What Causes Poor Vision After Forty
On October 11, 2009 in Health
Do you have trouble seeing up close? you may possibly have hyperopia. However, it could also be presbyopia. The truth is they are similar optically but have very different causes. Because of this, they have different treatment options.
Farsightedness (hyperopia) occurs when light rays that enter the eye do not focus directly on the retina, in fact they would come to focus behind it. This is the result of the actual length of the eyeball being too short. People can be affected by hyperopia at any age. Some childred will actually outgrow this condition, as they grow, so do their eyes. But if they don’t, eyeglasses or contact lenses can be used to treat hyperopia. Corrective laser surgery is also an available solution.
Presbyopia has a similar visual effect in that people have trouble seeing clearly up close, but unlike hyperopia, it is age related. It is caused by the lens inside the eye losing flexibility. The visual result is similar to that of hyperopia; poor vision at near. Generally, this is treated with corrective lenses. To view object up close, reading glasses are often worn. Another choice is contact lenses to produce monovision, when one lens corrects the distance vision, if needed, and the other lens corrects the near vision. Monivision users have to train themselves to see through this new optical system. Similar to progressive eyeglasses, contact lenses can be fit as multifocals.
Hyperopia only effects a smaller portion of the population and there are surgical options to correct it. Presbyopia will eventually effect us all, but until very recently was not treated with surgery. When eyes start to lose their flexibility they can’t focus on objects up close anymore, It is at this point treatment becomes necesarry. While a couple surgical options are available for presbyopia, most people who are affected opt for the less-risky choice of reading glasses. They are a safe, stylish option that anyone can use. Once a person has accepted that they need reading glasses, they may as well get a pair that will be fashionable too.