What is presbyopia?
Presbyopia is an age-related condition that affects many people as they reach their 40s. Individuals with presbyopia experience a gradual decline in near vision. Symptoms include: • Difficulty focusing on near objects, such as the print in books or on the computer • Recurring eyestrain or headaches after periods of prolonged reading or detail work Presbyopia occurs when the proteins within the eye’s crystalline lens begin to change, causing the lens to harden. A healthy lens is able to change shape to adjust for changing focus. When the lens begins to lose its flexibility, it can no longer adjust its shape to provide proper refraction for close objects, and near vision becomes blurred. Because presbyopia is not caused by irregularities in the shape of the eye, clear lens extraction is the most effective treatment for the condition, aside from corrective lenses. Laser vision correction, which involves reshaping the structure of the eye, is not yet able to improve the condition, though i
If you are nearing the age range of 40 to 50 years old, you may be experiencing some changes in your vision. These changes may continue to worsen until the age of 65. They begin to take their toll over time, as you may notice that, if you already wear glasses, you now need bifocals, and if you never wore glasses, you now require reading glasses. Presbyopia is an important concept to understand. Though LASIK eye surgery has many benefits when it is performed at our Sandy practice, located near Provo, the excimer laser has no effect on your eye’s focusing muscles or on the lens, so it cannot treat pure presbyopia. If you only need glasses for reading, refractive surgery is not likely to help you. If you are mildly nearsighted and in your 40s, you may notice that, while you cannot read clearly with your glasses or contact lenses on, you can read well without them. One advantage of mild myopia is the ability to remove your glasses after presbyopia sets in and still be able to read. If you
Presbyopia is a normal condition caused by aging that occurs in everyone and is first noticed between 35-45 years of age. At birth the focusing lens inside the eye is soft and flexible and as we age the lens gradually hardens and becomes resistant to changes in shape. Since the older lens cannot change shape as easily as it once did, the eye gradually loses its focusing ability, resulting in blurred reading or near vision. Once present, presbyopia slowly progresses throughout life.
