Aging of the Eye

The risk of serious eye diseases increases with age.   One in 6 Americans age 65 and older have a serious eye condition that permanently affects their vision.  This means that the vision cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.  Many older adults do not see eye care that could diagnose conditions at earlier stages.   It is important for you to have regular comprehensive eye examinations to diagnose eye conditions that become more common with the aging of the eye.

Eye Examination

A comprehensive eye examination will start with checking your vision and checking for the best pair of glasses.  As you age your near vision will deteriorate and you will require vision correction for near activities.  The vision can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or Lasik eye surgery.

There are several options for glasses that will help with your near vision. Glasses can be made as progressive lenses which is a no line bifocal.  The advantage of these is that it provides correction for distance, intermediate distance tasks such as your computer and reading.  Another option is to have a bifocal with a line in it.  This only provides correction for distance and reading but offers no correction for intermediate tasks.  The other glasses option for near correction is to have a separate pair of glasses for distance and near.

Afterwords, Dr. Stanley Grandon, Dr. Cindy Wang or I will perform a glaucoma test, a slit lamp examination and a dilated fundus examination to determine the health of your eyes.  Common diseases we assess for are cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Eye Diseases

It is important to diagnose eye diseases at early stages so treatment can be initiated.  If we have diagnosed a cataract, we will recommend cataract surgery when it is affecting your daily activities.  If you feel you are struggling to perform daily activities due to the quality of your vision, cataract surgery may be indicated.  Diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration can be more effectively treated if diagnosed at an early stage.  Early diagnosis and treatment can help assure you maintain good vision the rest of your life!

Alaina Kronenberg MD
Eye Surgery Institute
15212 Michigan Ave
Dearborn, MI 48126