Presbyopia and Getting Older
Many adults begin to notice signs of presbyopia or an impaired ability to see objects at a close range, as they age. With the increasing international population reaching older ages, a significant number of people develop the condition, which currently cannot be avoided.
The lenses of your eye bend to focus on objects at differing distances. Some theories are that with age, that elasticity is reduced since the natural lenses lose their give. This phenomenon is known as presbyopia and is often noticed by blurred vision when reading or seeing objects right in front of you. This often begins to happen around the age of forty. Those with presbyopia often deal with near vision impairment by holding the paper far away or standing at a distance from the object they are looking at. Transitions from focusing on far off things to closer ones are often tiring for people with presbyopia. The stress might worsen the situation by causing headaches, eye strain or fatigue.
Most often bifocals or progressives (PALs) are used to deal with presbyopia. A bifocal lens has two prescriptions for vision, one is for distance vision and the lower portion of the lens is for seeing things nearby. PALs work similarly to bifocal lenses, however they offer a more subtle transition between the two prescriptions and have no visible line between them. Wearers will more easily shift their focus, as they would with standard vision. An alternative would be reading glasses which, unlike bifocals or PALs which are worn all day, are used only as needed.
Presbyopes can also opt for multifocal contact lenses or monovision lens correction (when one eye is prescribed a distance vision and the other near vision) to deal with the condition. Different individuals react differently to multifocal lenses, so it may take a few tries to figure out if and in what combination they work for you.
There are also surgical options that could be considered that may be worth discussing with your eye doctor. Many patients are most successful using a combination of options for presbyopia. Furthermore, since your eyesight will likely deteriorate as you get older, it is likely that you will be required to continually adjust the strength of your correction. The positive news is, there is quite a bit of experimental treatment on the market currently to discover other and perhaps more permanent solutions for patients with presbyopia.
If you are starting to notice symptoms of presbyopia, schedule an appointment with your Northridge, CA optometrist. Better eyesight is only a call away!
