As we age, we notice a significant change in our vision. Small fonts begin to appear even diminutive, and computer screens seem darker even with the brightness settings. Thus, to get a clearer view, we strain our eyes and try to focus on objects at our arm’s length.
Sounds familiar? This age-related poor-sightedness has an accurate medical term called presbyopia. If you suffer from this natural deterioration of vision, don’t worry. You may need to get a pair of reading glasses. This article explores various aspects of presbyopia and discusses what age you should obtain them.
Aging and the problem of hindered eyesight
As you age, your internal lenses start losing flexibility and cause you to struggle to shift your focus from far-away objects to nearer ones. People who experience this kind of problem when they enter their 40s are often diagnosed with presbyopia. With a proper prescription, this condition can get managed up till the 60s. Afterward, the vision is likely to get re-stabilized.
Presbyopia 101
Presbyopia is a gradual decline of the eye’s ability to focus on nearby objects with age. It predominantly occurs in the early mid-40s and worsens until you reach age 65. An individual with presbyopia faces difficulties reading small prints. For this reason, they may hold the book at a farther distance. Also, blurred vision for close objects followed by headaches is a typical case of presbyopia.
#1. Reasons:
The cornea is a dome-shaped cover that guards the lenses. It helps the light pass through the lens without any hindrances and generates an image on the retina. The eye adjusts the distance between these two instruments (lens and retina ) to adapt the focus it requires for a clear vision. However, with constant aging, muscles holding the lens lose their flexibility, strength, and precision. It can lead to losing the lens’s ability to focus on things before the eye.
#2. Remedies:
There are a few options when it comes to curing presbyopia. Preventing it is even more difficult. For optimal recovery of your precious vision, you can opt for one of these most common treatments.
- Specialized reading glasses
- Contact lenses
- Laser surgery or other refractive surgeries
#3. Complications:
You may feel uncomfortable tension around the eyes and headaches even with doctor-prescribed bifocals and reading glasses. It may indicate a binocular vision problem. Another complication you can develop is strabismus, where eyes wander outwards and cross inwards. If you spend more time before a computer screen and experience double vision and eye strain accompanied by headaches, it is time to take it seriously.
Presbyopia – The high-risk factors
You may be developing presbyopia if you have one or more of these factors hold true for your situation.
- Chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or blood sugar (diabetes) are significantly high-risk factors.
- You prefer reading books in a dimly lit room and spending hours in front of a computer screen.
- A family history of glaucoma or macular degeneration is there.
- If one of these medications is a part of your daily life: anxiety, depression, high cholesterol, or thyroid disorders.
Although most of these affect people after their 40s, they may risk the sight of younger individuals increasing the odds of early-onset presbyopia.
Symptoms that convey that it is time to get reading glasses
How do you know if you have presbyopia? The following symptoms will tell you to take action to counter the age-related issues in your eyes.
- You struggle with reading smaller print.
- Eye pain is your regular companion after close visual focus.
- Reading in dim light strains your eyes.
- You have to hold a book farther away from your eyes to read.
- Experiencing mild to severe headaches after a reading session is another common symptom.
For those who use glasses for vision correction, switching to multifocal lenses can help you solve your physiological problems.
Key takeaways
Typically, most people start using reading glasses to compensate for lost strength in their eyes. So, when do you actually start using them? See, everyone’s needs are different, but most patients get their first pair of readers between the ages of 41 to 60. If you keep encountering alarming symptoms at a younger age, consult a doctor to get your prescription glasses.
