Eye Conditions

The chance of developing age-related macular degeneration increases once you’re over 40. It’s the leading cause of blindness in Australia*. There are two types: dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration, both affecting your central vision. Wet macular degeneration can lead to more serious vision loss but, if detected early, may be stabilised with treatment. Dry macular degeneration is typically less devastating visually, but cannot be treated.

For most people, cataracts occur naturally through the process of ageing. A cataract clouds the lens of your eye, making it look milky, and the condition becomes worse over time. Symptoms include hazy vision causing blurred or distorted images, colours that appear more yellow and needing more light to see clearly.

Dry eyes occur when your eyes aren’t lubricated enough, the chemical composition of your tears is not balanced or you don’t produce enough tears. It can lead to uncomfortable sensations such as scratchy, itchy or tired eyes. You may also experience burning or red eyes and blurred vision. Strangely enough, dry eyes may sometimes be watery too.

Glaucoma affects your peripheral vision slowly and may not be noticeable until it’s advanced. The disease affects the nerve fibres at the back of your eye. Once the fibres die, you experience loss of vision and, potentially, blindness so it’s really important for us to diagnose this condition early.

A pterygium is a triangular shaped piece of tissue that grows on the white part of the eye, usually close to your nose. It’s not dangerous, but wearing sunglasses and lenses with UV protection will often slow down any further growth.

Almost everyone will notice a few spots in their vision, especially as we grow older. These floating specks are in the fluid of the eye and are usually harmless, unless they suddenly increase in number or size. In that case, please call your nearest OPSM store immediately and book an eye test.

If you’ve been outdoors all day, even if it was cloudy, and your eyes are red and feel painful, you may have sunburn. If you experience changes in your vision after time outside or have sore red eyes, please call us or visit an OPSM store. It’s important to note that not all sunglasses provide the same level of UV protection, with many fashion spectacles offering only some protection from UV rays. Read more about Sunglass Standards.