Often, middle-aged folks start to have some trouble reading. Here's why: As time passes, your eye's lens is likely to become more rigid, decreasing your ability to focus on close objects. This is called presbyopia. And, it's something that eventually happens to us all.
In an effort to avoid eyestrain, people with untreated 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 tasks at close range, for example, embroidery or writing, could also lead to eyestrain. When it comes to rectifying the symptoms of presbyopia, you have a number of solutions available, which take your eyewear preferences into account.
One of the most popular preferences is reading glasses, though these are mostly efficient for contact lens wearers or for people who don't wear glasses for correcting distance vision. You can find these at lots of shops, but it is not recommended to purchase them until you have spoken with your optometrist. Unfortunately, these kinds of reading glasses may be helpful for quick periods of reading but they can lead to fatigue with extended use. Custom made readers are often a much better solution. They can address additional eye issues such as fix astigmatism, comfortably accommodate prescriptions which are not necessarily the same in both of your eyes, and on top of that, the optic centers of every lens are specially made to suit the wearer. The reading distance is another detail that can be made to match your unique needs.
If you already have glasses, think about bifocal or multi-focal corrective lenses, or PALs (progressive addition lenses), which a lot of people find really easy to wear. PALs and multi-focals are glasses that have multiple points of focus, and the lower part of the lens is where there is a prescription to give you the ability to focus on things right in front of you. If you already wear contacts, it's recommended to talk to your optometrist about multifocal contact lenses, or a treatment technique which is called monovision, where each eye is fitted with a different kind of lens; one that corrects distance vision and one for close vision.
You will need to routinely check the strength of your lenses, because your eyes and vision slowly change with age. Presbyopia can affect older individuals even after refractive surgery, so it is important to understand all the options before making decisions about your vision care.
Ask your optometrist for an informed perspective. We can give you the tools to help you deal with presbyopia and your changing vision in a way that's both beneficial and accessible.
