Myopia and presbyopia are common eye disorders that affect both young and old. A person affected by myopia or also known as nearsightedness hardly sees objects from a distance and sees objects clearly when near. Presbyopia or also called long-farsightedness is an eye disorder that makes it hard for the affected person to see objects closely and have a clear view of distant objects. When individuals are young, their eye lenses are flexible and soft. Lens of the eye changes its shape simply and allows you to focus on objects both far away and close. After the age of forty, lens of the eye becomes a lot rigid. As lenses cannot change shape easily as it once did, it is a lot difficult to read at close ranges. This condition is called Presbyopia.

Due to the fact that everyone develops long-farsightedness, if an individual also suffers from myopia also, both conditions will combine. Individuals with nearsightedness may have fewer issues with presbyopia.  

Presbyopia Causes

In contrast with other refractive errors like hyperopia or farsightedness, astigmatism and myopia, Presbyopia is caused usually by age related procedures that lead to your eye’s lens trailing its flexibility. It is frequently considered that as people age, differences in the eye lenses protein make it less flexible and a lot rigid as time passed by. In addition, muscles that surround the lens may lose their elasticity. As it less able to change its shape effortlessly and become less flexible, the eye of an individual has a harder time to focus on close objects. This is the reason why most aged persons hold objects like newspapers farther for them to read and focus correctly.

Symptoms of Presbyopia

Several signs and symptoms of presbyopia include headache, eyestrain and feeling tired of doing close eye works. One of the most observable signs of having presbyopia is the need to hold objects and reading resources at arm’s length to focus correctly and read properly. Symptoms of farsightedness or hyperopia and presbyopia are the same, but they are actually caused by different things. Farsightedness is a refractive error that occurs when your eye is a lot shorter compared to the normal type and has a cornea that’s too flat. Due to this, light rays focus only beyond the eye retina instead on it. It allows a person to see distant things vividly and in contrast, close objects appear blurry. It develops later usually at around age forty.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Presbyopia

It can be diagnosed using eye examination and standard vision tests. An ophthalmologist uses a phoropter, a piece of equipment that measures the amount of the refractive error a person has and helps determine the proper prescription to correct it. Presbyopia correction and presbyopia surgery are usually the common methods in treating presbyopia. Reading glasses are a typical and easy way in correcting all symptoms of Presbyopia and are worn during close works such as sewing and reading. Eye glasses with progressive or bifocal lenses are another usual method to correct this kind of eye disorder. Multifocal contact lenses are other option to correct presbyopic vision.