Why Maturity is an Important Part of LASIK Candidacy
February 25th, 2021
Considering getting LASIK? It’s a great choice and one that you will not regret. LASIK is an investment into yourself that will pay off for the rest of your life.
If that doesn’t convince you, it’s also life-changing. With that being said, not everyone will qualify for the procedure.
LASIK requires you to have healthy eyes, thick enough corneas, among many other factors. Some of these include having a stable prescription and being at least 18 years old.
Yes, there’s an age requirement if you’re going to get LASIK. This is a very important part of the procedure being successful! Your eyes must be mature to undergo LASIK.
Keep reading to learn more about LASIK and why maturity is an important part of LASIK candidacy!
Correcting Refractive Errors
Are you nearsighted or farsighted? Do you have astigmatism?
These are three common examples of refractive vision errors. These vision problems occur when your cornea is misshapen.
A misshapen cornea refracts light irregularly. If light refracts the wrong way, then your brain will see images incorrectly.
When this happens, it’s called a refractive error. If you have a refractive error like nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, you’ll have blurry or distorted vision.
LASIK corrects refractive errors by reshaping your cornea. To do this, the surgeon will create a small incision on your cornea.
This incision makes a flap in your cornea. Laser technology reshapes your cornea through this flap and corrects your refractive errors.
When your cornea gets reshaped, it’s reshaped. This means your vision correction from LASIK is permanent.
This small incision removes some of the tissue from your cornea. That’s why to have LASIK, your cornea must be thick enough.
If your cornea is too thin, removing even a tiny amount of tissue could lead to severe complications during LASIK. To have LASIK, your corneas must be at least .5 mm thick.
Mature Eyes
LASIK is most effective on mature eyes. The most common age range of LASIK patients is between 20 and 40 years of age.
This is when your eyes are mature and your vision is most stable. Patients in this age range have some of the healthiest eyes.
Your eyes are still developing if you’re still a teenager. Technically, you can have LASIK when you’re 18, but many LASIK surgeons prefer patients be in their mid to late twenties.
This ensures your eyes have stopped developing and are stable. Your vision prescription must be stable for at least one year before undergoing LASIK.
Your eyes start changing again after the age of 40. This time they are deteriorating instead of developing.
Your eyes can develop presbyopia once you’re in your forties. beyond the age of 40. This is a vision error that affects the lens of your eye. LASIK cannot correct presbyopia. LASIK can only correct current vision problems.
After 40, your vision prescription requires more frequent updating. LASIK is still performed on adults who are 40 or older, but it’s not as effective as the 20-40 age range.
Many patients beyond the age of 60 develop cataracts in their eyes. LASIK cannot be performed if you have cataracts.
After the age of 18, there is no hard and set age limit for LASIK. Adults with healthy eyes and a stable vision prescription make great LASIK candidates. This is true at any age beyond the age of 18.
LASIK Consultation
Want to know if you are a good candidate for LASIK? The only way to know for sure is during a LASIK consultation. Schedule your LASIK consultation today with the Laser Eye Center in Huntsville, AL!
