Beauty & Health Suggestions

Do you feel your eyes are failing you lately? Is your reading vision deteriorating by the day? There could be two potential causes of your vision woes. Should you worry? see your ophthalmologist? what is going on?

If you are in your late 30's or early 40's and you are beginning to notice that reading has become difficult, chances are you are noticing the beginning signs of presbyopia. If you had great eyesight your entire life, and all of a sudden that dinner menu or newspaper is getting a little fuzzy, you can relax. There is nothing wrong with your eyes. Welcome to the presbyopia club.

Presbyopia is caused by a hardening of the lens inside your eye. It's official name is the crystalline lens and it allows us to focus from distance to near. This is possible because of the elasticity of the lens. Throughout life, the crystalline lens grows more dense and loses it's flexibility. This happens to most everybody right around the age of 40 years or better.

Presbyopia can be addressed in a number of ways. The simplest form of correction is with reading glasses. All you have to do is put them on and you can see. However, don't expect to see anything in the distance if you are wearing reading glasses, unless they are bifocals or prescription progressive lenses.

Another means of correcting presbyopia is with contact lenses. Lenses can be fit in a variety of ways. One common fitting style is mono-vision; where one eye is corrected for distance vision and the other for near. This works very well for many people and is a simple solution. Multifocal contact lenses can also be employed for a more progressive range of vision.

There are even some surgeries being tested to correct your presbyopia. CK surgery is the most common and widely used corneal refractive surgery used to correct the symptoms of presbyopia.

So what if you are having trouble seeing up close, but you are no where near 40 years of age? You are most likely hyperopic, also referred to as being farsighted. In essence your eye, from the surface of the cornea to the retina, is too short and light rays do not come to a focus. Theoretically, they focus behind the eye. Because of the power of the crystalline lens in young people, mildly hyperopic kids and teenagers don't even notice a vision correction is beneficial. Hyperopia that is left not corrected can lead to excess eye fatigue and headaches.

So should you see an eye doctor? Answer, yes! Only your eye care provider can be entirely certain that your eyes are healthy. Your eye exam is about a lot more than just your vision.