Contact your Cherry Hill, NJ Eye Doctor to Learn More About Treatment Options
Presbyopia is a visual impairment related to age in which objects at a close range, such as newspapers, books or sewing, become blurred. As people worldwide are living longer, more and more individuals develop the condition, which is an unavoidable result of your aging eye.
Many believe that presbyopia is caused because the human eye will begin to harden by the age of forty, making it harder for the eyes to focus on an object, particularly an object nearby. Sufferers often manage with the situation by holding a book far away or standing back from the object they are looking at. Shifting from focusing on distant objects to nearer ones can often be strenuous for those with presbyopia. The strain could add to one's discomfort by causing eye strain, fatigues or headaches.
The most popular solutions for correcting presbyopia are bifocals or progressive addition lenses (PALs). A bifocal lens is separated into two prescriptions for vision, the upper portion is for distance vision and the lower portion of the lens is for looking at things nearby. Progressive addition lenses work similarly to bifocal lenses, however the transitions between the two prescriptions are more gradual. Wearers can more easily adjust focus, as they would with uninhibited eyesight. An alternative would be reading glasses which, unlike bifocals or PALs which are worn continually, are used only as needed.
If contact lenses are preferable, there are other options such as multifocal contacts. Individuals adjust in different ways to multifocal lenses, so it may take a few tries to decide if and in what combination they work for you.
Furthermore, there are options for other procedures including surgery available that should be talked over with your optometrist. A lot of patients are most successful using a combination of treatments for presbyopia. Also, because presbyopia will continue to get worse as you age, you will probably be required to keep adapting the strength of your correction. With the population growing older, there is quite a bit of research being done to discover additional and perhaps more permanent solutions for the growing number of people dealing with presbyopia.
Noticing symptoms of presbyopia? Book a visit with your Cherry Hill, NJ eye doctor. A return to normal eyesight is only a quick call away!