Fall Prevention: How your optometrist can help
Posted Le 6 février 2019
When seniors lose their ability to see – either suddenly or over time – it deeply alters their ability to stay independent. Many times, vision loss leads to declining health, disability, institutionalization, and – you guessed it – frequent falls.
By age 65, one in three Ontarians will have an eye disease that leads to changes in vision, and one in nine seniors experience irreversible vision loss.
An additional factor contributing to change in vision for seniors is the medications they are often prescribed, many of which cause dry eye which can impair vision and decrease overall quality of life. These vision problems can:
- Double the difficulty of activities of daily living
- Double the risk of falls
- Triple the risk of depression
- Quadruple the risk of hip fracture
- Double social dependence
- Increase medication errors
While changes in vision are a natural part of ageing, vision loss is avoidable under the regular care of an optometrist. Through a comprehensive eye exam, an optometrist will detect any eye health or vision problems before they take a toll on a senior’s day-to-day life, and manage the problem so that seniors can continue living safe, independent and active lives.
For more information visit www.optom.on.ca/ or submit a question to one of our optometrists using our new Ask an Optometrist tool found on the main page of our website.