What is the Best Age to Get LASIK?

What is the Best Age to Get LASIK? ✅ A question that often comes up is how old one is ideally with laser eye treatment with the LASIK technique or other technologies. In summary, the patient must be at least 18 years old. The maximum age is usually set at 60 years.

Laser eyes what age?

A number of conditions, such as your age, laser laser in front of your eyes:

• Age from 18 years.
• Age up to 60 years.

Age 18 to 21 years

How old do you have to be to get lasik?. The minimum age for laser eye surgery vision is 18 years. If you are still growing, your strength is not stable. It is important that your eyes have grown out and your strength is stable. For laser eye surgery, the minimum age of 18 years applies, combined with a strength that is stable for 6-12 months. If you are between 18 and 21 years old, it is best to consult a refractive surgeon to see if you are suitable for laser eye surgery.

Age 21 to 40 years

Laser eye surgery is a perfect solution if you are between 21 and 40 years old. Reading glasses do not occur in this age category. So you are eligible for many of the laser eye methods.

Age 40 to 60 years

Laser eye surgery is also possible in this age category. Do you have reading glasses? Then you can opt for the monovision laser eye treatment. This treatment can only be performed if you also have a weak strength.

The maximum age for laser visioning is 60 years. After this, it is more often necessary to replace the entire lens due to cataracts. A lens implantation is then a good option.

Why laser vision a minimum age?

Nobody benefits from a laser treatment being performed too early, as laser eye surgery requires a stable refraction.
If the diopter has not yet stabilized, one risks having to undergo corrective surgery quite quickly, as vision further deteriorates. Certainly with students, for example, we see that myopia still increases during the student years.
In farsighted patients it happens that they suddenly no longer need their glasses, but then need reading glasses much earlier than normal.

– From the age of 25, and certainly around the age of 30, the refraction of the eye is usually sufficiently stabilized.
– for younger patients, we look at the evolution of long-sightedness.
– Between 18 and 21 years of age, proven stability of 2 years is required to initiate treatment.
– From the age of 21, we ask patients for a proven stability of 1 year.

Age range 30 to 40 – the ideal time?

Changes to the eye and thus visual acuity are generally unlikely by the age of 30 at the latest. The expert in refractive surgery knows: “This time is basically ideal for LASIK. It is important that the patient makes sure that a careful preliminary examination takes place to check the suitability for the operation. ”Professional eye laser centers and clinics carry out these preliminary ophthalmological examinations on every patient, regardless of their age. In female patients, there is another important factor that can influence suitability for LASIK: pregnancy – regardless of age – is basically an exclusion criterion. “The reason for this is fluctuating diopter values ​​during pregnancy,” explains Dr. Wölfel. LASIK is only possible when the values ​​have leveled off again after the birth.

Laser eye surgery for presbyopia?

At around the beginning of the 40th year of life, so-called presbyopia develops in all people. Eye fatigue makes it increasingly difficult to see clearly in the vicinity and requires reading glasses. This process is perfectly normal and natural. “LASIK surgery cannot correct presbyopia. Alternatively, the transplantation of a multifocal or trifocal lens is a good way to permanently fix both the ametropia and presbyopia and thus lead a life without glasses ”, explains ophthalmologist Dr. Wölfel. This means that replacing the body’s own lens with an artificial lens can bring just as much quality of life as a classic LASIK – without incurring much greater effort. Another advantage:

Why laser eye a maximum age?

Age limit for lasik?. Strictly speaking, there is no age limit on a laser treatment. However, people from the age of 45 develop presbyopia or presbyopia, which means that they need reading glasses. The older the patient, the more likely he or she will soon become presbyopic, and thus the shorter the enjoyment of a spectacle-free period through LASIK or other refractive surgery.

The formation of cataracts later in life also detracts from the results of laser surgery. Therefore, we do not recommend refractive surgery for people over 50 years of age. Up to a certain age, we can factor in impending presbyopia in laser eye treatment, by under- or over-correcting light. Since we can estimate how vision will evolve, this extends the period of wearing glasses. Such an over or under correction is mainly done in people who are past the age of 45.
But the future looks bright: in the foreseeable future there will be techniques that can also tackle old-age myopia.

When are you too old?

There is no maximum age limit for treatment. As you get older, your fitness isn’t determined by your age, but whether your eyes are healthy or not. So your general health says a lot more about fitness than the existence of a clear age limit.
If there is evidence of a degenerative condition such as keratoconus affecting your cornea causing it to become thinner and conical, you may not be suitable for surgery.

Also, if you have a medical condition such as diabetes, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, you should take this into account. Any conditions that affect the immune system can mean there are complications when you get into the healing phase after surgery. Of course, that does not mean that you cannot receive treatment. We determine this on the basis of individual circumstances that are taken into account separately for each patient.

Will thoroughly check an elderly patient for signs of cataracts. For cataracts, a lens replacement may be more appropriate. Still, many people over 50 undergo successful treatment. For this reason, a thorough preliminary investigation is the way to determine whether you are suitable.

Laser age prevention?

Presbyopia is a completely normal process. The lens of the eye loses its elasticity over the years. As a result, our eyes can no longer see clearly in the vicinity. Letters, numbers, symbols become blurred – reading the newspaper becomes more difficult. With age, the area of ​​sharp near vision becomes smaller. An increasing correction for near vision is then required.

Important requirements for Lasik surgery at any age

There are a few basic requirements you should meet for Lasik surgery. But don’t worry, the vast majority of the population is eligible for laser surgery. It is important that your diopter values ​​have not changed in the last two years. A sufficient corneal thickness is also a prerequisite for a successful procedure and of course there should be no eye diseases such as  cataracts or glaucoma. For the latter, we offer suitable treatment methods in the eye and laser center.

Pregnant women are not allowed to have a laser because the diopter values ​​fluctuate during pregnancy. Vision stabilizes only after the birth. The following applies to contact lens wearers: You should refrain from wearing your contact lenses two to four weeks before the procedure. In general, LASIK surgery is suitable for patients with myopia up to -8 diopters, hyperopia up to +4 and astigmatism of up to 5.5 diopters.

This information is not a substitute for a professional examination by an ophthalmologist.