• Eyesight in your 70s: The most common decade to have cataract operations. You’ll probably be advised to increase the regularity of your eye examinations to an annual check (if you don’t already) in order to monitor any eye conditions or quickly diagnose any new ones.
• Eyesight in your 80s and beyond: Many people also have cataract surgery in their 80s. The timing will all depend on their progression. No matter how good or poor the health of your eyes, you should continue to have regular annual (or more frequent) eye tests as advised by your ophthalmologist.

Determining your eye prescription by age is unique to each of us. The only virtual guarantee for all of us is that, if you celebrate enough birthdays, you’ll need to have cataract surgery at some point. Exactly when that is will be determined by the age they appear and how fast they progress.

The West Boca Eye Center is one of the leading US facilities for cataract surgery, providing expertise for every type, including pediatric and early onset cataracts, as well as age-related and those with complex co-existing medical conditions.

Our world-leading surgeons provide the ultimate in cataract care, routine eye checks, and other eye-related issues, no matter what your age.

Find out more at https://www.westbocaeyecenter.com/services/cataract-surgery

It’s not exactly a eureka moment to state that our bodies change with age—but it’s not something most of us think about regularly. Your eyes also alter, with age-related vision changes being something that affects everyone.

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