Is it possible for eye power to be affected by aging?

Question

Hello doctor,

During my last eye exam, a couple days ago, my eye doctor stated I needed lab work drawn due to a drastic change in my eyes. The sphere was -3.25 bilateral two years back and now is -2.0 bilateral. What is the concern?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand that your eye power has changed quite a bit in two years. The change that we normally expect to see in you would be more on the minus side that is to say that your power must naturally progress to more on the minus side than becoming less.

We see these changes occurring due to a process called nuclear sclerosis, which is part of the normal aging process of the lens inside your eye. Since the power has become lesser, this change cannot be simply ignored as due to aging and your doctor must be suspecting a cause for which he has asked for laboratory work. There are very few conditions which can cause such a change, to name a few progressive hypermetropia, retinal and choroid diseases.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.