Presbyopia and Aging
Visit your Atlanta, GA Eye Doctor to Learn More About Treatment Options
Many adults eventually experience presbyopia or a reduced ability to focus on things that are close, as they get older. As people around the world are living longer, more and more people are developing the condition, which is an unavoidable result of your aging eye.
Your eye's lenses curve to focus on objects at varying distances. Some theories are that with age, that curvature is reduced since the lenses harden. This condition is known as presbyopia and is often noticed by blurred vision when reading or seeing objects at close range. This often begins to take place around someone turns forty. Those with the condition often deal with near visual impairment by holding the paper far away or standing at a distance from the object they are looking at. Transitions from focusing on far away things to closer ones can often be tiring for those with presbyopia. This stress might worsen the situation by causing eye strain, fatigues or headaches.
Most often bifocal lenses or progressives (PALs) are worn to deal with presbyopia. Bifocal lenses are divided into two prescriptions for vision, the upper portion is for viewing things at a distance and the lower portion of the lens is for looking at objects that are close by. PALs use the same principal as bifocals, but they provide a more subtle transition between the separate prescriptions and have no clear distinction between them. Users will more easily adjust focus, as they would with uninhibited sight. An alternative would be reading glasses which are usually worn just when needed as opposed to all day.
Presbyopes can also opt for multifocal contacts or monovision lens correction (in which one eye is prescribed a distance vision and the other near vision) to deal with the vision impairment. It may take some time to figure out the optimal method and type of contact lenses due to the fact that different lenses can cause discomfort or blurriness.
There are also options for other procedures including surgery available that you may want to discuss with your optometrist. A lot of patients find the most success by combining treatments for presbyopia. Furthermore, because your vision will continue to worsen as you age, it is likely that you will need to keep adapting the strength of your correction. With the population growing older, there is a significant amount of research being done to identify additional and perhaps more permanent solutions for the growing number of people dealing with presbyopia.
If you are starting to notice signs of presbyopia, schedule a visit with your Atlanta, GA eye doctor. Better eyesight is worth it!
