It is estimated that around 90 million Americans have presbyopia. Presbyopia is an age-related vision disorder that causes a difficulty in seeing objects at close range; people with presbyopia often have to hold reading materials at arms length in order to focus properly.

Presbyopia, unlike other vision impairments, is not selective; it eventually develops in everyone. Most people begin to experience presbyopic symptoms between age 40 and 50, though it varies from individual to individual. In addition to difficulty seeing at close range, other common symptoms include delays in ability to focus, ocular discomfort, headaches, squinting, and needing brighter light for reading.

Presbyopia is a result of the aging process. Other vision impairments such as astigmatism, nearsightedness and farsightedness all relate to the shape of the eye and are generally caused by genetics, disease or trauma. Presbyopia, on the other hand, is caused from a combination of factors. One of these is the steady decrease in flexibility in the natural lens of the eye. Another major contributor is the collective changes that occur in the muscle fibers surrounding the lens, fibers that contract and expand and allow us to see near and far objects. Proteins in the eye also change as a person ages, and make the natural lens harder and less elastic over time. This makes it more difficult to focus on objects at close range.

Living with Presbyopia

Although bifocal eyeglasses are the most common treatment option for presbyopia, other alternatives do exist. Multifocal contact lenses are an option that is growing in popularity. Multifocal contact lenses provide wearers with the convenience of contact lenses without sacrificing quality of vision – wearers are able to see both near and far.

The design of multifocal lenses can be either bifocal – with two lens powers, one for near and one for distance vision – or a multifocal design, which has a gradual change in lens power within the lens.

Multifocal contact lenses are available as a daily wear, overnight wear, or daily disposable lens.

People who already wear contact lenses when they begin to experience presbyopia often report dryness and discomfort with their lenses. The discomfort and dryness is likely a result of the need for a new lens prescription that addresses presbyopia.  There are many new lens technologies designed specifically for presbyopia that provide wearers with optimum comfort and high-quality vision.

If you are experiencing symptoms of presbyopia, you should contact your eye care practitioner and have your eyes checked.