Presbyopia

Presbyopia—often referred to as “old age vision”—is a condition that eventually affects everyone. It is caused by the natural aging of the eyes, due to the lens losing flexibility, and it gradually leads to a loss of near vision. Those suffering from presbyopia typically have to start wearing glasses to focus on close-up objects, or they start holding reading materials away from their eyes to see them better. Although presbyopia can be a nuisance, our team at Virginia Eye Consultants offers a number of advanced treatments to provide a more convenient method of restoring near vision.

Causes & Symptoms

When a person is young, the natural lens of the eye is soft and flexible enabling it to change shape to focus on near objects. As the eye ages, however, the lens loses its flexibility and can no longer vary the focus of the eye. This condition usually becomes noticeable between 40 and 50 years of age.

presbyopia diagram

People with normal vision up to that time find it increasingly difficult to focus on near objects, like words on a page, and need to resort to wearing glasses for reading and other close up activities. Those who have their vision brought to a normal range (20/20) with refractive surgery can expect this same condition to develop as their eyes age.  The most common treatment for presbyopia is reading glasses—or “readers”—which compensates for the near vision loss, allowing you to see better up close.

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Have questions about presbyopia? Contact us to schedule an appointment to learn which treatment option is best for your needs.

The doctors at Virginia Eye Consultants have either authored or reviewed the content on this site.

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