Top tips for maintaining healthy ageing eyes

There are many problems that can occur as eyes age.  Your ageing parent may not be able to read a book,  move around safely. or to see other people’s faces properly. Worse still, they may be in danger of  losing their vision completely, so keeping eyes healthy is vital.

Here our top tips for keeping ageing eyes healthy:

1. Get regular eye check ups. Many possible problems, such as AMD, cataracts and glaucoma can be detected and treated early if your ageing parent has an annual eye check with an optician. Anyone over 60 qualifies for a free eye test. See the NHS for more details
2. Stop smoking. Research has shown that AMD is two to three times more likely to develop if your elderly relative is a smoker. The more they smoke, the higher the risk and the faster the disease will progress
3. Eat well and exercise. Fatty plaque deposits in macular vessels in the eyes can hamper blood flow and increase the risk of AMD. Your ageing parent should eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet and get plenty of exercise. Diets rich in vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and zinc can help prevent or delay the onset of AMD
4. Control alcohol intake. A recent Australian study showed that men and women who drank more than a standard glass of wine per day were more at risk of developing AMD
5. Wear good sunglasses. Prolonged exposure to sunlight increases the risk of AMD, skin tumours around the eye and cataracts. Wearing sunglasses which offer good UV protection and/or a wide -brimmed hat can significantly reduce the risk