Vision often changes over time. For many people, this entails a gradual decline of up-close vision, which is known as presbyopia. While it’s not necessarily a serious condition, it can make reading more difficult as you age. Fortunately, eye care specialists can provide patients with effective treatment. 

Why It Occurs

Light passes through different structures of your eye to create images. After passing through the cornea, pupil, and lens, light is focused on the retina, which sits at the back of your eye. As you grow older, your lens may become less capable of focusing light correctly. This affects the eyes’ ability to focus at near and leads to presbyopia. 

Signs & Symptoms

Symptoms of this eye condition usually begin around age 40 and will gradually worsen over time. Eye strain is common, as you may find it harder and harder to read text up close.

Headaches may also occur, as can squinting and problems reading small print, as well as the need to hold books far away to be able to read them. You may also need brighter light to properly view items that are near your eyes. 

How It’s Treated

There is no way to prevent age-related eye issues, but corrective lenses are extremely helpful. Over the counter readers are glasses you can buy without a prescription, and they simply magnify text. However, these don’t usually work for everyone, which is why many people visit our eye care clinic to ensure that you get best fitted prescription and lens design option for your near tasks.

If you haven’t had an eye examination recently, make an appointment with Nelson O. Yoshioka Jr., OD., Cheryl C. Niitani, OD., and Evan S. Tanaka, O.D.  For more than 30  years, these experienced eye doctors have cared for the vision of Oahu residents of all ages. In addition to comprehensive exams and screenings for eye diseases, they offer an array of glasses and contact lenses to help you see clearly. For an appointment, call their Honolulu office at (808) 734-7050 or their Pearl City location at (808) 455-3333, and visit the website to learn more about their services.