Presbyopia

What is presbyopia:

Ultimately, presbyopia is the loss of your eye’s ability to focus on close-by objects over time. It is a natural process and comes with the unfortunate truth of ageing. Presbyopia often becomes noticeable towards the mid-40s age range and continues to worsen until age 65. Presbyopia has to do with the lens inside of our eyeball, when we are young and we bring something close by for us to see and read, the muscles around the lens controls shapes so we can read it better. However, with age, the lens hardens which results in us not being able to focus clearly anymore. The process of this is called accommodation, and the loss of accommodation at the age of 40s is a very normal symptom that happens and gets worse with age. The lens inside the eye works just like a camera, it changes focus to see clearly at different distances. Inside each eye is a flexible lens, when you look at something far away the lens flattens focusing on the distance, and when you look at something close like your phone the lens curves so you can see the screen clearly. As we get old this lens stiffens, making it difficult for us to focus. Because it becomes difficult to focus on objects, the eye strain heightens which can cause headaches and affect the daily lives of those with presbyopia.

What causes presbyopia:

Presbyopia is associated with the lens in our eye, also known as the cataract. The cause of presbyopia is completely natural, as we age the lens inside of our eye hardens and stiffens, which makes it more difficult for our eyes to focus on close and distant objects. When we are younger this lens is far more flexible which is what makes the focusing process so smooth for us when we look at close or distant objects, but as we come to the age of mid-40s, because this lens stiffens, it is not as easy for us to focus on what we are trying to look at. Presbyopia is something that can develop through your mid-40s till the age of around 60, by the mid-60s your presbyopia is fully developed. It is developed gradually, you will notice that you gradually are having difficulties reading close by things, then the next day the further objects too.

What is the treatment for presbyopia:

The treatment for presbyopia can include some natural methods like daily exercising of the eye’s focus. Patients may also wear corrective eyeglasses which are multifocal, although in the past the quality of these lenses was not the best, now with the progressed technology these lenses have come a long way to ensure you get the best vision from your glasses. Patients may also use contact lenses which are specifically for presbyopia if they do not prefer to wear glasses. Some patients may find it difficult to get used to presbyopia contacts, however, just like regular lenses they may take any time between 4-6 weeks to get used to. There are also options of using some drops that are designed for presbyopia which can help too. If patients wish, they may also undergo refractive surgery, or may even get lens implants for presbyopia.