Prebyopia - it will happen to us all

No its not a disease....it's a sign of maturity. This is my 'PC' way of letting my patients down gently that they are in fact getting older.

Presbyopia may be an unfamiliar word to many people, but it is one of the most common conditions affecting our eyesight. In essence, it concerns the inability to focus on close objects.

We know that presbyopia is a naturally occurring and universal phenomenon, but its precise cause is unclear. Most experts believe that the eye's lens hardens and becomes less elastic as it ages, making presbyopia different to more genetic conditions like astigmatism or myopia. Although
there is no known way to prevent onset, people with presbyopia can now choose from a number of alternative treatments to counterbalance the condition's effect.

Reading glasses have usually been the simplest solution for people with presbyopia, although their
popularity has been lessened by the development of alternative more sophisticated lenses. As the name suggests, bifocal lenses offer two types of magnification - a prescription for distance vision in the top lens, with the lower section containing a different strength for looking down at close objects. Meanwhile, the relatively recent phenomenon of progressive (varifocal) lenses has created seamless vision correction. These graduated lenses change in shape and strength from the top down, creating a smoother distortion-free transition between distance and close-up focus,
as well as offering aesthetic benefits, with no join between different lenses. Varifocals now account for almost a fifth of lenses professionally prescribed, enabling people to use a single pair of spectacles for reading, driving and everything in between - particularly practical for close tasks
using compact modern technology like mobile phones.

Contact lenses are another increasingly popular option for presbyopia sufferers, and thanks to the flexibility of modern manufacturing techniques, it's now possible to obtain bifocal and multifocal lenses, to achieve different prescription strengths at varying distances.

One final alternative is monovision, where one eye has a distance contact lens fitted and the other wears a near-sighted lens, although some patients find this method of vision correction takes time to adapt to, and distance perception can be affected.

Call us to book an appointment on 01268 544646

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