Contact your Potomac, MD Eye Doctor to Find Out About Treatment Options
Presbyopia is an age-related condition in which objects at a close range, such as newspapers, books or sewing, become blurred. With the increasing worldwide population of older adults, more and more people develop presbyopia, which currently cannot be avoided.
Theories about the cause of presbyopia are that the eye will begin to lose flexibility around age forty, making it harder for eyes to focus in on an object, especially an object nearby. Those with presbyopia often cope with the situation by holding a book far away or standing at a distance from the object they want to focus on. Transitions from focusing on distant things to closer ones is often strenuous for people with presbyopia. The stress could add further discomfort resulting in headaches, eye strain or fatigue.
The most common corrections for presbyopia are bifocal lenses or progressive addition lenses (PALs). Bifocal lenses have two points of focus, the main part of the lens has a prescription for distance vision and a second, lower portion for seeing things nearby. Progressive addition lenses work similarly to bifocal lenses, however the transitions between the two prescriptions are more gradual and have no clear line between them. Wearers will more easily adjust their focus, as they could if they had uninhibited eyesight. Another option is reading glasses which, unlike bifocals or PALs which are worn continually, are used only when needed.
If contacts are preferred over eyeglasses, you might want to consider multifocal contact lenses. Individuals react differently to multifocal lenses, so it may take some time to figure out if and in what combination they work for you.
In addition, there are surgical options that could be considered that you may want to discuss with your eye doctor. Many people find the most success by using a combination of options for presbyopia. Additionally, since presbyopia will likely deteriorate as you age, you will probably need to keep adapting the strength of your correction. The positive news is, there is quite a bit of experimental treatment on the market currently to identify more effective solutions for patients with presbyopia.
Seeing symptoms of presbyopia? Call for a check up with your Potomac, MD eye doctor. Better eyesight can be yours!