After 50 Eyes

I recall the eye exam just before I turned 50. I had to admit that a couple of the choices the optometrist showed me were a bit blurred. A series of headaches convinced me to get my eyes checked and I expected I would finally need some help. What bothered me though was when he said "We've got you now!" Perhaps I misunderstood his meaning, but it sounded a bit too triumphant to me. Finally needing to rely on glasses seemed like a lousy milestone, and a loss, at least for me. For the optometrist, I guess I represented job security. In any case, I soon had reading glasses. Because of my work I soon needed bifocals, and for very close work, tri-focals.
Our eyes do tend to deteriorate as we age for a number of reasons. Muscles used to reshape the eye ball don't work as well, circulation is not so good (especially for those who smoke!), and a number of other factors including certain medications, all can contribute to worsening vision. But there are a number things you can do every day, several times a day, that can help slow down the process and help your vision. You may not believe them. I didn't...until I tried them. It won't cost you anything to test these yourself and you might be surprised with the results.

First, know this. In order to see better, you must learn to relax your eyes. Straining to focus makes it worse, not better. Make sure you have enough light to see clearly, especially if you are reading. Sometimes just a brighter reading light can make a remarkeable improvement. Eye strain gradually increases over time, so don't sit and read for long periods. Make it a habit to read no more than a page, maybe even less, then look up and focus on objects across the room, or across the street. Move your eyes around, looking at things both near and far. Don't squint to see something far away. Just keep your eyes relaxed. Next, try "cupping". This can be very refreshing to your eyes late in the day, but it is helpful at any time. Keeping your eyes open and relaxed, cup your hands and place them over your eyes, not placing any pressure on the eyes at all. Keep your cupped hands over your eyes for several minutes, not moving the eye at all. Then slowly move the eyes up and down, left and right, and in a circular motion. The cupped hands provide soothing warmth to the eyes and the darkeness allows the muscles to relax. Then when the eyes are relaxed, gently exercise them with gentle movements. Like any muscle group, the eye muscles need a rest now and then.

One last thing to consider. What happens if you break a bone and have to wear a cast for six weeks? If it is a leg cast, your muscles begin to atrophy and weaken, and it may require some therapy to get the muscle tone and strength back so that you can walk normally. Now, what do you suppose happens to the muscles in your eyes when you wear glasses (think of them as "eye splints")? Do the eyes get stronger? No! They grow progressively weaker. You can slow this process down considerably if you will exercise your eyes as mentioned above, and wear glasses only as needed. When I pick up something to read, I first see if I really need my reading glasses. If I can read whatever the material is without straining and without glasses, I don't wear them.

Now I will admit to you that my optometrist and I do not agree on this theory of mine. But then, he can't explain why my reading glass prescription has remained unchanged now for about eight years. In fact, I keep asking him to take the correction off of the upper (distance) part of my lenses and just give me something for when I read. He convinces me I really need the tiny bit of distance correction, and I go along. He says just wear them all the time and your eyes will get used to them. I say, wear them all the time and my eyes will quit focusing on distant objects without them. I try the new glasses, everything more than about 30 or 40 feet away looks a little blurry, and I take them off. I complain. He says "You are not giving your eyes time to adjust". I say "Baloney". So, my nice new prescription glasses are in a case on my dresser. I wear a pair of $12 drugstore reading glasses on the end of my nose or on top of my head. Same glasses for about 5 years now. I broke the first pair. Same strength, 1.5. For the computer I have a pair of 1.25. The optometrist did convince me to make that change, because the 1.5 glasses give me a headache if I'm on the computer too long.

Before you think that my optometrist just doesn't know how to do his job... he does. He's a board certified eye surgeon and a wonderful eye doctor. The problem isn't him. It's me. But so far, my theory seems to be holding up. Maybe I'm a genetic fluke, or maybe I'm on to something here. In any case, I know that wearing a splint does not strengthen a joint, it protects it. But to strengthen it, you've got to get the splint off and exercise it eventually. I believe the eyes work the same way. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.