Have you noticed your vision getting progressively weaker when looking at objects up close? This is a common phenomenon called presbyopia which affects all people after they reach middle age. While presbyopia is not curable, you can treat the condition so that you can continue seeing at all distances. Below, the outstanding eye doctors at Wiles Eye Center explain the most telling signs that it is time to address your presbyopia.
You Squint a Lot
When you cannot see something clearly, you may instinctively squint to improve your vision. This is helpful momentarily, but it also strains your eyes, which can make your vision worse in the long term. Wearing reading glasses can negate the need to squint and protect quality vision for longer.
You Get Headaches
It’s rarely easy to determine the cause of a migraine, but many people develop pain due to a problem with their vision. When your eyes develop presbyopia, they exert more effort to see nearby objects, which leads to ocular fatigue and possibly headaches. If you notice that headaches are most common after you’ve been at your computer or reading a book, that is a good sign that your eyes are affected by presbyopia.
You Need to Turn on the Lights Often
While it is always a good idea to read with bright light, needing bright light to read is a sign that you have presbyopia. Pay attention if you find yourself turning on lights more often or setting your lightbulbs to higher settings.
You Have Been Holding Your Smartphone Further Away
Since presbyopia makes it more difficult to see things up close, you may remedy the situation by holding your phone (or a magazine) further from your face than you used to. If you find your arms stretching outward, this is another potential sign of presbyopia.
Dealing with Presbyopia
Reading glasses are the most common solution for presbyopia, but they are hardly your only option. At Wiles Eye Center, we have helped many of our middle-aged patients to overcome their age-related farsightedness with a procedure that can limit or eliminate their need for prescription lenses. Our patients have seen success with refractive lens exchange (RLE), which swaps out the eye’s natural lens for a premium IOL that improves vision. Some patients with presbyopia are also good candidates for monovision LASIK, with corrects vision so that one eye is better at seeing objects in the distance while the other can see close objects better.
To learn more about presbyopia and to determine if a surgical treatment is right for you, please schedule a consultation by calling 816-455-2020 for our Kansas City office or 816-279-7015 for our St. Joseph, MO office.
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