Presbyopia

What is Presbyopia

Presbyopia is generally believed to stem from a gradual loss of flexibility in the natural lens inside your eye although changes in the lens's curvature from continual growth and loss of power of the ciliary muscles (the muscles that bend and straighten the lens) have also been postulated as its cause. The eye's lens stiffens with age, so it is less able to focus when you view something up close. The result is blurred near vision. Presbyopia is different from near-sightedness or Myopia because Myopia is caused by an abnormally shaped eye ball or cornea while Presbyopia relates to the lens.

These age-related changes occur within the proteins in the lens, making the lens harder and less elastic with the years. Age-related changes also take place in the muscle fibres surrounding the lens. With less elasticity, the eye has a harder time focusing up close. Other, less popular theories exist as well.

Presbyopia is a refractive error, which results from a disorder rather than from disease. A refractive error means that the shape of your eye does not bend light correctly, resulting in a blurred image.

In individuals who are less than 40 years of age, the eye can be thought of as an 'auto-focus' cameras. In an auto-focus camera, all one has to do to get sharp pictures is to point the camera in that direction, the auto-focus mechanism kicks in and you get sharp pictures. The presbyopic eye can be thought of as a 'fixed-focus' camera. Fixed-focus cameras, the most basic of all cameras, have a nonadjustable lens. In general, a fixed-focus camera can take satisfactory photographs but it may produce a blurred picture if the subject is moving or is less than 6 feet (1.8 meters) away.
The presbyopic eye which occurs in people of over 40 years of age is also in a more or less 'fixed-focus' state. This means that a presbyopic eye will see clearly only at a particular distance. If you correct presbyopia for distance with glasses or contact lenses, then it will clearly see all the distant objects and may read 20/20 on the distance vision eye chart, but there is no way it would be able to clearly read up-close with the distance vision correction. On the other hand if you correct Presbyopia for reading up-close, then you will be able to read clearly, but there is no way you will be able to see distance objects clearly with the same correction. So reading vision is at the cost of distance vision and vice versa. We hope that you grasp this important concept of the difficulty of simultaneously providing near and distance clear vision in a presbyopic eye. The only way one can get to this 'fountain of youth' is by restoring accommodation. All optical and most surgical options to manage presbyopia do not restore dynamic accommodation.

What are the symptoms

When people develop presbyopia, they find they need to hold books, magazines, newspapers, menus and other reading materials at arm's length in order to focus properly. When they perform near work, such as embroidery or handwriting, they may have headaches or eyestrain, or feel fatigued. Many people who are already nearsighted temporarily manage the symptoms of presbyopia by reading without their glasses.

What causes Presbyopia

Presbyopia is caused by a gradual loss in elasticity of the lens. The result is a slow decrease in the ability of the eye to focus on nearby objects.

How is Presbyopia diagnosed

A comprehensive optometric examination will include testing for presbyopia.

How can Presbyopia be treated

Presbyopia is not routinely curable, though tentative steps toward a possible cure suggest that this may not be impossible, but the loss of focusing ability can be compensated for by corrective lenses including eyeglasses or contact lenses. In subjects with other refractory problems, multifocal lenses (such as bifocal or trifocal lenses) or progressive lenses are often used. In some cases, the addition of bifocals to an existing lens prescription is used. As the ability to change focus worsens, the prescription needs to be changed accordingly.

While bifocals and multifocals offer a working solution to everyday problems, they are hated by many, especially engineers, camera operators, and those used to having a good sharp distortion-free image in their work. Varifocals cause straight lines to look bent, and can leave some feeling dizzy after extended use. Using glasses to accommodate presbyopia causes the eye muscles to become lazier as the lenses/glasses do all the focussing your eyes are supposed to do. We therefore strongly advice against using glasses. It is very common your vision will worsen over time when using glasses. Please read on to discover how a natural, effective and affordable vision program can help.

How can Eyerobics help

None of the above options of 'treating' Presbyopia actually address the cause of the problem, but are merely a fix so you can see clearly. Wearing glasses or contacts can actually worsen your vision over time and the risks of surgery are huge as you can read above. Also the costs are an additional factor. Eye surgery in itself is expensive, but think about the additional costs of other treatments due to side effects. Often people who have had surgery once are asked to return for a second or even third treatment. As you can understand this adds up.

Opting for glasses or contacts can be expensive initially as well as over a longer period as regular visits to the optometrists and the stronger prescriptions  that one is very likely to need all add up to a significant amount.

Although it maybe the case that your lens is less flexible, improving your eye muscles will improve your ability to adjust the lens. Besides this the cause for you not seeing clearly might very well not be related to an inflexible lens. It is not 100% sure that the cause of your problem is due to Presbyopia just because you are over 40 years old.

Why not keep that money in your pocket and use the Eyerobics program to improve your vision naturally steering away from the risks of surgery and the annoyance of having to wear glasses or contacts. Presbyopia is one of the conditions that has been treated by Eyerobics very successfully.

"It's just marvellous! I would highly recommend this program to anyone worried about his or her eyes.

My eyes have definitely improved since I have been doing the eye exercises, and I've now discarded my distance glasses that I had worn since the1920's!"

Loring G. Hudson (88yrs) Albury, Australia.

Read on to discover how Eyerobics can improve your quality of life by helping you regain your natural clear sight.