Did you ever wonder why older people prefer larger font sizes? Because as you age, your eye's lens is likely to become more and more inflexible, making it less able to focus on handheld objects. We call this presbyopia. And, it's something that eventually happens to us all.
Often, to prevent having to strain their eyes, people with undiagnosed presbyopia tend to hold books, magazines, newspapers, and menus at arm's length in order to focus properly. In addition to reading, carrying out other close-range activities, for example, sewing or writing, could also result in eye strain in those who have developed this condition. In order to treat presbyopia, there are a number of alternatives available, which take your eyewear preferences into account.
The thing with reading glasses is that they are mostly useful for contact lens wearers or for people who don't already wear glasses for issues with distance vision. You can purchase these glasses at lots of shops, but it's advised not to get them until you've had a thorough eye exam. This is because reading glasses may help for quick periods of reading but they can eventually cause fatigue when people overwear them. Custom made readers are generally a better solution. These can also fix astigmatism, compensate for prescriptions which are not the same in both of your eyes, and on top of that, the optic centres of the lenses can be specially made to fit whoever is wearing them. The reading distance is another detail that can be customized to suit your exact needs.
If you already have glasses for myopia, consider bifocal or multi-focal corrective lenses, or PALs (progressive addition lenses), which a lot of people find very beneficial. PALs and multi-focals are eyeglasses that have multiple points of focus, and the lower part of the lens contains a prescription to give you the ability to focus on things right in front of you. If you wear contact lenses, speak to us to discuss multifocal contact lenses, or a treatment approach which is called monovision, where one eye wears a lens for distance vision and one eye wears a lens for close vision.
Plan to routinely check and possibly adjust your prescriptions, because your eyes and vision slowly change with age. Presbyopia can affect people even after refractive surgery, so it is it's worthwhile to take the time to find out about all the options before making decisions about your vision care.
Have to chat with your eye doctor for an unbiased opinion. Presbyopia is an inevitability of aging, but the decisions you make about how to handle it is in your hands.