Regular Eye Examinations
Eye examinations can help detect cataracts and other eye problems at their earliest stages. If you don’t have any symptoms or vision problems, doctors recommend getting regular eye exams based on your age. Persons aged twenty to thirty-nine should undergo examinations every five years, ages forty to fifty-four, every two to four years, and ages fifty-five to sixty-four should do it every one to three years.
Avoid Smoking
Smoking has been directly linked to two of the leading causes of vision loss, cataracts [3]and macular degeneration [4]. Researchers believe smoking also causes or contributes to many other eye health problems. Research has found that smokers have double the risk of developing cataracts compared with non-smokers. This risk is triple for heavy smokers. Doctors have discovered a specific relationship between cataracts and the amount that you smoke. The more you smoke, the more chance you have of developing cataracts.
This condition occurs when the eye’s naturally clear lens becomes cloudy over time. This age-related condition causes blurry vision, [5] faded colors, and increased sensitivity to glare. Patients have described having cataracts as trying to see through a waterfall.
Doctors believe smoking contributes to cataracts by altering the cells of the lens through oxidation. There is also evidence that smoking leads to the accumulation of heavy metals like cadmium in the lens.