Presbyopia (Age-Related Farsightedness)
Presbyopia is the normal loss of near focusing ability that occurs with age.
Signs and Symptoms of Presbyopia:
When you become presbyopic, you either have to hold your smartphone and other objects and reading material (books, magazines, menus, labels, etc.) farther from your eyes to see them more clearly. Unfortunately, when you move things farther from your eyes they get smaller in size, so this is only a temporary and partially successful solution to presbyopia.
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What Causes Presbyopia:
Presbyopia is caused by the age-related process. This differs from other vision problems like Astigmatism, Hyperopia, and Myopia, which are related to the shape of the eye ball caused by genetics or environmental issues. Presbyopia stems from the gradual hardening and loss of flexibility of the crystalline lens.
Treatments for Presbyopia:
Eyeglasses with progressive lenses are the most popular choice for presbyopia as they provide multiple prescriptions for all distances with a line-free design. Patients can also use Bifocal lenses, but these lenses have a distinct line in-between the reading and distance prescription. Reading glasses in conjunction with Distance Glasses are another choice for patients if they can not get used to Progressives or Bifocals
Multi-focal Contact Lenses are also becoming a very popular choice. These lenses come in different modalities (Daily, Biweekly, or Monthly) and in different types of materials (Hydrogel, RGP, etc.). Some patients may have to consider a mono-vision fitting, where one eye is prescribed reading and the other eye is prescribed distance and they work together for clear sight. If you are considering multi-focal contacts make sure to discuss all these options with your Doctor.