Have you noticed that your up close vision has decreased as you age? This is super common and happens to every single person. The age at which it happens can vary. Some people start having trouble at 40 years old. Others 45 or even 48. But ultimately, everyone will need reading glasses. The reason for this is presbyopia.
Presbyopia is a common condition that affects most people as they age. It refers to the gradual loss of the eye's ability to focus on objects that are close up, such as when reading or working on a computer. This occurs because the lens in the eye becomes less flexible and is no longer able to change shape as easily as it did when we were younger.
Symptoms of presbyopia:
- Difficulty reading small print
- Eye fatigue
- Eye strain
- Needing to hold objects further away to see them clearly (you run out of arm length!)
Treatment Options:
There are several treatment options for presbyopia, including glasses, contact lenses, and surgery.
Glasses
Glasses are the most common solution and can be plain readers, bifocals, trifocasl or progressive lenses. If you do not need glasses for distance, you can buy reading glasses without a prescription from your eye doctor. Woohoo! That makes things a lot easier. (You do still need to see your eye doctor annually though!)
If you do fall under this category of people that do not need glasses prescribed by a doctor, you may ask, how do I know what power of glasses to buy? Here is a basic guide based upon age that you can follow:
A lot of drug stores will not carry all of these options. Sometimes readers at drug stores start at +1.50 or they don’t have quarter steps (for example +1.75).
If you are trying to find these glasses to purchase online and you see an eye chart saying you need a different diopter for your age, it is because every person is not the same and their ability to accommodate is different. There are different guides as they are an approximation. If you want to try it out before purchasing, I suggest trying a few pairs of glasses with different powers on to see what works best for you.
On the other hand, if you need glasses to see close and far you will need glasses prescribed from your eye doctor that incorporate help for your myopia and astigmatism. When this is necessary, you will see something called ADD power on your prescription. You have a few options. They are bifocals, trifocals, or progressives.
Progressives – glasses with a gradual trend from visual assistance with distance on the top, intermediate in the middle, and reading on the bottom. There are no lines visible on the glasses
Bifocals – two distinct sections, with the top portion for distance vision and the bottom portion for close-up vision. There is typically a line separating the two zones
Trifocals – glasses with two lines. Visual assistance for distance and then a line, intermediate vision (i.e. computer) and then a line, followed by reading zone.
Contact Lenses
Contact lenses can also be used to correct presbyopia, and there are several options available, including multifocal lenses and monovision lenses. Monovision involves wearing a contact lens in one eye that corrects for distance vision and a lens in the other eye that corrects for close-up vision. A multifocal contact lens is similar to progressive glasses but works via rings instead of segments.
Surgery
Surgery is another option for treating presbyopia, and there are several different procedures available. One of the most common is refractive cataract surgery. There are premium lenses that can be implanted when your cataract is removed that allow you to see clearly for distance, computer work and up close, like for reading.
Another option is called monovision LASIK, which involves correcting one eye for distance vision and the other eye for close-up vision.
Common questions:
Is presbyopia nearsighted or farsighted?
- It is most like being farsighted but actually it is neither! It is its own condition.
Will increasing the text size on your phone make your vision worse?
- No! If you want to increase your text size, go ahead!
Additional Resources:
Why Do You Need Reading Glasses? Eye Doctor Explains - https://youtu.be/zOzXZ0ZGgNo
My YouTube videos on Vuity (the eye drops that helps presbyopia):
Eye Doctor Tries Vuity Drops - https://youtu.be/7i9o9juzldA
Eye Drop to Get Rid of Reading Glasses? Eye Doctor Reviews Vuity Eye Drops - https://youtu.be/CF25ORHHflA
American Optometric Association article: Adult Vision: 41 to 60 Years of Age - https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-health-for-life/adult-vision-41-to-60-years-of-age?sso=y
Reading glasses on amazon - https://a.co/d/iaXj9uM