Presbyopia and Getting Older
Visit your Lone Tree, CO Eye Doctor to Find Out About Treatment Options
Presbyopia is a visual impairment that comes with age in which objects at a close range, such as newspapers, books or sewing, become blurred. As people worldwide are reaching older ages, a larger number of individuals develop presbyopia, which currently cannot be avoided.
Many believe that presbyopia is caused because the human eye will begin to lose flexibility by the age of 40, making it harder for the eyes to focus in on something, especially an object close by. Those with the condition usually deal with the situation by holding the paper far away or standing at a distance from the object they are looking at. Shifting from looking at far off things to closer ones can often be tiring for those with presbyopia. The strain might add further discomfort by causing headaches, eye strain or fatigue.
The most common corrections for presbyopia are bifocal lenses or progressive addition lenses (PALs). Bifocal lenses have two points of focus, the main part of the lens has a prescription for distance vision and the other part of the lens is for looking at things that are close by. Progressive addition lenses work similarly to bifocal lenses, but they have a more subtle gradient between the separate prescriptions. Users will more easily shift focus, as they might having uninhibited sight. A third option is reading glasses which, unlike bifocals or PALs which are worn all day, are used only when needed.
If contact lenses are preferable, you might want to consider multifocal contact lenses. It may take a few tries to figure out the best method and type of contact lenses since different prescriptions can affect your comfort or distance vision.
There are also surgical options available that may be worth discussing with your eye doctor. A lot of patients are most successful using a combination of treatments for presbyopia. Additionally, since your eyesight will continue to deteriorate with age, you will probably be required to continually adjust the strength of your correction. With the population growing older, there is quite a bit of research being done to identify other effective treatments for presbyopia.
If you are starting to notice signs of presbyopia, schedule a check up with your Lone Tree, CO eye doctor. Improved eyesight is worth it!
