Near Vision & Presbyopia in Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, Newburg & Middletown New York
Presbyopia commences at around age forty and progresses until about age sixty five. Prior to the age of about forty, the crystalline lens is both “crystal “ clear, pliable and flexible. It is this characteristic of flexibility that allows the crystalline lens to change its shape and alter its curvature so that it can help you focus your vision at various distances-from far, to near, to arms length, to far or near again. This flexibility gives you the ability to see things at all distances.
As we age, and especially noticeable by the time we begin our forties, the crystalline lens begins to lose its flexibility and become stiff. The gradual stiffening of the crystalline lens makes it more difficult for us to change the focus of our vision and thus to see clearly at all distances. Generally, this first becomes obvious when it decreases our ability to see clearly up close so that we have difficulty reading small print. This loss of flexibility and the associated difficulty with close vision is called Presbyopia-a normal and expected effect of aging that affects everyone.
Typically, if you are beginning to become presbyopic you will find that your “arms have become too short” and that you must hold reading material further away in order to see it clearly. With the onset of Presbyopia, even if you have had normal vision throughout life, you will find that you need reading glasses or bifocals in order to read and see up close. If you already wear eyeglasses for distance, you will find that you may need bifocals or trifocals in order to see comfortably up close.
Presbyopia even affects those people who have cataracts. Fortunately there have been advances in cataract surgery and lens implant surgery that allow for the correction of Presbyopia. Today, patients can elect to have presbyopia correcting multifocal lens implants so that lens replacement surgery can help you achieve clear distance vision as well restore your normal range of vision without being dependent on bifocals or trifocals.
