Vision

Vision is the ability of a person to see, often described as near or far sightedness, with or without vision aids such as glasses or contact lenses.

Tips & Links

• There are common changes to vision with aging such as losing the ability to see up close (reading), trouble with night vision and adjusting to bright lights, dry eyes, cataracts (cloudy lenses), and glaucoma. Sudden change or loss of sight is an emergency.
• Learn more about specific changes and/or diseases of the eye at Healthlink BC.
• Healthlink BC recommends that you get an eye exam every 2 years as you age. Share any vision changes with your physician, nurse practitioner, and care partners. Changes in your vision can significantly impact your safety.
• Prepare for an eye exam by taking all the eyeglasses you wear (including drugstore readers) and sunglasses, bring sunglasses for driving home, and bringing your medication list (including any eye drops).
• There are 3 health professionals that support vision care — an ophthalmologist, optometrist, or optician. An optician may provide teaching about your prescriptive lenses.
• An optometrist is an eye care professional who examines, diagnoses, and treats changes in the aging eye such as cataracts and glaucoma.
• To help keep your eyes as healthy as possible, review the eye health checklist by CNIB.
• Learn about different vision tests at Healthlink BC.

Tools – Handouts & Videos