What is presbyopia?

If you have recently been diagnosed with presbyopia, then there is one important question on your mind: what is presbyopia and how is it treated? Many people take their vision for granted until something goes wrong that impacts their eyes. It can be overwhelming to be diagnosed with an eye condition. But, it is important to understand that there are many treatment options to help with your eye health.

What is Presbyopia?

Over time, your eyes can start to lose the ability to see things up close. This condition is known as presbyopia, and it is a normal thing that happens as a result of aging. So, there is nothing to be worried about if your eye doctor tells you that you are suffering from presbyopia.

The name “presbyopia” comes from the Greek words for “old eye.” Often, people start experiencing presbyopia after the age of 40, although the onset of this eye condition varies from one person to the next. When the eyes start to change, people need to hold books farther away from the eyes so that they can see the letters and numbers clearly.

Causes of Presbyopia

Age is a big factor for this eye condition. There are certain changes that happen within the eyes that can impact your vision. The lens of the eye is located behind the colored portion of the eye. The eye adjusts to focus light into the retina, giving you the ability to see objects and details in front of you.

In the younger years of life, the lens is flexible and soft, making it easy for the eye to change shape as needed. As you age, the lens gets harder and can’t change shape very easily. It becomes harder to read to look at fine details.

This process is a normal part of aging, and unfortunately the condition can’t be reversed after it occurs. But, you can talk to your eye doctor for treatments that can be used to correct your vision. For example, contact lenses, eyeglasses, or eye surgery can be used to correct the vision. Not correcting presbyopia could result in eye strain and headaches if left untreated.

Treatments for Presbyopia

If you are tired of the eye strain, headaches, the need to hold objects far away so that you can see them, then you need to talk to your eye doctor about treatment options for presbyopia. The most common treatment option is to use eyeglasses that have progressive lenses. These multifocal lenses help to restore great vision and can be used for multiple refractive errors.

You can choose to wear bifocal lenses. But, most patients prefer the line-free multifocal lenses so that they don’t need to adjust to the line in their vision. Plus, many people don’t like the appearance of a line in their glasses, because the line could show their age.

If you are finding that you need to hold your phone or books farther away to read the words, then it is important that you schedule an appointment with an experienced eye doctor. Talk to us at Village Eyecare to learn more about your treatment options. We are here to answer all of your questions, including “What is presbyopia?”

2018-03-19T23:53:41-05:00