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Presbyopia - Meaning, Symptoms, Treatment
Presbyopia is a natural biological change that causes the eyes to lose their ability to focus with age. It is one of the most common eye conditions and will likely affect a majority of people in their lifetime.
What is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia is the medical term for when the eyes lose the ability to focus on close objects. It is a type of refractive error and is a natural part of aging for a large majority of people. Presbyopia literally means ‘old eye’ and is one of the most common eye conditions in the world.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, over 1.3 million Australian seniors have self-reported as having presbyopia. While presbyopia is a natural part of aging, the symptoms and effects of other conditions are often accidentally prescribed to presbyopia instead, due to many other conditions, such as age related macular degeneration, also having symptoms shown as a result of the eyes naturally aging.
What causes presbyopia?
Presbyopia is caused by the lens in the eyes becoming harder and losing their flexibility as the eyes age. Because the lens is less flexible, the eyes don’t change shape to allow for greater levels of focus. As age-related farsightedness increases, aging eyes may reach a point where they cannot focus on near objects without the help of corrective glasses.
The faster you know about your eye conditions, the faster you can treat them!
Come to Oscar Wylee for a bulk billed eye exam with no gap or out-of-pocket expenses for eligible Medicare cardholders.
What age does presbyopia start?
If the following common signs of presbyopia are showing, then it is advisable to book a comprehensive eye test with a qualified optometrist:
- You struggle to see things up close
- You hold materials far away from you in order to read them
- Your vision is blurring at your normal reading distance
- You have headaches or feel eye strain after you’re done reading
Symptoms of presbyopia are most commonly noticed after the age of 40, but earlier signs of the symptoms are not unheard of. The aging process of your eyes will continue after you’ve first noticed it until approximately 65 years of age, when the condition may begin the process of stabilization.
Dry eyes are not a symptom of presbyopia, but due to the issues with aging eyes, a diagnosis of both conditions is not unheard of.
Learn more about blurred vision and other eye conditions that cause it in our blurred vision article.
Early presbyopia:
Although most commonly noticeable at the age of 40, symptoms of presbyopia can begin showing as early as age 35. There may be a higher chance of premature presbyopia if certain health conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease are already pre-existing, if the patient regularly takes medication like antidepressants or if a patient has a preexisting condition of farsightedness or nearsightedness.
Early Symptoms of presbyopia are more noticeable in a profession or lifestyle that requires a heavy amount of up-close sight, such as an accountant or graphic designer. This does not mean that the profession has increased the risk of presbyopia.
Treating presbyopia at Oscar Wylee:
Book an appointment at an optometrist near you if you believe you have early signs of presbyopia. Oscar Wylee offers medicare covered bulk billed eye tests at all of our stores.
At Oscar Wylee, our optometrists will perform a comprehensive eye exam in order to determine the status and type of presbyopia you may have. If a presbyopia or other diagnosis is found, our eye care specialists may treat it by prescribing reading glasses, such as multifocal, bifocal or progressive lenses from our wide range of stock.
Types of presbyopia
There are 5 stages of presbyopia that most commonly occur as the eyes age. These types are:
- Incidental presbyopia - At this stage, small writing may be harder to see
- Functional presbyopia - Further issues with up-close sight become more obvious
- Absolute presbyopia - The final stage of the condition. The eyes can no longer read or see up close without the use of corrective aid at all
- Premature presbyopia - presbyopia symptoms that appear before age 40
- Nocturnal presbyopia - Poor nearsighted vision in low light environments
Presbyopia vs myopia
Myopia is a common eye condition that causes objects in the distance to appear blurry. Like Presbyopia, it is a refractive error. The symptoms of each type of refractive error, such as hyperopia or astigmatism, may be attributed to the wrong condition if a professional eye care specialist expertise is not sought.
It is possible to have presbyopia and myopia at the same time. This also applies to any other refraction and sight related eye conditions. The causes and symptoms of age-related eye conditions are typically separated from other conditions, which can still occur in a person with presbyopia.
Find the perfect pair of reading glasses for men, women and seniors at Oscar Wylee.
Treating presbyopia
Presbyopia symptoms can be treated with corrective prescriptions. After an optometrist has given an official diagnosis, they will typically prescribe a pair of glasses. Reading glasses are the most common type of treatment of presbyopia. They may also include multifocal lenses in the prescription, as the lenses may also be capable of correcting any other vision conditions that are applicable.
Please be advised, a glasses prescription for presbyopia is given to relieve or aid the symptoms of the condition; They will not improve the eyes. They will also not correct or fix the issues of the hardened lenses
Vuity Eye Drops:
An eye drop treatment named Vuity is sometimes prescribed to treat presbyopia in the United States. Vuity drops do not affect the symptoms or causes of presbyopia. Instead, the drop decreases the size of the pupil. This increases the depth of focus and can help make reading easier.
Currently, this treatment is not available in Australia or Oscar Wylee, as it is not approved by the TGA. No other conclusively proven medical treatments for presbyopia are available at this time.
Can laser surgery correct presbyopia?
Laser surgery treatment for presbyopia is currently still in development. There is no procedure available to fix the lens hardening due to age. Corrective surgery for presbyopia and presbyopia alone has yet to occur, it so far has been a correction of other eye health conditions first and foremost. LASIK or PRK treatments are typically only recommended for patients who already have other eye refractions issues as well.
Be aware that Oscar Wylee does not offer laser treatments of any form.
