Reading

Age related reading problems are caused by a condition called presbyopia. Presbyopia occurs most commonly in people over the age of 40, when the eye can no longer accommodate for near or "reading" vision. The crystalline lens of the eye loses its elasticity.

Problems with reading can also be a function of other conditions going on with respect to your eyesight. Any significant change in your vision is a good reason for you to schedule an eye exam. By doing so your doctor can determine the cause and possibly prevent any sight threatening situations.

With respect to presbyopia, the individual is no longer able to read clearly and requires reading glasses or some other treatment to facilitate this objective.

Usually the individual first notices slight difficulty reading small font. Over time, the condition typically progresses until the individual has difficulty reading medium font sizes and ultimately even large font sizes.

Treatments

Corrective Lenses: Corrective options available for presbyopia include corrective lenses, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Multifocal Contact Lenses: It can also be corrected with multifocal contact lenses. The optometrist or ophthalmologist may test your ability to adapt to a technique called monovision. Monovision can be prescribed to use eyeglasses or contact lenses to correct one eye for distance vision and the other eye for near vision.

Surgical Procedures: In the last two or three years, the latest alternatives include a surgical procedure using either multifocal and monofocal intraocular lenses.