Do you find yourself wishing your arms were longer as you struggle to push reading materials further away in order to focus on them? You may be experiencing presbyopia, a natural aging condition in which the eye’s natural lens hardens, preventing it from changing shape easily. This makes the transition between distance and near vision difficult, and seeing up close becomes difficult. Most patients over the age of 45 are presbyopic.
Most turn to reading glasses to solve this problem, unaware of the variety of options available. Depending on your particular condition and age, you could be a candidate for custom lens implants, LASIK, or you may prefer an alternate eyewear solution than reading glasses.
Berkeley Eye Center offers various solutions for presbyopia for those who are reluctant to wear reading glasses. The doctors at Berkeley Eye Center will discuss which of these options may be suited for your particular age and condition.
Surgical Solutions
Monovision LASIK
Monovision LASIK is a LASIK procedure suited for some patients experiencing presbyopia which allows a person to see near with one eye and distance with the other. This is similar to wearing one contact lens for distance and one contact lens for reading vision. The eyes work together as a team to see both distances.
Custom Lens Implants
Until recently, patients undergoing cataract or lens implant surgery received a monofocal, or single focus, intraocular lens (IOL). Monofocal IOLs implanted in both eyes generally provide excellent distance vision. However, patients often still need to wear glasses for near and intermediate vision.
Multifocal lens implants are now available to replace the cataract or presbyopic lenses in your eyes, allowing patients to see clearly at all distances, providing freedom from reading glasses or bifocals.
At Berkeley Eye Center, we want our patients to have as many options as possible when it comes to their lens implant surgery. With recent FDA approvals, there are now three different multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implants available that can dramatically reduce your dependence on glasses after your lens implant procedure.
- Restor
- Technis Multifocal
- Crystalens
Multifocal lenses are designed to allow patients to see clearly at all distances- near, distance, and in-between. The surgeons of Berkeley Eye Center are among a select group of surgeons, nationally, who are certified to implant all three of these high technology multifocal lenses.
Contact Lens Solutions
Monovision
Monovision is an alternate method of correcting presbyopia that allows a person to see clearly at all distances. With monovision, a person wears a contact lens for distance in one eye and a contact lens for near vision in the other. The eye that sees well for near vision will be slightly blurred for distance and the one that sees for distance will be slightly blurred for near vision. However, the eyes work together as a team to see clearly at all distances.
Multifocal Contacts
Another solution for presbyopia is multifocal contacts- lenses that have two prescriptions in the same lens. There are two types of multifocal contacts.
In the first, two prescriptions are blended on top of one another, and your visual system is able to select the proper prescription to use at each distance.
The other type is similar to bifocal glasses. There are two different power segments with a line of separation on the contact lens.
Eyeglasses Solutions
Bifocals
Bifocals are usually a better choice than single vision reading glasses if you already need glasses or contacts for distance. Bifocals correct distance vision in the upper part of the lens and correct near vision in the lower part of the lens.
In lined bifocals, the line between the two different prescriptions in the lenses is visible. Your vision will seem to jump from far to near with little correction for intermediate vision.
In no line bifocals, the line between prescriptions is invisible, allowing for a smooth transition between the near and distance prescriptions. This is the better option when intermediate vision correction is important for activities such as computer work.
Reading Glasses
Many people who have never worn glasses or contacts for distance turn to single vision reading glasses when they first experience symptoms of presbyopia. Reading glasses will help you read up close, but you will have to remove your glasses or switch to your distance glasses to see into the distance.
For more information about presbyopia solutions or to schedule an appointment, please call our office at 713-526-1600 or schedule online.