Originally Posted by rickair7777

I learned some stuff from my buddy who's ex Navy flight surgeon and current ophthalmologist...

Get an eye exam from a real ophthalmologist if you have any doubts about your ability to correct to 20/20. Not the optometrist at the glasses shop in the mall. Before you go to your FAA exam. You really need an annual eye exam anyway, so I do that about two months before my EKG medical is due. I check my glasses with an eye chart at home before the other medical.

If something changed recently, it's probably because you're getting older. Lots of stuff can go wrong...

Macula/retina: Degeneration here will be a big problem for the FAA. But if you live healthy and do cardio it's pretty unlikely prior to age 65, unless you have diabetes or very high BP (which would ground you anyway). I do take some supplements specifically for retina health, just to be safe, since I can't always find spinach salads on the road. Retina can also become detached... this is a medical emergency, get help immediately if your vision is suddenly disturbed or uneven.

Lens: Cataracts are likely for most of us, but usually not bad enough to ground you before age 55 or later. Modern surgical techniques provide a quick fix with lens replacement. Likely that you'll see much better than before, but there is a small risk of complications so probably best not to go there until you really need to.

Cornea: This can get irritated by injury (you'd now it) or dry eye syndrome (very common after age 40+), and become uneven. Dry eye syndrome is probably not what you think it is, but the doc can quickly check for dry eyes and cornea smoothness in the office. Basic moisturizing eye drops will probably heal the cornea just fine in a matter of weeks (I'd recommend preservative free). Worst case, laser surgery to smooth it out.


But like I said, get a real eye exam.