Some people, especially those approaching middle age and beyond, frequently avoid doctors and medical professionals of all kinds. If you have not needed glasses most of your life, you are probably one of those people who has avoided seeing an optometrist. However, your eyes can change dramatically with age, and there are definitive signs that you need to see an optometrist right away. Here are just three of those signs that will help you see the light (and everything else around you!) a lot better and encourage you to seek medical attention sooner rather than later.

You Only See Diffused Light

If you feel like you are peering through a dirty drinking glass most of the time, this may be a sign of developing cataracts or problems with your eyes' natural lenses. As this symptom gets worse, you will see less and less light, which happens to be very important to your capacity for visual perception. Your retinas need light to focus on them through your irises and lenses, and when your irises or lenses have a disorder or disease, your retinas cannot get the right amount of light to see correctly. An optometrist can look into your eyes, diagnose the problem and provide the correct treatment promptly.

You Only See Dim Light or No Light at All

Have you ever heard of macular degeneration? The maculae in your eyes is diseased, and when left untreated, you will eventually go blind. Since this is typically a slow process, you should not wake up suddenly and find that you can only see dim light or no light. If you were seeing an optometrist, the optometrist could have caught the signs of macular degeneration early and stalled the process. Once you can only see dim light, your vision may be too far gone to save, and by the time you consult an optometrist because you see nothing at all, there is really no chance of restoring your sight.

You Only See Distortions in Your Field of Vision

While distortions in your field of vision often are the symptoms of migraines, there may be something else at play. Light bubbles, blurry spots of light and even tunnel vision, a condition whereby you only see the light and objects in it as though you are traveling through a tunnel, are all signs of more serious illnesses. Everything from optic nerve tumors to brain tumors to diabetes can cause these light distortions in your field of vision. Start seeing an optometrist right away if any of the previously mentioned signs occur. Contact a business, such as White Rock Optometry Clinic, for more information.