Presbyopia: What Is It?

Have you started noticing that your arms are getting shorter? Having more difficulty reading the back of the pill bottle? Finding that you are increasing the font size on your phone? It all has to do with presbyopia. 

What is presbyopia? It is the process of losing the elasticity in the lens of your eyes; this usually starts to take effect in middle or old age. There are eye exercises available, but they will only delay the process of presbyopia. The simplest way to improve your vision is to wear glasses.

You may be asking yourself, “what is the best solution for glasses for me?” To correct presbyopia, you can get either simple reading glasses, a bi-focal (2 distinct areas on a lens to allow 2 different focal points, distance and near) or a tri-focal (3 distinct areas on a lens to allow 3 different focal points, distance, mid-range (usually about arm’s length) and near). Both bi-focal and tri-focal lenses have visible lines on them allowing everyone to know that you are wearing such lenses. If you want to hide the fact you are wearing these lenses, consider the invisible bi-focal, where you do not see the line on the lens.

The PAL (progressive additional lens) is a great replacement for a lined tri-focal. PAL is a lens which graduates down from your distance correction to the full reading prescription that your local optometrist would provide for you. There are many PAL design lenses out there, made by many different companies. If you have any questions on which one might be best for you, please visit your local optician, or come on in and find out.

Tim Mak, Licenced Optician. EyeTech VisionCare.
705-760-9696
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