While vision loss is not a normal part of aging, older adults are at higher risk for certain eye diseases and conditions, including age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, dry eye, and low vision. Eye diseases often have no early symptoms, but can be detected during a comprehensive dilated eye exam.
More than 40 million Americans are currently age 65 or older, and this number is expected to grow to more than 88 million by 2050. By that same year, the number of Americans with age-related eye diseases is expected to double, and the number of people living with low vision is projected to triple. Early detection and treatment are key to saving sight.
Join the National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) this Healthy Aging® Month to help raise awareness about eye health among older adults and how they can protect their vision.
Help us spread the word about how older adults can protect their eyes by using the Healthy Aging® Month Toolkit! This year’s tagline is “Live Well. Age Well. See Well.”
Share our toolkit resources to help older adults understand the importance of eye health:
- Sample Facebook and Twitter content (English and Spanish)
- Shareable infocards and infographics for social media or web (English and Spanish)
- Ready-to-share articles
- Print and online publications
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- Make Vision a Health Priority (English fact sheet)
- Don’t Lose Sight of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (English and Spanish)
- Don’t Lose Sight of Cataract (English and Spanish)
- Don’t Lose Sight of Glaucoma (English and Spanish)
- Don’t Lose Sight of Diabetic Eye Disease (English and Spanish)
- Medicare benefits card (English and Spanish)
- Living with Low Vision: What you should know (English and Spanish)
Print materials can be ordered by emailing 2020@nei.nih.gov
Are you a health or community professional who works with adults age 50 and over? Use the See Well for a Lifetime Toolkit to help educate people in your community about taking care of their eyes. For additional information about eye health in older adults, download this fact sheet.
