Visit your Baltimore, MD Optometrist to Learn More About Treatment Options
Presbyopia is a visual impairment that comes with aging in which the ability to focus on close objects becomes reduced. With the increasing international population reaching older ages, a significant number of individuals are developing presbyopia, which is an unavoidable result of your aging eye.
Theories about the cause of presbyopia are that the eyes' lenses will sometimes toughen around the age of 40, making it harder for the eyes to focus on something, particularly something nearby. Those with presbyopia often cope with near visual impairment by holding the paper far away or standing at a distance from the object they want to focus on. Shifting from focusing on far off things to nearer ones is often strenuous for people with presbyopia. This stress might add to one's discomfort resulting in headaches, eye strain or fatigue.
The most common solutions for correcting presbyopia are bifocals or progressive addition lenses (PALs). Bifocal lenses have two points of focus, the upper portion is for seeing things from far away and a second, lower portion for looking at things nearby. Progressive addition lenses work similarly to bifocals, however they have a more subtle transition between the separate prescriptions and have no clear distinction between them. Wearers can more easily adjust visual focus, as they could with uninhibited eyesight. A third option is reading glasses which are usually worn just when needed as opposed to all day.
If contact lenses are preferred over glasses, you might want to consider multifocal contact lenses. It may take some time to come up with the best method and type of contacts because different prescriptions can have an effect on your comfort or distance vision.
There are also options for other procedures including surgery that could be considered that should be talked over with your eye doctor. A lot of people find the most success by using a combination of treatments for presbyopia. Additionally, since your eyesight will likely get worse with age, it is likely that you will need to continually adjust your prescription. The positive news is, there is a significant amount of research being done to discover other and perhaps more permanent solutions for the growing number of people dealing with presbyopia.
Noticing signs of presbyopia? Book a check up with your Baltimore, MD optometrist. Improved vision can be yours!