Presbyopia – What is it and what are my options?
Presbyopia is the gradual loss of your eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects. It’s a natural, often annoying part of aging. Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable in your early to mid-40s and continues to worsen until around age 65.
It happens to us all and can be really frustrating! You hold the newspaper or book where you normally would, and the print starts to look a little fuzzy so you hold it a bit further away and things sharpen again. Sound familiar? This is all very well for a while, but it keeps happening and eventually your arms aren’t long enough! You might try all sorts of tactics to sort this out: colour-coding keys, using a magnifying lens or mirror, wearing two set of spectacles simultaneously, increasing the font size on your phone or computer but really you know…
It’s time to have an eye examination and see what’s going on. An Optometrist will put your mind at rest and then your options can be discussed with a Dispensing Optician. You won’t be alone. With around two billion people affected by presbyopia and approximately forty two percent of the UK population being over the age of forty- five, customers presenting with the symptoms of presbyopia are a daily occurrence in an optical practice. As such, we have a great understanding of the problem, its effect on vision and its impact on your quality of life. But don’t worry, there are lots of different solutions, from over-the-counter reading glasses for those with simple needs to other options like prescription single vision lenses, extended range reading lenses to occupational lenses, Taskmaster spectacles or even varifocals.
At Melina Joy Opticians you don’t have to research and sift through all these options by yourself, one of our Dispensing Opticians will guide you through and help you make the right decision about what will work for you. It is their responsibility to explain the benefits and compromises of the various options and suggest the most appropriate solution. Having listened to your requirements and ‘wish list’, experience and extensive product knowledge is key to advising you on what will work best in your situation.
Some of the lenses that could be discussed:
Single Vision Near Lenses; these are simple lenses designed to give you the whole lens to see at a single focal point and are the simplest answer to Presbyopia. Colloquially referred to as “reading glasses”, this tried and tested technology provides a relatively cheap “easy on, easy off” solution to help with any near task.
Occupational Lenses; whilst an entire lens dedicated to a single point focus can be advantageous, the necessity to keep removing or swapping between specs can be really frustrating. An occupational lens will give you more range at which you can see. They are designed to give you a good area for close work but then allow you to also see at arms-length (or further, depending on the specific product). This means that if you are using a PC or laptop, browsing the web whilst watching television or reading a recipe whilst stirring a sauce you can do both with your specs on. At Melina Joy Opticians we offer various designs of these lenses from suppliers Rodenstock and Essilor, such as Ergo Near Comfort Lenses or Varilux Digitime.
An ever-extending range of products available means that we will find a solution for you. So don’t delay, give us a ring 01435 868181 or use our online booking system.
July 2022