As you get older, your eyesight may deteriorate. While this is not necessarily a serious issue, it can still be something to consider.
Blurred vision
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Though blurred vision may seem like a normal reaction to life's stresses, it could actually be indicative of an underlying eye condition or health issue. That is why it is so important to book an appointment with your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Blurry vision can be caused by refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism that can be corrected with eyeglasses. It could also be indicative of certain conditions like cataracts, which occur when the lens in the eye becomes clouded and impairs vision.
Eye pain
Eye pain can be caused by a variety of reasons, but most cases it's temporary and due to an injury or infection. If the discomfort becomes more severe, however, contact your doctor right away for further evaluation.
If the pain is accompanied by redness, light sensitivity, double vision or a foreign body sensation (feels like something has become stuck in your eye), that could indicate a more serious problem.
Other conditions that may cause eye pain include optic neuritis, an inflammation and swelling around the optic nerve that causes reduced vision, color blindness, blurry sight, or eye pain when moving your eye or looking at something very bright.
Blank spots
Have you recently noticed your vision getting worse without any apparent cause? This could be indicative of an underlying health issue, so it's essential to get checked out by an eye doctor for further evaluation.
Blind spots, also referred to as scotomas, are small patches of vision in your eyes that appear as pinhead-sized holes. While they usually don't cause cause alarm, it is important to take them seriously nonetheless.
Stye or chalazion
Styes (say "hor-dee-OH-lum") or chalazion (kuh-LAY-zee-uh") are red, tender, and swelling bumps that appear near where eyelashes start or under the eyelid. Styes are caused by blocked oil glands and often break open to drain some pus.
Styes can become infected and spread to the entire eyelid if left untreated. Treatment for styes typically consists of warm compresses, lid scrubs and antibiotic ointment.
Gray curtain
A gray curtain may appear across part of your field of vision, suggesting something is wrong with your retina. A detachment or separation of this light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that sends images to your brain can cause this visual disturbance and usually occurs in people with nearsightedness (myopia), glaucoma, or other eye diseases. If this applies to you, contact an optometrist immediately for further assistance.
