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Do you feel your eyes are failing you lately? Is your reading vision deteriorating by the day? There are two main reasons you could be noticing a change in your near vision. Should you worry? see your ophthalmologist? what is going on?
If this change in vision seemed to have occurred in your early 40′s, you are noticing the beginning signs of presbyopia. If you had great eyesight your entire life, and all of a sudden that dinner menu or newspaper is getting a little fuzzy, you can relax. There is nothing wrong with your eyes. Welcome to the presbyopia club.
Presbyopia is caused by a hardening of the lens inside your eye. It’s official name is the crystalline lens and it allows us to focus from distance to near. This is possible because of the elasticity of the lens. In order to do this, it must remain extremely flexible. As we approach the great age of 40, the crystalline lens has grown so dense that it begins to lose some of it’s elasticity. This happens to most everybody right around the age of 40 years or better.
Presbyopia can be addressed in many ways. The easiest form of correction is with cheater glasses. Just pop on a pair of specs when you need to see up close and voila! Of course, don’t expect to see anything in the distance if you are wearing reading glasses, unless they are bifocals or prescription progressive lenses.
Another means of correcting presbyopia is with contact lenses. Lenses can be fit in many ways. One widely used fitting style is monovision; where one eye is corrected for near vision and they other for distance. Alternatively, consider multifocal and bifocal contact lenses for a progressive style of vision.
There are even some surgeries being tested to correct your presbyopia. Conductive Kerotoplasty is the most common and widely used corneal refractive surgery used for presbyopia.
So what if you are having trouble seeing up close, but you are no where near 40 years of age? You are most likely hyperopic, also referred to as being farsighted. essentially your eye, from the surface of the cornea to the retina, is too short and light rays do not come to a focus. Theoretically, the focal point is behind the eye. Thanks to the crystalline lens, young people who are mildly hyperopic usually don’t even realize it until later in life.. However, uncorrected farsightedness can lead to headaches and eye strain.
What about that doctors appointment, should you go? Of course you should! Only your eye care provider can be entirely certain that your eyes are healthy. Vision is only a small portion of your eye exam.
This information is brought to you by Gordon Kaye; a person who has presbyopic eyes. He recently accepted his vision. After years of denial, Gordon has put together http://www.eyeonpresbyopia.com to keep himself and other presbyopic folks in the know when it comes to their near vision.
- Gordon Kaye
