Presbyopia, also known as age-related farsightedness, is a condition everyone will experience at some point in life that makes it harder to see up close.
Near vision typically begins to decline around age 40, notes Dr. Juan Manuel Paulín Huerta, an ophthalmic surgeon at ABC Medical Center. By around age 50, many people start needing reading glasses to help with close-up tasks.
The World Health Organization reports that around 2.2 billion people worldwide have some degree of vision impairment or blindness, and nearly 1 billion of those cases could have been prevented.
Someone starting to develop presbyopia may still be able to read but starts noticing that things on a computer or phone screen no longer come into focus as easily. They may find themselves adjusting the device’s distance or looking for better lighting. While it doesn’t appear at exactly the same age for everyone, it’s something we’ll all experience eventually, and it develops gradually over time.
Presbyopia happens because our eye functions like a camera, with two lenses at the front, the cornea and the crystalline lens. The cornea helps focus incoming light for clear vision, while the crystalline lens acts as the “zoom lens” that allows us to see up close.
The lens can change shape to adjust focus, but over time, it loses this flexibility and becomes more rigid. Once the lens has trouble moving, near vision begins to decline. Beyond becoming rigid, the lens can also become cloudy, a condition known as cataracts, notes Dr. Paulín.
What’s the Treatment for Presbyopia?
Wearing glasses is a practical and effective way to manage presbyopia, though other treatment options are now available as well.
In the past, surgery was only performed to treat cataracts, but today, the same procedure can also be used to correct presbyopia. In this case, the ophthalmic surgeon implants a trifocal multifocal intraocular lens designed to correct vision at three distances, far, intermediate, and near, treating both presbyopia and any future cataracts at the same time.
It’s important to understand that there’s no single surgical approach that works for every patient, treatment needs to be personalized. That’s why it’s important to see an ophthalmologist, who will perform a comprehensive evaluation of your eye health and determine the best treatment plan for you.
At the Conde de Valenciana ABC Institute of Ophthalmology, part of ABC Medical Center, we can provide you with specialized care. Contact us!
