Presbyopia and Getting Older
Visit your West Haven, CT Eye Doctor to Find Out About Treatment Options
Presbyopia is an age-related condition in which objects at a close range, such as newspapers, books or sewing, become blurred. With the growing international population of older adults, more and more individuals are developing presbyopia, which currently cannot be avoided.
Theories about the cause of presbyopia are that the eyes' lenses will often lose flexibility around age 40, making it harder for the eyes to focus on something, especially an object nearby. Sufferers often cope with the situation by holding a newspaper far away or standing away from the object they are looking at. Transitions from focusing on far away objects to nearer ones is often strenuous for those with presbyopia. The stress could add further discomfort by causing eye strain, fatigues or headaches.
Most often bifocals or progressives (PALs) are worn to correct this issue. Bifocal lenses have two points of focus, one is for viewing objects from far away and the other part of the lens is for focusing on objects nearby. Progressive lenses are similar to bifocal lenses, however the transitions between the two prescriptions are more gradual. Wearers will more easily shift focus, as they might having normal sight. An alternative would be reading glasses which are usually worn just when needed as opposed to all day.
If contacts are preferred over glasses, there are other options such as multifocal contacts. It may take a few tries to come up with the best method and type of contacts since different lenses can have an effect on your comfort or distance vision.
There are also surgical options available that should be discussed with your optometrist. A significant number of people are most successful combining options for presbyopia. Additionally, because presbyopia will likely worsen with age, it is likely that you will need to keep adapting your prescription. With the population growing older, there continues to be quite a bit of research being done to identify additional effective solutions for the growing number of people dealing with presbyopia.
If you are starting to see signs of presbyopia, call for a visit with your West Haven, CT eye doctor. Better eyesight is worth it!
