Description

Presbyopia is the gradual loss of its eyes, the ability to focus on nearby objects. It is natural, often annoying part of aging. Presbyopia usually becomes apparent in his early to mid-40s and continues to worsen until around age 65.

You may become aware of presbyopia when you start holding books and newspapers at arm's length to be able to read them. A basic eye exam can confirm presbyopia. You can correct the condition with eyeglasses or contact lenses. You could also consider surgery.

Symptoms

Presbyopia develops gradually. You may first notice of these signs and symptoms after 40 years of age:

  • A tendency to hold reading material further away to make the letters more clear
  • Blurred vision at reading distance normal
  • Eye fatigue or headaches after reading or doing close work

You may notice these symptoms are worse if you are tired or are in an area with little light.

When to see a doctor

Consult an ophthalmologist immediately if blurred near vision is that keeping you from reading, doing work, or enjoy with other normal activities. He or she can determine if you have presbyopia and inform you of your options.

Seek medical attention right away if:

  • Have a sudden loss of vision in one eye, with or without pain in the eyes
  • Experience sudden hazy or blurred sight
  • Seeing flashes of light, black spots or halos around lights
  • You have double vision

Causes

To form an image, the eye rests on the cornea and lens to focus the light reflected by the objects. The closer the object, the more the lens flexes.

  • The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped front surface of the eye.
  • The lens is a clear structure about the size and shape of an M&M's candy.
  • These two structures bend (refract) the light entering the eye to focus the image on the retina, which is located on the inside of the back wall of the eye.

The goal, unlike the cornea, is somewhat flexible and can change shape with the help of a circular muscle that surrounds it. When you look at something at a distance, the circular muscle relaxes. When you look at something close to it, the muscle contracts, allowing the relatively elastic of the lens of the curve and change its focusing power.

Presbyopia is caused by a hardening of the lens of your eye, which occurs with aging. As your lens becomes less flexible, you can no longer change shape to focus in the foreground of the images. As a result, images appear out of focus.

Risk factors

Certain factors can make you more likely to develop presbyopia, including:

  • Age. Age is the greatest risk factor for presbyopia. Almost everyone experiences some degree of presbyopia after 40 years of age.
  • Other medical conditions. Be clairvoyant, or have certain diseases, such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular — may increase your risk of presbyopia, which is presbyopia in people under the age of 40 years.
  • Drugs. Certain medications are associated with presbyopia symptoms, including antidepressants, antihistamines and diuretics.

Diagnosis

Presbyopia is diagnosed by a basic eye exam, which includes an assessment of refraction and an eye health exam.

A refraction assessment determines if you have nearsightedness or farsightedness, astigmatism or presbyopia. Your doctor may use various instruments, and to ask you to look through several lenses to the test of distance and near vision.

Your eye doctor will likely put drops in the eyes to dilate the pupils for eye health examination. This may make your eyes more sensitive to light for a couple of hours after the test. Dilation allows your doctor to more easily see the interior of his eyes.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that adults have a complete examination of the eyes of each:

  • Five to 10 years younger than 40 years
  • Two to four years between the ages of 40 and 54
  • One-to-three years between the ages of 55 and 64
  • One to two years beginning at the age of 65 years

You may need more frequent exams if you have risk factors for diseases of the eyes, or you need glasses or contact lenses.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to compensate for the inability of the eye to focus on nearby objects. Treatment options include the use of corrective glasses (spectacle lenses) or contact lenses, undergoing refractive surgery, or the obtaining of lens implants for presbyopia.

Glasses

The glasses are a simple, safe way to correct vision problems caused by presbyopia. You may be able to use over-the-counter (non-prescription) reading glasses if you had a good one, the vision is not corrected before the development of presbyopia. Ask your eye doctor if non-prescription glasses are good for you.

The most over-the-counter reading glasses range in power from +1.00 diopters (D) +3.00 D. When the selection of reading glasses:

  • Try different powers until you find the level of magnification that allows you to read comfortably, starting with the lower powers
  • The test of each pair in the material read out to a comfortable distance

You will need prescription lenses for presbyopia if over-the-counter glasses are insufficient or if they require the prescription of corrective lenses for nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Your options include:

  • The prescription of reading glasses. If you do not have other vision problems, you can use the glasses with prescription lenses for reading only. You will have to remove these when you are not reading.
  • Bifocal lenses. These lenses have a visible horizontal line that separates your distance prescription, over the line, and his reading of the prescription, below the line.
  • Trifocals. These glasses have corrections for close work, at mid-distance vision — to the computer screens — and distance vision. Trifocals come with two visible horizontal lines in the lenses.
  • Progressive multifocals. This type of lens does not have visible horizontal lines, but it has a number of powers for distance, mid-distance and near corrections. Different areas of the lens have a different approach strengths.
  • The office of the progressives. These lenses have corrections for the team from far and near work. Generally the use of these in a computer or reading, and remove them for driving or walking.

Contact lenses

People who do not want to wear glasses often try contact lenses to improve their vision problems caused by presbyopia. This option may not work for you if you have certain conditions relating to their eyelids, tear ducts, or the surface of the eye, such as dry eye.

Several types of lenses are available:

  • Bifocal contact lenses. Bifocal contact lenses provide distance and near without correction in each contact. In one type of lens, bifocal, in the lower part of the reading part of the lens is weighted to keep the lens correctly placed in your eye. New types of bifocal contact lenses offer a type of correction through the edges (periphery) of each lens and the other type of correction through the center of the lens.
  • Contact lenses for monovision. With monovision contacts, contact lenses for distance vision in one eye (usually the dominant eye) and a contact lens for close-up vision in the other eye.
  • Monovision modified. With this option, you use a bifocal or multifocal contact lenses in one eye and a contact lens set for distance in the other (usually the dominant eye). Use both eyes for distance and one eye for reading.

Refractive surgery

The refractive surgery changes the shape of the cornea. For presbyopia, this treatment can be used to improve near vision in the non-dominant eye. It is like the use of contact lenses for monovision. Even after the surgery, you may need to use glasses for near work.

Talk with your doctor about the possible side effects, since this procedure is not reversible. You may want to try monovision contact lenses for a while before committing to the surgery.

Refractive surgical procedures include:

  • Conductive keratoplasty. This procedure uses radiofrequency energy to apply heat to small spots around the cornea. The heat makes the edge of the cornea to shrink slightly, increasing its curve (slope) and the capability approach. The results of conductive keratoplasty are variable and may not be of long duration.
  • Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).With this procedure, the surgeon cuts a thin, hinged flap of the distance from the front of the eye. He or she then uses a laser to remove internal layers of the cornea to steepen its domed shape. The recovery fromLASIKsurgery is generally quicker and less painful than other types of surgery of cornea.
  • Laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK). The surgeon creates an ultra-thin flap only in the cornea of the outer protective cover (epithelium). He or she then uses a laser to reshape the cornea's outer layer, the adjustment of the curve, and then replaces the epithelium.
  • Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). This procedure is similar to LASEK , except the surgeon completely removes the epithelium, then uses the laser to reshape the cornea. The epithelium is not replaced, but is going to grow back naturally, as the cornea of the new form.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). With this procedure, the surgeon cuts a thin, hinged flap of the distance from the front of the eye. He or she then uses a laser to remove internal layers of the cornea to steepen its domed shape.

The LASIK surgery recovery is generally faster and less painful than other types of surgery of cornea.

Lens implants

Some eye doctors use a procedure that remove the lens in each eye and replaces it with a synthetic lens. This is called an intraocular lens.

Several types of lens implants are available for the correction of presbyopia. Some allow your eye to see things up close and at a distance. Some change of position or shape in the eye (accommodative lens). But lens implants can cause a decrease in the quality of your close-up vision, and you may still need reading glasses.

Possible side effects include glare, and blur. In addition, this surgery carries the same risks that are associated with the cataract surgery, such as inflammation, infection, hemorrhage and glaucoma.

Corneal inlays

Some people have had success with the treatment of presbyopia, which involves the insertion of a small plastic ring with a central opening in the cornea of an eye. The opening acts as a pinhole camera and allows the light focused so that you can see close objects.

If you do not like the results of your corneal inlay procedure, your surgeon may remove the ring, leaving you free to consider other treatment options.

Lifestyle and home remedies

You can't prevent presbyopia. You can help protect your eyes and your vision follow the following tips:

  • Have your eyes checked. Do this regularly, even if you see well.
  • Control of chronic health conditions. Certain conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, can affect your vision if you do not receive proper treatment.
  • Protect your eyes from the sun. The use of glasses or sunglasses that block ultraviolet radiation (UV). This is especially important if you spend a lot of time in the sun or is taking a medication that increases your sensitivity to UV radiation.
  • To prevent eye injuries. Wear protective eyewear when doing certain things, such as sports, mowing the lawn, or the painting or the use of other products with toxic gases. Non-prescription reading glasses, in general, do not provide the protection of the security.
  • Eat healthy foods. Try to eat plenty of fruits, green leafy vegetables and other vegetables. These foods tend to contain high levels of antioxidants as well as vitamin a and beta-carotene. They are also vital for maintaining healthy vision.
  • The use of glasses. The right sunglasses optimize your vision. Have regular checkups will ensure that your eyeglass prescription is correct.
  • The use of good lighting. Or add light to a better vision.
  • Consult your doctor immediately if you experience any of these symptoms — sudden loss of vision in one eye, with or without pain, sudden hazy or blurred vision, double vision, or seeing flashes of light, black spots or halos around lights. Any of these symptoms can be a sign of a serious medical or ocular disease.

Preparing for your appointment

If you are having difficulty with your vision, you begin to see an eye specialist (optometrist or ophthalmologist). To make the most of your time with your doctor, it is a good idea to prepare for your appointment. Here's some information to help you prepare.

What you can do

  • List of the symptoms that you are experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
  • Make a list of all the medicines, vitamins, and supplements you are taking.
  • Consider taking along a family member or a friend who deals with it. You may not want to drive back home if their pupils are dilated to the test. And your companion can help you remember information provided during your appointment.
  • List of questions to ask your doctor.

Prepare a list of questions can help you make the most of your time with your doctor. A list of questions from most important to least important. For presbyopia, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
  • There are other possible causes?
  • Are the medications that I am taking causing these symptoms?
  • Do I need any other tests in addition to a complete examination of the eyes?
  • How often do I need eye exams?
  • What treatments are available?
  • What are the side effects or potential problems associated with each treatment?
  • Which treatment do you recommend?
  • What are the alternatives to the primary approach you're suggesting?
  • If I have other eye conditions, how can I best manage these conditions?
  • Are drugstore reading glasses safe to use?
  • Do you have any brochures or other printed material that I can take with me? What sites do you recommend?

In addition to the questions you have prepared, do not hesitate to ask additional questions that may occur during your appointment.

What to expect from your doctor

Your doctor may ask you a series of questions, including some that relate to your general state of health, your medical history, your eye care history, your family medical history and your history of eye problems. Your doctor may ask:

  • When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
  • The symptoms been continuous or occasional?
  • How severe are the symptoms?
  • What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
  • What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?
  • Do a lot of reading or other up to the job?

What you can do in the meantime

Make sure you have adequate lighting. If you do not currently wear prescription glasses, try a pair of over-the-counter (non-prescription) reading glasses.

Symptoms and treatment of Presbyopia