This month is Presbyopia Awareness Month so we’ve created a list of presbyopia facts to help clear up some of the confusion around this condition.
Presbyopia is NOT an eye disease
The term presbyopia means “old eye” and is really just that. It is a condition that occurs as part of the normal aging process and is not considered an eye disease. As individuals age, the lens of the eye becomes less flexible and elastic and the eye muscles lose some of their strength. This causes the lens to have trouble focusing on the rays of light that come from nearby objects such as a newspaper or a menu.
You can be as young as 35 and have presbyopia
It’s not just grandma who needs reading glasses. Some people as young as 35 start noticing a change in their vision due to the beginnings of presbyopia, though most people start noticing in their late 40’s. For those are just starting to have trouble seeing up close-up objects clearly, CooperVision makes a lens for young presboypes called Proclear EP.
Everyone will get presbyopia someday
It’s just like grey hair and wrinkles–if you live long enough, you’ll get presbyopia. Unfortunately, there is no known way to prevent presbyopia, but the good news is correction is relatively simple.
Presbyopia has no cure
It may have no cure but at least it will not keep getting worse indefinitely. Usually the process stabilizes around age 65.
You don’t have to wear bifocals
The days of having to wear readers or bifocals that scream “I’m old!” are over. Contact lenses are a very successful alternative. The two common types of contact lenses prescribed for presbyopia are monovision and multifocal. Monovision lenses work by having one contact lens correct for near vision while the other corrects for far vision. Multifocals work somewhat like bifocals in which different parts of the lens serve different focal distances. Some excellent choices for multifocal lenses include: clariti 1 day multifocal, Biofinity multifocal , and the Proclear line of multifocal lenses including a sphere, toric and 1 day option.
If you’d like to learn more about Presbyopia, watch this video that summarizes the condition.