Presbyopia correction

Do you experience greater eye fatigue while doing close-range activities? Do you tend to hold reading material further away from your eyes than before in order to see the print more clearly? This is probably a symptom of presbyopia – a completely natural age-related process. It cannot be prevented or stopped, yet it can be corrected by wearing glasses or contact lenses or by undergoing a laser vision correction procedure. 

What is presbyopia?

The eye lens is built in such a way that it can change its shape depending on the distance from the object we look at. However, the lens undergoes an inevitable physiological process – over time it becomes thicker and less flexible. Such loss of elasticity results in poor eye accommodation, which in turn makes the eye partially or even completely unable to adjust to see objects at close distance. Therefore, we have to put the objects further away from the eyes more and more frequently so that we can see the details more clearly. This tendency of the eye lens is referred to as presbyopia (or age-related farsightedness). Presbyopia is not a disease but a natural condition of the eyes, which develops with age. The first symptoms of presbyopia usually appear after the age of 40.

How to correct presbyopia?

It is necessary to visit an ophthalmologist. A specialist ophthalmologic examination enables to verify whether vision deterioration is a result of presbyopia alone or presbyopia which occurs in conjunction with a refractive error – short-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism. If we haven’t been diagnosed with any vision defect before, the doctor will prescribe us a pair of plus reading glasses. If we need glasses for both short and long distance, a solution will be two pairs – one which correct the refractive error and the other for reading. In such case bifocal or – more comfortable – progressive glasses are also used as they include two viewing areas of different optical power. Bifocal and progressive contact lenses may also be used analogically.

Presbyopia can also be corrected with laser vision correction; however, it is possible only in situations when presbyopia is accompanied by a refractive error (short-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism). A laser vision correction procedure is then performed using a so-called monovision technique, which means that after the surgery the dominant eye will be responsible for distance vision, whereas the non-dominant eye is dedicated to near vision. It has to be born in mind, however, that unlike laser vision correction of refractive errors, presbyopia correction does not guarantee permanent results.

Let’s not forget that the eye lens is subject to an aging process, which is inevitable, and that laser vision correction does not eliminate presbyopia completely, but only reduces its effects. It is the cornea which is remodelled during the procedure, and not the intraocular lens (which no longer has the accommodation ability). Monovision laser vision correction enables people over 40 to forget about wearing glasses for everyday activities and postpone the need to use reading glasses by a few years. On the other hand, it has to be remembered that the surgery is not suitable for those who need very sharp long distance vision because the consequence of the monovision procedure is a slight short-sightedness in the non-dominant eye.

If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above in the article, make an appointment for a specialist ophthalmologic examination or an examination qualifying for laser vision correction in our Ophthalmologic Centre.

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