PRESBYOPIA

Presbyopia is the gradual decline in the ability to focus on close objects or to see small print, as one gets older. It is universal in occurrence in people over the age of 40, and is a normal and almost inevitable part of the aging process.

There are over 2 billion presbyopes worldwide with over 100 million in the USA. Beginning at about age 40 one experiences blurred vision at near, usually when reading, sewing or working at the computer.

Conventional Treatments
Conventional treatments to compensate for one’s “age related” decrease in near vision include reading glasses or bi-focals.

Monovision
Some can tolerate wearing one contact lens for distance and one for near. This is called monovision. Monovision can also be created through the LASIK and PRK procedures.

One can also have monovision induced through a procedure called Conductive Keratoplasty (CK). CK is a procedure in which the cornea or front of the eye is steepened thermally making it nearsighted, thereby able to see at near. A thermal probe is gently placed over several spots gradually changing the eye’s shape

Blended Vision
Vision is considered blended when part of the corrective lens is used for distance and part is used for near. These lenses are called “multifocal.” Multifocal lenses have rings of different powers within. The human eye and brain seek out clear images and discount the blurred areas. This effect can be induced through contact lenses or with intraocular lenses.

Multifocal contact lenses are worn like conventional contact lenses. Multifocal intraocular lenses are placed within the eye, during a procedure much like cataract removal. The human lens is removed and multifocal intraocular lenses such as the ReZoom™ or Restor™ are then inserted within the eye to blend near and distant vision.

Accommodating Intraocular Lenses
Lenses are now available to place inside of the eye in order to allow one to focus at near. These are called accommodating intraocular lenses. This procedure involves removing one’s normal human lens and replacing it with a lens that moves forward and backward as the muscles inside the eye attempt to focus.

New Technologies
New techniques are on the horizon to improve one’s near vision without compromising distance vision. These include procedures on the outside of the eye…the white part, which is called the sclera. More advanced methods are being investigated that include using lasers, and treatments in which tiny pieces of plastic (approximately 1/3 the size of a grain of rice) are placed in strategic positions, without entering the eye. The plastic implants are situated around only one eye, yet both eyes improve in near ability, without affecting distance vision. The doctors at Nevada Eye and Ear are working closely in the development and clinical trials of these new techniques as well as offering those that are currently available.