When a romantic dinner out starts with you holding the menu at arm's length or rustling in your bag for your reading specs, it may dawn on you that you can no longer take your eyesight for granted. The good news is that the kind of sight problem you're experiencing when you have trouble with menus is not the type to blind you - statistically one in 12 of us will be partially sighted or blind by the age of 60, and one in six of us by 75. But it may be the wakeup call you need to reduce your risk of the other problems that can lead to vision loss. Here's how to halt the decline...

If you're not already having regular eye tests, now is the time to start. A test takes about 25 minutes and costs around £25 (but look out for opticians offering free tests, or ask your employer if they will pay for eye tests). It will check for a range of problems that can affect your vision, as well as determining whether you need glasses.

‘After the age of 40, normal-sighted people start to notice that they're holding text further away from their eyes in order to read it. This is a sign of presbyopia, which means "old eyes" and is caused by a gradual stiffening of your once-flexible lenses as you age - it's a basic design fault in the eye that afflicts us all,' says Dr Rob Hogan of opticians Dollond & Aitchison. ‘If your optician confirms that you need the same mild prescription for lenses in both eyes, the "ready reader" type of spectacles you can buy anywhere for a few pounds may be all you need. These are completely safe unless your eyes have different degrees of presbyopia (most people do) and you do a lot of close reading - in which case it's better to have a tailor-made pair of spectacles and keep ready readers for a back-up.'

Laser surgery may be an option for presbyopia, with new techniques being developed to restore the flexibility of the lens. But laser surgery is usually for short- and long-sightedness that is stable and unlikely to change. Expect to pay from £1,000 for both eyes. Find out more at www.ultralase.com.

There's no reason why you shouldn't wear sunglasses all year round. Sun exposure, whatever the season, leads to a range of eye problems from photokeratitis (painful irritation of the front of the eye) to cataracts and AMD (age-related macular degeneration). Wraparound shades offer the best protection. They should carry the CE mark and British Standard BS EN 1836:1997, which ensures a safe level of UV protection.

If you wear prescription glasses, why not invest in Transitions lenses? They offer 100% UVA and UVB protection, changing from clear to dark when you're outdoors. They're available from most opticians and add around £60 to the cost. For more information, visit www.transitions.co.uk. It's important to buy good-quality shades for your children, too, as according to the World Health Organisation, we get up to 80% of our lifetime's UV exposure before the age of 18.

It's important to know if a close family member (parent or sibling) has glaucoma, which is caused by a build-up of pressure on the optic nerve and can narrow your field of vision. If they do, you're two to three times more likely to develop the problem than someone with no family history of the disease. You'll also qualify for a free annual eye test on the NHS, so you can be diagnosed early and then have treatment to relieve the pressure and reduce the damage to the optic nerve.

Glaucoma affects about two per cent of over-40s and is more common in people who are short-sighted or have diabetes.

Here's where you can make the biggest difference to your eyes. The first thing to know is that smoking doubles your risk of going blind through Age-related Macular Degeneration, which affects central vision and is the leading cause of blindness in the UK. It causes blurriness, light sensitivity, and seeing shapes and objects that aren't there. A diet low in saturated fat and high in fruit, lutein-rich vegetables (leafy greens such as spinach and kale) and eggs, oily fish and nuts, will protect the macula at the centre of the retina from degeneration. Keeping trim will also reduce your risk, as research shows that obesity speeds up the progression of AMD, and you also double your risk of cataracts (clouding of the eyes' lenses) if you're overweight.

Iridologists believe that the eyes are ‘windows' to the body's state of health. White marks on the iris are supposed to indicate inflammation in different organs, depending on which part of the eye is affected. For example, if you imagine your eye like a clock face, the nine to ten section of the left eye is said to correspond with the lungs, while the same part of the right eye is connected to the thyroid and throat. The colour of your eyes shows your basic constitution:

● Blue eyes can mean you're prone to arthritis.

● Brown eyes suggest your metabolism may be slow.

● Mixed eye colours (green, hazel) can mean your digestion is sluggish.

Practitioners of the Bates Method claim that habits, such as staring, switch off the eyes' constantly adjust and focus on an image, with eye exercises you can correct this. Exercises include holding pencils in front of you at different distances, focusing on each in turn. But optometrists are sceptical about the benefits. For more Bates Method, visit www.seeing.org.

Do you suffer from unexplained neck pain, headaches, and dry eyes? You could be experiencing computer vision syndrome. ‘It's a bit like getting RSI of the eyes,' says optometrist David Summers. ‘Our eyes weren't designed for sitting for hours at a time in front of a computer screen with our focus fixed on a single distance,' he points out. The symptoms can be reduced or eliminated by taking the precautions on the next page (click 'next' at the top of the page):

If you spend hours on a computer, protect yourself against Computer Vision Syndrome (see previous page):

● Regularly stop, look away from your screen and focus on an object in the distance: something out of the window or along the length of your office.

● Use a chair that supports your back and a desk of the right height to ensure a good working posture.

● Adjust screen brightness and make sure lighting is well balanced, with no flickering. If you wear glasses, choose a design appropriate for computer use, such as Rodenstock's Nexyma, which has an anti-reflection lens coating.

● Follow 20 minutes of screen use with 20 seconds of distance focus.

● Anyone using a VDU at work may be eligible for free or subsidised eye examinations and a contribution towards glasses (according to Health and Safety regulations). The law says that employers must provide appropriate eye tests, and glasses, if necessary. Your local optician can tell you what you're entitled to.

● Invest in some lubricating eye drops and consciously try to blink more often. When we concentrate, our blink rate reduces, meaning that eyes can become dry, sore or feel ‘gritty' as a result.

Our eyes can feel dry, sore or gritty for many reasons: being in a dry or air-conditioned atmosphere, forgetting to blink while concentrating on a computer screen, or wearing contact lenses. Dry eyes are particularly common after laser eye surgery. Alleviate the symptoms with a new product - so easy you can do it with your eyes shut. Optrex ActiMist Eye Spray is a clever product that's formulated like the complex structure of the eye's tear film. You spray it on closed eyelids and the liquid enters the eyes at the lid margin. The spray can be kept for longer than 28 days, unlike drops.

We tried it in the Allaboutyou offices and found that it made tired, dry eyes feel pleasantly moist after a hard afternoon staring at the PC screens - and it doesn't affect your makeup either!

ActiMist Eye Spray costs £14.67 for around 100 sprays, from chemists such as Boots, and supermarkets,

● Bathe sticky, infected eyes with cool, salty water that has been pre-boiled.

● Moisturise dry, gritty eyes with Systane Lubricating Eye Drops (£6.85 ; call 0800 092 4567 for stockists).

● Soothe tired eyes with Love The Planet Eye Bright Gel (£4.25 from www.ecobasics.com or call 01524 273584).

● Treat blepharitis (eczema around the eyes) with The Skin Shop's Dry Skin Eye Gel (£8.99 from www.skinshop.co.uk or call 0871 871 9975).

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