Am I Too Old For Lasik?

The best time to get lasik is at a younger age. This is simply because you have many years to enjoy having good vision. But unfortunately not everyone gets word of that awesome advice. And then as they get older they start to wonder if lasik is even worth it or if they are too old for lasik. But fear not, many people that think they are too old for lasik can still end up being good lasik candidates.

The first stage of life where vision starts to change happens when you hit your 40s. At this time, a normal condition called presbyopia occurs which causes a gradual loss of up close vision. But despite all this happening, lasik can still work to correct vision. Lasik can either be done to focus both eyes on the distance. Reading glasses are then required to see up close. But lasik can also be done to correct for both distance and reading vision. This is achieved through a technique called mini-monovision where one eye is corrected for the distance while the other is corrected for up close. Thus achieving glasses independence!

As time goes on into your 50s and beyond, things start to change a little more. The up close vision gets even worse, but also the lens inside the eye starts to get a little bit cloudy. Gradually over the next 15 to 20 to 25 years, this lens gets cloudy to the point that it's called a cataract. Sometimes, instead of doing lasik, the better option is to go ahead and replace that lens through a procedure called refractive lens exchange. But for many patients lasik can still work very well.

Once we get into our 60s, we are starting to approach an age range which may be "too old" for lasik. it's not that lasik wouldn't work, but more often it just wouldn't last all that long before cataracts start causing vision troubles.

Lasik is quite a versatile procedure and can work for quite a large range of ages. So it’s always worth it to have an eye professional take a look to see if it can work for you.

Also check out The Things to Know For Lasik Over 55 Years of Age on EyeMountain.com

Related Articles