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Presbyopia: What is it?
Symptoms You May Experience:
Examination: What Your Eye Doctor Will Look For:
What You Can Do:
When To Call Your M.D.:
Treatment:
Prognosis: Will I See Better?
Presbyopia
is a decrease in the ability to see near objects. It is an
expected part of the aging process. Normally, muscle fibers
attached to the lens contract to change the shape of the lens, allowing
near objects to come into focus. This is called
accommodation. With increasing age, the lens hardens and loses
elasticity, becoming less able to change its shape as each eye
accommodates for near vision.
As you
reach middle age (mid 40s), you will likely start to experience blurry
vision when attempting to read, and you may find that you have to hold
reading materials farther away to see them clearly. Additional
symptoms may include eyestrain or headache.
Presbyopia
is readily detected as part of a standard eye exam. Your doctor
may test the ability of each eye to accommodate to near vision by
bringing an object closer and closer to the eye until the vision blurs.
Presbyopia affects nearly all adults to some degree as they age. It is not preventable.
Presbyopia
typically becomes most apparent during the mid 40s. It may occur
at a slightly younger age for farsighted people, or at an older age for
the nearsighted. You should see an eye doctor when you notice
that you are no longer able to read or perform near tasks comfortably.
Presbyopia
can typically be corrected with eyeglasses, which include reading
glasses, bifocals, and progressive addition lenses, or with multifocal
contact lenses. Over the counter reading glasses are an option
for those whose distance vision does not require glasses. In
select cases, refractive surgery (aka laser eye surgery) can aid in the
correction of presbyopia.
Eyeglasses
and contact lenses can usually fully correct presbyopia. However,
you may need a more powerful reading prescription as you grow older,
since changes in the lens and attached muscle fibers continue.
