Presbyopia: Age-Related Blurry Vision

People often confuse farsightedness with another condition called presbyopia. As people age, the internal lens of the eye becomes less elastic and incapable of focusing on near objects. Presbyopia is a natural process and affects nearly everyone over the age of 40, including those who’ve never worn glasses or contact lenses. This is different from nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism which are related to the shape of the eyeball and usually occur earlier in life.

Symptoms of Presbyopia

People with this condition may experience eye fatigue or headaches when reading in poor lighting or at the end of the day. They may have trouble changing focus from distance to near, or they may feel the need to constantly reposition reading material in an attempt to find the right focus.

This condition affects people with good vision or nearsightedness, but is more problematic for those who are farsighted. Prior to becoming presbyopic, hyperopes are able to naturally accommodate to bring things into focus at any distance. Suddenly, after 40 years of living without vision correction, hyperopes often lose both distance AND near vision at the same time because their eyes can't compensate any longer.

Surgical Options for Presbyopes

Presbyopia has been traditionally treated with reading glasses or bifocals. Now, at Horizon Eye Specialists and LASIK Center, there are surgical options including Monovision or Blended Vision, Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) and Refractive Lens Exchange.