Presbyopia is a condition that affects people as they age, causing difficulty reading small print or doing close-up work. Symptoms include eye strain and the need for brighter lighting. Treatments include glasses, contact lenses, and surgery, while natural remedies include lutein supplements and eye exercises.
Presbyopia is a condition, brought on by aging, in which people have difficulty reading small words at close range or working on a computer for long periods of time. The condition is sometimes called short arm syndrome, because sufferers often have to push small print to arm’s length to be able to read it. By the time adults are in their forties, the lens of the eye begins to have difficulty accommodating, or in other words, changing its focusing distance. This is due to a gradual thickening of the lens which creates less flexibility.
Symptoms of presbyopia include difficulty seeing the contrasts between small snippets of text, needing brighter lighting to read or do close-up work like sewing, and feeling like your eyes are tired or strained after reading for short periods of time. Virtually all adults over the age of forty experience some or all of the symptoms of presbyopia. Fortunately, there are a number of treatments for the condition. Wearing glasses, using contact lenses, or having laser surgery can reduce the impact of presbyopia on your life.
If another vision impairment is present, bifocal glasses will give presbyopia sufferers a way to address additional vision impairment in the top half of the lenses. Looking out the bottom of the glasses will correct vision problems when reading or close-up work. There is a clear demarcation for the wearer between the separate strengths of the lenses.
Progressive addition lenses are a new type of bifocal lens without a clear line. As the eye scans the lens of these glasses, the strength of the lens slowly changes. Addition lenses are thought to be easier to wear and less disorienting because you change focus in stages rather than abruptly.
Those with presbyopia who have no other vision problems can simply opt for reading glasses. The advantage of reading glasses is that they don’t have to be worn all the time, but can only be used when needed. While the term reading glasses implies that these lenses are used for reading, they can also be used for focusing on close-up work of any kind.
If you don’t like glasses, there are two types of contact lenses available to correct your presbyopia. Multifocal lenses work like bifocals, providing two points of focus. Single vision lenses work very differently. One eye is fitted with a lens to deal with distance, while the other eye’s contact lens is a completely different force for dealing with presbyopia. Some people don’t like the feeling of monovision and feel nauseous or dizzy when using these lenses. Since the eyes no longer have stereoscopic ability due to the different strength of the lenses, depth perception can be negatively affected.
There are surgical alternatives to eyeglasses and contact lenses. Lasik surgery techniques, with minimal downtime after surgery, produce a monovision effect. It is recommended that anyone considering Lasik try monovision lenses for a few weeks before undergoing permanent eye changes through laser surgery.
In 2004, the FDA approved a new technique, conductive keratoplasty, for the treatment of presbyopia. In this surgery, radiofrequency energy shrinks the cornea, which results in the lens stretching. This surgery has the same effects as Lasik, so those considering keratoplasty should be confident they can cope with monovision. While monovision proves to be an acceptable alternative for coping with presbyopia, the surgery itself takes just three minutes and has a 98% success rate at 12 months.
If you want to try more natural ways to correct your presbyopia, there are a couple of suggestions. Many herbalists recommend taking the supplement lutein, which can prevent presbyopia as well as provide overall eye health. Lutein is also abundant in green vegetables and egg yolks.
Some optometrists believe that eye exercises increase visual acuity and can reduce or eliminate presbyopia. Both of these natural methods offer anecdotal evidence to support their claims of success. However, neither lutein intake nor eye exercises have been scientifically proven to correct vision problems.
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