Our eyes change throughout our lives. We all go through predictable phases called the Vision Milestones. When we’re first born, they grow with us which is why your prescription may have changed through middle and high school. Around age 18, we stop growing and so do our eyes. Our eyes go through two more natural changes though and luckily we have ways to keep you out of glasses, contacts, or readers throughout your life! Here is an overview of the Vision Milestones and what procedures we may recommend for each one.
Ocular maturity is reached in the late teens (usually around age 18) when the eyes stop changing shape and the prescription stops changing. During childhood and adolescence, the eye continues to grow, and the cornea, lens, and eye length change. This often leads to shifts in the prescription which is why you may remember changing glasses or prescriptions frequently in middle school and high school. Once ocular maturity is reached, vision is steady. This is the perfect time for vision correction!
Procedures in this stage may include:
Lens Dysfunction marks the beginning of age-related changes within the natural crystalline lens, usually starting in the early to mid-40s. As the lens becomes more rigid and less flexible (a process also known as presbyopia) it loses the ability to focus up close, making reading glasses or bifocals necessary. Some people may also take their glasses off in order to see up close. This stage can be addressed through multiple approaches or procedures. For example, we often recommend Blended Vision for those in this milestone. Blended vision optimizes your aging lens by setting your dominant eye (the eye you would look through a camera or telescope with) to see the best far away. Your non-dominant eye is set to see a little closer but not so close your eyes are seeing different images. Your eyes fully work together so when both eyes are open you will see from far away to up close without the need for readers! Learn more about Blended Vision.
Procedures for this stage may include:
The natural lens becomes rigid in our 40s but it doesn’t stop changing. Through the late 50s to 60s the lens also starts to become cloudy. A cloudy lens is called a cataract! This leads to blurry or dim vision, glare, halos around lights, and faded color perception. Cataracts are an expected part of aging but can also result from trauma, medications, or systemic disease (like diabetes). Treatment involves removing the cloudy lens and replacing it with a clear intraocular lens (IOL), restoring sharp, bright, and lasting vision. These IOLs often have special technology to reduce or eliminate your need for glasses, even readers or bifocals! Learn more about cataract surgery.
No matter what your prescription is, whether or not you have astigmatism, and what milestone your eyes are in, we are committed to finding the best and safest way to deliver you new vision and help you be free from glasses or contact lenses. We examine your eyes, take state-of-the-art scans, and have a discussion together to develop a plan to accomplish your goals, wants, and needs.
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