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Taking a Closer Look at Presbyopia

Did you ever wonder why even people who never had glasses have a hard time seeing things up close when they reach middle age? Because as you age, the lens of your eye is likely to become more rigid, decreasing your ability to focus on close objects. We call this presbyopia. And it's universal.

Those with undiagnosed presbyopia may hold printed text at arm's length in order to focus properly. Performing other close-range activities, for example, needlepoint or handwriting, could also lead to eyestrain and discomfort. In order to treat presbyopia, it's comforting to know that there are several alternatives, which take your eyewear preferences into account.

The thing with reading glasses is that they are only useful for those who wear contacts or for people who don't wear glasses for correcting distance vision. Even though these are readily available at pharmacies or drugstores, it is not recommended to purchase a pair until you have spoken with your optometrist. Lots of people aren't aware that reading glasses may help for quick blocks of reading time but they can eventually cause eyestrain when people overwear them. A superior alternative to regular reading glasses are custom made ones. They can address additional eye issues such as rectify astigmatism, compensate for prescriptions which are not necessarily the same in both eyes, and furthermore, the optic centers of every lens are made to suit the wearer. The reading distance is another detail that can be designed to match your individual needs.

If you already have glasses for distance vision, think about bifocal or multi-focal corrective lenses, or PALs (progressive addition lenses), which are very popular. Essentially, these are glasses with more than one point of focus, and the lower part of the lens contains a prescription to give you the ability to focus on things right in front of you. If you wear contact lenses, call us to discuss multifocal contact lenses. There's also a treatment approach called monovision, where you wear a contact lens to correct near sightedness in one eye and another to correct far sightedness in the other eye.

But, you'll have to routinely check and possibly adjust your prescriptions, because your eyes and vision slowly change over time. However, it's also crucial to understand your options before making choices about your vision; presbyopia can affect you, even if you've had refractive surgery.

Have to chat with your eye doctor for an unbiased perspective. Vision goes through changes as you get older and we want to keep you informed so you deal with that in the way that's best for you.

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