Aging affects nearly every part of the body, including the eyes. It is common and perfectly normal to see a decline in vision with age; it doesn’t necessarily indicate that the eyes have developed a disease.
In this post, the team at Laser Eye Center of Miami reveals how the aging process can affect vision — particularly, close or near vision.
Understanding Presbyopia
During the younger years, the eye’s lens is flexible and able to change shape “on demand” to bring nearby objects, including the small print of a book or newspaper, into clear focus. But over time, the lens hardens and loses some of its youthful elasticity; this is known as presbyopia. As a result, the lens is no longer able to flex to see up close clearly. Usually between the ages of 40 and 50, adults find themselves straining to read a newspaper or smartphone. Many hold reading material farther away from the eyes in order to see it clearly. Other symptoms include headaches or eye fatigue after reading or performing other close work.
Options to Correct Presbyopia
The traditional solution to presbyopia — besides holding a newspaper at arm’s length — is to wear reading glasses, or “readers.” However, the team at Laser Eye Center of Miami offers several long-term solutions that don’t require reading glasses to see clearly up close. We know that many patients find it frustrating to constantly depend on readers to perform tasks at home and at the office.
One option for presbyopia correction is monovision LASIK, in which the dominant eye is corrected for clear distance vision, and the non-dominant eye for clear reading vision. Most patients find their dependence on reading glasses is significantly lessened, if not eliminated, after monovision LASIK.
Our team can also implant a multifocal lens to restore clear vision at multiple distances. We offer both Symfony and Technis multifocal lense for people that want to reduce their dependence on reading glasses and be able to shift between up-close tasks (e.g., reading, sewing) and other activities (e.g., driving).
If you are over the age of 40 and having a hard time seeing fine print, you could have presbyopia. To talk with our doctors about your long-term solutions, please contact the Laser Eye Center of Miami today.