Dealing with vision when Presbyopia strikes

A natural occurrence, presbyopia (literally meaning ‘ageing eye’) will eventually happen to everyone typically around age 40, whether you are short-sighted, farsighted or have perfect vision.

What causes presbyopia?
Much like osteoarthritis is caused by age-related depletion of cartilage from the bones, presbyopia is caused by ageing of the lenses in the eye. When we are younger, the lenses inside our eyes are more flexible with a greater ability to adjust focus at all distances.

However with age, the lens tends to become more rigid and hardened, losing its ability to change its shape and focus easily. This causes progressive worsening of the eye’s ability to focus on near distance objects.

Presbyopia affects productivity:
Not just for reading or working on computers, near vision quality is also essential in a number of other jobs such as sewing and tailoring, weeding, repairing objects, and performing household chores like sorting grain or cooking.

A bulk of the productivity loss happens in low income countries where a majority of presbyopia cases remain uncorrected or under-corrected. A global correction of all poor vision including that caused by presbyopia could potentially lead to a 35 per cent increase in productivity and a 20 per cent increase in monthly income in the developing world, according to the Essilor Vision Impact Institute.

Solutions to manage Presbyopia:
Fortunately, there are enough solutions to manage presbyopia. A discussion with your doctor will help you decide on the right solution depending on your lifestyle and severity of the condition.

Reading glasses: An ideal reading glass helps you so you do not have to stretch your arms while reading. People using reading glasses have to keep two pair of glasses - one for reading and the other for far vision.

Bifocal lenses: Each bifocal lens is visibly divided with the top part of the lens providing clear distance vision, while a portion of the lens at the bottom provides clear near vision. Because a bifocal has two lenses fused together hence wearers might experience a vision jump.

Progressive lenses: Progressive lenses are a modern solution for correction of Presbyopia. They remove the ‘image jump’ or jerk factor common in bifocals and offer a clear ability to read a book, view your computer, see clearly across the room without any jump or discomfort.

By: Ramachandran P
The author of the article is a group COO for Essilor India

Also Read:

Sight Problems faced by children

Food for good Eye sight

On lens care and cataract