What is presbyopia?
Presbyopia is a normal part of the ageing process and presbyopic symptoms develop gradually as we get older. It is the gradual loss of your eyes' ability to focus on objects up-close. It's a natural part of ageing which usually becomes noticeable in your early to mid-40s and continues to worsen until around age 65. As a common condition, it’s nothing to worry about, and it’s easy to work presbyopia around your lifestyle.
What causes presbyopia?
In younger eyes with no vision problems, the lens is usually softer and therefore easier to curve and flex but, as we grow older, the lens can harden. Presbyopia is caused by this hardening of the lens of your eye, which is a natural part of the ageing process.
As your lens becomes less flexible, it becomes more difficult to change shape in order to focus on close-up objects, which in turn affects your vision. Even if you have never needed glasses, you might find that you need to begin wearing glasses later in life for close-up tasks such as reading, looking at your phone, or even driving.
Presbyopia symptoms
- Having difficulty reading small print
- Needing to hold reading material at an arm’s distance to focus properly on it
- Experiencing blurry vision at normal reading distance
- Having eye strain or headaches after reading or doing close works
- Needing brighter lighting when reading or doing close work
- Overall problems seeing and focusing on objects that are close to you
- Squinting to bring objects into focus
- Blurry vision up-close
Treatment of presbyopia?
From prescription spectacles to contact lenses to presbyopia surgery - there are a variety of ways to correct presbyopia. Talk to your trusted Spec-Savers optometrist who can help decide the best option for you.
