People who wear glasses and contacts for their vision problems can tell you how uncomfortable and tiring it can be to deal with the lenses and glasses everyday. With the added struggle of wearing a mask alongside the glasses, it is safe to say that several people are more than ready for a change. For people younger than the age of 40, getting a LASIK may not be much of an issue, but for those aged 40 and above, they cannot help but wonder if they may be too old for LASIK eye surgery.
For these people, a thousand and one questions may be running through their mind, and some of them include questions like, Is it too late to get a LASIK? Am I too old to go for a LASIK procedure? If you are one of the people who find themselves in this category, then we are her to answer all the questions you may have.
Who can have a LASIK procedure?
A lot of people seem to wonder and ask if they are too young or too old to get a LASIK procedure? Allow us to explain things further.
LASIK is a procedure that corrects vision problems, and help to achieve clear vision without the use of glasses or contact lenses. LASIK is a very ideal procedure for people who have eye problems like long-sightedness or hyperopia, short-sightedness or myopia and astigmatism. You would have to be over the age of 18 to be able to get the procedure because at this point, the eye has attained ocular maturity, which is the point where the visual systems have developed fully.
LASIK procedure is safe, effective and long-lasting, and it is quite popular for people in their 20s or 30s who wish to correct their vision problems or those who have Contact Lens Intolerance (CLI). LASIK is still in a good option for people in their 40s, especially when they begin to experience changes in their vision that is related to age. However, this situation and the progression of their vision can create room for other visual procedure options.
Our eyes and how they work
Before you will understand LASIK eye surgery procedure, who should get one and how it works to correct vision problems, you must first understand how the human eyes and vision works. Light entering the eye is focused on the back-surface of the eye (retina) by the natural lens (crystalline lens). The image that is focused on the retina is then converted to electrical impulses, and are sent to the brain through the optic nerve. This then makes it possible to see things around you.
Eye problems result when there is a problem with either the shape of the eye or the retina for example, if the eye is too long or the shape is irregular, or the cornea is too steep or too rounded, it can affect the way light is focused on the retina, causing far away objects to become blurry (short-sightedness), or close objects to become blurry (long sightedness) or even the entire image to become distorted ( astigmatism).
LASIK! How does it work?
The LASIK eye surgery procedure corrects the vision problem by working on the outer shape of the eye. It removes very small bits of tissue on the eye and then smoothens the surface, thereby ensuring that the cornea is not too round or too steep. With this adjustment to the eye surface and cornea, light that enters the eye will focus on the retina, thereby creating a sharp vision without the need for glasses or contact lenses.
Highly advanced LASIK technology uses cutting edge laser and advanced guidance systems controllable by experts. They have the training in all seven refractive vision correction procedures. Be rest assured that LASIK is a very good and effective vision correction procedure and is possibly the best you can get for vision correction depending on your vision needs.
Over 25 million LASIK procedures have performed worldwide, with customer satisfaction rates climbing to about 98%. This goes a long way to explain why people of all ages are getting LASIK procedures, but for people aged 40 and above, it is sad that they believe it is too late for them to get LASIK eye surgery procedure. Why is this happening? It could be as a result of the myths at people in their 40s have begun to experience changes in their vision.
How your vision changes after 40, and how it affects LASIK candidacy
From the age of 40 to mid 40s, you may begin to experience changes in your vision. Things close by begin to appear blurry, and you may have to rely on glasses and contact lenses more to read books and see things clearly. This problem is usually a first symptom of a progressive condition namely Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome (DLS). DLS is a vision problem that affects people over the age of 40, and manifests in three stages. It is as a result of the natural lens loosing its elasticity and functionality over time.
When you were much younger, the lens were more flexible, and were able to change focus easily, and allow light to clearly focus on the retina irrespective of the distance. As you get older, mostly from the age of 40, the lens begin to loose its elasticity and is not able to easily change focus from near to far. This can make you see distant objects clearly and having problems seeing close objects clearly without glasses.
If this problem left untreated, it can progress to the third stage refer to as cataract, and further deterioration can lead to total loss of vision. People in their 40s can benefit from LASIK, but in a different way. Some people can benefit by getting a mono-vision LASIK, in which one eye will treat with LASIK, but for a clear distance vision, while the other eye will treat with LASIK for a clear net vision.
For people in their 40s whose DLS has already progressed further, they may advised to go for any of the other seven vision correction procedures like Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE). This will completely eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses by working on the vision and correcting defects for all distances.
Why it is never too late to go for LASIK?
LASIK is a very good option for vision correction even for people aged 40 and above. LASIK can still be a good option even if you are at the age of 60.
There are factors you may have to consider that will affect your candidacy for LASIK. Some of these factors include your vision goals, whether or not you have DLS, vision needs and any eye defects or conditions.
The most important fact remains that age does not disqualify you from any visual correction procedure. For this reason, it is important to see a LASIK specialist or surgeon. They will help you discover which correction procedure is best for you.
If you want to find out about LASIK eye surgery procedures see a LASIK surgeon in London.
