My eye test at 50: I feared the worst, but the results surprised me.

When turning 50 comes with an NHS subscription

Turning 50 seems to come with an unexpected subscription to the NHS. Breast screening, bowel screening, blood tests and appointments I once associated with people a lot older than me. I half expect a letter inviting me to book my next service, complete with a complimentary oil change.

But my latest eye test was one appointment I wasn’t looking forward to. For months, I’d been experiencing some unpleasant symptoms, and with a family history of glaucoma and sight loss, I was frightened of what the optician might find.

With my father’s history of glaucoma and sight loss, the symptoms were difficult to ignore. I wanted answers, although I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear them.

When eye pain sends your imagination into overdrive

It started with a throbbing pain behind my eye, followed by sharp, shooting sensations that felt like someone was jabbing a hot poker into my eyeball. My left eye began twitching on calls, sometimes I’d stop mid-sentence, apologise and rub my eye. On other occasions, the nausea was so unpleasant that I wanted to lie down in a dark room.

My dad has glaucoma and lost the sight in one eye following a detached retina and complications from surgery. I’ve seen what losing your vision can mean, so dismissing my symptoms as tiredness wasn’t easy. There was also my Botox experience earlier in the year. What began as an attempt to celebrate turning 50 had left me worrying about every unfamiliar sensation around my face. Had I irritated a nerve? Was something damaged? I found myself squinting into mirrors and pressing my palm against my eye, as though I might find something the medical profession had overlooked.

You can read about my Botox disaster if you’re interested about that birthday mistake.

The eye test results I wasn’t expecting

The optician examined my eyes and delivered news I hadn’t prepared myself for. My eyesight was good, and she found no warning signs of glaucoma or retinal problems during the examination. What she did find was significant dryness. She explained that hormonal changes, stress and prolonged screen use could be contributing to my discomfort. Perimenopause, apparently, has decided that hot flushes and disturbed sleep aren’t quite enough.

She recommended Hycosan Intense lubricating eye drops because the drops I’d already been using weren’t helping sufficiently. It was reassuring, although the more severe symptoms deserved attention rather than being automatically attributed to dryness. A normal eye examination is welcome news, but persistent or worsening pain still warrants medical assessment.

My unexpected Jack Sparrow moment

The visual field test was probably my favourite part of the appointment. You cover one eye and press a button whenever a small light appears. It sounds easy until you’re sitting there concentrating like a contestant on a particularly low-budget television game show. I spotted every single light. Every. Single. One.

Cyrus would have been impressed. It reminded me of one of his Roblox games, except I was wearing an eye patch and looking rather more like Jack Sparrow than a middle-aged woman undergoing an NHS eye examination.

After months of worrying about my memory, concentration and the indignities of getting older, I enjoyed being good at something. Admittedly, pressing a button when a light flashes isn’t going to earn me a trophy, but I’ll take the victory.

What perimenopause can do to your eyes

The optician also explained why eye discomfort becomes more common during midlife. Hormonal changes can affect tear production and the stability of the tear film, leaving eyes feeling dry, irritated or uncomfortable. Then there’s presbyopia, the age-related change that makes focusing on nearby objects increasingly difficult. The lens gradually becomes less flexible, which explains why restaurant menus sometimes take the sort of distance normally reserved for viewing paintings in galleries.

My reading prescription was +1.25, which hardly seemed disastrous. More importantly, the examination offered reassurance about the conditions I’d been frightened of developing.

Looking after my eyes after 50

I’ve come away with a few practical changes to make. Better lighting, suitable reading glasses, lubricating drops and regular screen breaks are now part of the plan. Warm compresses may also help with some forms of dry eye, although treatment depends on the underlying cause.

Because my father has glaucoma, regular examinations are really important. In England, people aged 40 and over with a parent, sibling or child diagnosed with glaucoma qualify for free NHS sight tests, although that doesn’t automatically mean an annual appointment is necessary for everyone. I also know that sudden vision changes, severe eye pain or eye pain accompanied by nausea shouldn’t be dismissed as another hormonal inconvenience. Those symptoms can require urgent assessment.

The best news was rather boring

For all the time I’d spent wondering whether Botox had damaged something, the examination hadn’t uncovered the disaster I’d imagined. That doesn’t establish the cause of every symptom, but it has given me some reassurance and a sensible starting point for managing the dryness.

At 50, I’m increasingly aware of how easily an unfamiliar ache can send my thoughts wandering towards the worst possible explanation. Having watched my father struggle with his eyesight, perhaps that isn’t surprising.

Still, there’s something good about leaving an appointment with ordinary advice instead of frightening news. My eyes need more attention, and I can apparently give Captain Jack Sparrow a respectable run for his money.

Occasional stories, experiments, discoveries and questions from Saffron & Cyrus.