Eye Care Advice From Israel

By Dr Andrew Fink

Are your arms too short to read the menu? Ever seen friends in their mid forties struggling to read the menu, needing to push it further away, complaining their arms aren`t long enough? They have presbyopia, or that middle aged eye affliction that eventually affects us all - difficulty focusing close up and a need for reading glasses.

Why it actually occurs is controversial and as a result a permanent and effective cure has so far proved elusive, in contrast to today`s extremely successful and safe eye laser surgery vision correction treatments for other focusing problems .

Current theories by eye care professionals include aging changes in the eye?s natural lens, and weakening of the focusing muscle which acts on the lens. Most people I see in the clinic start to have difficulty reading at around the age of 45, give or take 2-3 years. There are of course exceptions. People who are long sighted have difficulty seeing close up at an earlier age. In contrast the nearsighted see better for reading by taking their glasses off.

Most eye care specialists agree that presbyopia is caused by an age-related process. This is different from astigmatism, nearsightedness and farsightedness, which are related to the shape of the eyeball and caused by genetic factors, disease, or trauma. Presbyopia is generally believed to stem from a gradual loss of flexibility in the natural lens inside your eye. The eye's lens hardens with age, resulting in blurred near vision. This is called presbyopia. The eye's lens stiffens with age, so it is less able to focus when you view something up close. The result is blurred near vision. These age-related changes occur within the proteins in the lens, making the lens harder and less elastic with the years. Age-related changes also take place in the muscle fibers surrounding the lens. With less elasticity, the eye has a harder time focusing up close. Other, less popular theories exist as well.

Usually a transitional period of two to three years occurs when dependence on reading glasses gradually increases. Whilst at first difficulty may be experienced when tired, or reading small print in poor lightening (that?s why straining to decipher a menu in dimly lit restaurants late at night is often an early sign), slowly the need becomes greater until all reading material is blurred without glasses.

Acquiring your first pair of reading glasses is not just a technical issue, but also a psychological one. For many the need for readers is the first concrete physical sign that middle age has arrived, and eternal youth is, after all, a myth. Reluctance to take the plunge and buy that first pair is understandable. When to do so is a lifestyle issue. Delaying the inevitable is not damaging, nor beneficial, but if it makes you feel younger for a little longer, that?s fine!

Eyeglasses with bifocal or progressive addition lenses (PALs) are the most common...