Our eyes age too: Here’s how to reduce the risks of four common eye conditions

Langis Michaud, Université de Montréal

June 16, 2026

As an optometrist, I see how aging affects my patients every day. Their eyes are no exception. Losing their vision, and consequently, their independence, is one of the greatest fears older people have. Those who lose their vision are severely affected by it psychologically.

Jacqueline and Henri are patients of mine and both suffer from multiple eye conditions. Henri, a former truck driver, has had diabetes for several years. After noticing black spots and distorted lines in his sight, he failed to seek optometric advice before the black curtain of blindness fell. As a result, he can no longer look after himself and needs help with daily tasks.

Jacqueline suffers from advanced cataracts. She is delaying having a surgery because she doesn’t want to leave Henri without immediate care. She also fears developing macular degeneration. Her parents suffered from it, which left them visually impaired towards the end of their lives.

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This article is part of our ongoing series The Grey Revolution. The Conversation Canada and La Conversation are exploring the impact of the aging boomer generation on Canadian society, including housing, working, culture, nutrition, travelling and health care. The series explores the upheavals already underway and those looming ahead.

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Older people with reduced vision often feel helpless. But there are resources to support them. Rehabilitation centres offer support and services to people with visual impairments. Support groups provide an opportunity to talk to people who are going through the same experience.

But above all, there are ways to prevent the harmful effects of aging on eye health. Let’s examine them.

Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetes is the leading cause of preventable blindness. Damage typically appears, on average, 10 years (type 1 – juvenile) or 20 years (type 2 – adult) after diagnosis.

In Canada, 18 per cent of people aged 60–79 are affected by diabetes. In terms of vision, this disease affects the ability to read, the movements of eye muscles and causes the deterioration and/or proliferation of blood vessels, the main causes of diabetes-related vision loss.

Initially, there are mild alterations in the blood vessels (swollen veins, small localized hemorrhages, lipid deposits in the retina, etc.); then, as the disease progresses, the new vessels rupture, leading to hemorrhages. This is the proliferative form, which can also lead to glaucoma that is almost impossible to treat.

However, blindness is preventable. Seeing an optometrist regularly after the age of 45 or as soon as diabetes is diagnosed by a family doctor is critical. In fact, 20 per cent of patients already have retinal damage at the time of their diagnosis.

Vision is sometimes clear, sometimes blurred, and it changes from day to day. An increasing number of floating black spots, or even more stationary black patches, the presence of flashes of light and difficulty distinguishing colours that you have always been visible are all symptoms of diabetes. Henri had experienced these symptoms, but he didn’t see an optometrist in time. Had he acted sooner, the condition could have been detected and medically managed, reducing the risk of complications.

Glaucoma

Henri also suffers from glaucoma, but of a specific type caused by the new blood vessels associated with his diabetes. This is not the more common form of glaucoma, known as open-angle glaucoma, which affects five to seven per cent of Canadians over the age of 60.

Open-angle glaucoma, which is not linked to diabetes, is the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the country. There is a strong hereditary link: patients whose parents had glaucoma are at greater risk of developing it themselves.

Like diabetes or high blood pressure, glaucoma develops without the patient really noticing it. Contrasts may be harder to see, particularly in the evening or in low light. Most notably, peripheral vision slowly narrows. People become accustomed to turning their heads to see something that is actually right next to them. Patients eventually notice this while they are driving, narrowly avoiding accidents.

Here again, seeing an optometrist regularly is critical. During an examination, glaucoma will be visible in the optic nerve, which pales and becomes deeper. The pressure inside the eye increases. Measured visual fields will show defects, and glaucoma will be diagnosed.

If treated in time, glaucoma can be managed. There will always be minor losses in the visual field, but these are minimal compared to what happens if the condition is untreated — blindness. Eye drops may be prescribed, although increasingly, improving the circulation of fluids within the eye is achieved by treating the eye with a laser (trabeculectomy) or via micro-invasive surgery performed by an ophthalmologist.

Cataracts

As we age, the lens inside everyone’s eyes becomes cloudy. This is a cataract. Vision becomes blurred, like a window that gradually becomes dirty. At first, reading and fine details appear blurred, sometimes doubled. Then faces become harder to recognize on the other side of the street, road signs difficult to read, and there is glare when you go out, day or night.

Cataracts occur because from birth onwards, the eye lens absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet rays to protect the retina. This constant exposure alters the metabolism of the lens and it loses its transparency. People must take care to protect their eyes from UV rays by wearing UV400 sunglasses from childhood. Children who do not wear suitable sunglasses, or a hat, will develop cataracts at an early age.

As a result, we should protect ourselves by wearing sunglasses throughout our lives, regardless of whether the sun is shining. We can also ask for a (transparent) UV filter to be added to our clear glasses. Many contact lenses also contain efficient UV filters. An optometrist can recommend the best products based on your condition. Eating a healthy diet and watching your overall health also help.

These measures will delay the onset of cataracts, but cannot prevent them entirely. Once a cataract appears, it’s time for surgery and to consult an ophthalmologist. The procedure is quick, well-established and restores vision, provided the retina (the back of the eye) is intact. Both eyes can be operated on during the same procedure.

A cataract that is too advanced can lead to a longer post-operative recovery time and more complications.

Macular degeneration

Risk factors for age-related macular degeneration include a family history of the disease, smoking, being female, having a Caucasian background, consuming a diet high in refined carbohydrates and inadequate protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Fortunately, Jacqueline doesn’t smoke and Henri gave up cigarettes a few years ago. Second-hand smoke can be just as harmful as the smoke you inhale.

But she cannot combat the primary cause of macular degeneration — the incidence increases with age. More than 2.5 million Canadians suffer from the disease.

There were no signs of the disease during Jacqueline’s last optometric visit, so there’s no immediate cause for concern. In the long term, what can she do? Taking omega-3 (in the form of triglycerides, 800 mg EPA/DHA per day) was found to be beneficial in one study.

Recently, Vitamin B compounds (6-9(folic acid)-12) have been found to have a protective effect. A healthy diet, medical management of high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol, as well as not smoking, also help protect eye health.

New therapeutic approaches using microcurrents may help preserve vision in cases of the dry form of the condition, while an ophthalmologist will treat it using medications injected into the eye when the condition progresses to the wet form, which is accompanied by hemorrhages and leaking blood vessels.

Looking after your eyes throughout your life

Jacqueline and Henri remind us that we must not take our vital sense of sight for granted.

Aging plays a significant role in the development of conditions that can lead to blindness.