What you need to know about presbyopia and needing reading glasses

As we age, the autofocus mechanism in our eye gradually fails.

During an average day, you typically have to look at things at all distances. You may watch television at the other end of the room, work on a computer in the mid-distance and read the text on your phone close-up. Now, however, you’ve started to notice that things are a bit blurry up close. You might have already increased the font size and brightness on your smartphone, or hold your book at arm’s length

As we age, our near vision becomes out of focus. It is more problematical in dim light, and eventually, it becomes permanent.

Up to now, the only way to overcome this was to wear reading glasses. Some contact lens wearers have their contacts adjusted so that one eye sees far and the other sees near – this is called monovision.

Other patients have gone as far as having lens surgery with a multifocal implant replacing the natural lens. Today, people can have PRESBYOND.

PRESBYOND is laser vision correction that eliminates the need for reading glasses by increasing the depth of field (range in which objects appear in focus) of each eye so that there is a continuum from near through intermediate to distance where objects are perceived sharply without glasses or contacts.

PRESBYOND has two main components. The first is the laser correction itself and the second is the brain relearning to use the new vision. This adaptation usually happens with a few weeks or months at most. Most people who have had Presbyond are spectacle independent for all distances.

Can multifocal implants get rid of reading glasses?

Multifocal implants are used to replace the natural lens either as part of a cataract operation, or when a patient chooses to have their clear lens replaced to be free of glasses. They can provide a solution for some patients, but they can cause disturbances in vision, which can be troublesome. These disturbances include halos around lights, starbursts and glare. Sometimes the patient with a multifocal implant has difficulty driving at night due to these disturbances. These disturbances are almost non-existent with PRESBYOND.

The NHS provides an overview of laser eye surgery, including any risks that may be involved. Click here for more information.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists provides a guide on laser vision correction and has everything you need to know before a consultation. Click here for more information.

The NCBI has a great abstract on the conditions treated with laser vision correction, as well as what the treatment entails. Click here for more information.

WebMD has a handy guide on laser eye surgery. Click here for more information.