Presbyopia

What is Presbyopia?

Presbyopia is part of the natural aging process of the eye. It is not preventable and usually begins occurring at around the age of 40. It occurs when the natural lens of the eye begins to lose its elasticity and flexibility and results in loss of the eye’s ability to focus on objects that are near.

Causes of Presbyopia

As your eye ages, the lens and muscle fibres surrounding the lens slowly lose their elasticity and stiffen. This means that your lens loses the ability to change shape and constrict to focus on close images.

Symptoms of Presbyopia

The most common symptoms of presbyopia typically involve a gradual deterioration in your ability to read or do any work up close. These include:

• Experiencing eyestrain or headaches after reading or doing close work.
• Difficulty reading fine print
• Needing to hold material at an arm’s length to focus properly
• Blurred vision at a normal reading distance
• Difficulty reading in dim light
• Eye fatigue

Diagnosis of Presbyopia

A qualified optometrist is able to diagnose presbyopia through a comprehensive eye examination.

Treatment of Presbyopia

Presbyopia cannot be cured. However, it can be very successfully managed using:

• Reading glasses
• Bifocal glasses
• Trifocal glasses
• Progressive lenses
• Contact lenses

Presbyopia may become more complicated for patients experiencing other vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism and may require a combination of these treatments to correct their vision.