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Presbyopia is the natural weakening of the close range focus power of the eye due to a gradual stiffening of the crystalline lens. Around the time we turn 40, we all begin to have trouble reading the phone book, viewing a car's dashboard or working on a computer.

This is a natural phenomenon called presbyopia. It happens to all of us, and progresses as we get older. Besides blurred near vision, signs include the tendency to hold reading materials farther away, and eye strain.

  

Presbyopia is sometimes mistakenly considered a refractive error like nearsightedness or farsightedness. And it is often confused with farsightedness, but it's very different. Refractive errors are caused by light rays bending incorrectly inside the eye due to the eyeball shape.


The eye's lens hardens with age, resulting in blurred near vision.
  
Presbyopia is caused by a slow loss of flexibility within the human lens inside the eye. The cumulative effects of this flexibility loss are noticed around the age of 40, though some people become aware of it earlier and others later. This vision disorder happens whether you are nearsighted or farsighted, and it's a natural part of aging, similar to cataracts.

Presbyopics find that they need to hold books, magazines, newspapers, menus and other reading materials at arm's length in order to focus properly. Headaches, eyestrain and fatigue often accompany near work. See your eyecare practitioner if you experience these symptoms while in your middle years.


Bifocal glasses, reading glasses or contact lenses are the most common remedy for presbyopia. Bifocal means two points of focus; the main part of the spectacle lens contains your distance or near prescription, while the lower portion of the lens holds the stronger near prescription for close work. Bifocal glasses are available without the telltale bifocal "line" -- these are called progressive addition lenses, or PALs.

Reading glasses may be worn alone or on top of distance or near contact lenses. Bifocal contact lenses, similar to bifocal spectacle lenses, are another option, though they aren't suitable for everyone. Another contact lens choice is monovision: one eye wears a distance prescription, the other eye wears the stronger near prescription.

Because presbyopia occurs with human lens changes over time, many presbyopic prescriptions increase over time as well. Don't be surprised if your bifocal prescription, also called the "add," jumps a bit each time you visit your eyecare practitioner. This is completely normal.

For more information of Presbyopia and its correction:

 

Source(s): All above information & images are based on: an article written by Gretchyn Bailey allaboutvision.com, from an article at alphavista.com and from material provided by Swastik Opticians, authorized dealers of Varlilux (tm) by Jitesh Monhindra, Owner. All rights reserved by respective owners.

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Disclaimer: Any information displayed here is just for educational purposes, and may not be taken as an expert advice and should not be applied in life without consulting your eye doctor/specialist. We here by take no responsiblity of the accuracy of the above content as they have been taken from various sources.

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Presbyopia