Considering the vast number of changes our bodies undergo as part of the general aging process, one the most predictable, and one often carefully a hallmark of middle age, is the onset of presbyopia. This is the very normal, progressive loss of the potential to keep the eyes in focus at close reading distances. The age of onset is typically late 30's to early 40's. There are rare exceptions, and some individuals do carry on to hold out into their 50's. Eventually, however, we all must accept this increasingly definite complication. This problem can be especially distressing for those individuals who have been wearing contact lens corrections up to this time. Having spent 32 plus years assisting patients, house and friends cope with this change, I would like to offer some easy observations and suggestions for keeping contact lens wear as a functional option. These observations pertain to both rigid and soft contact lens wearers, but the vast majority of those affected now have probably been wearing soft contacts since the 70's or 80's.
[b]Lens[/b]Cheaters - Elegant Simplicity
Most contact lens wearers, especially those complex in recreational or competitive sports, are well-advised to stay with their current distance-correcting lenses and plainly use inexpensive, commercially available reading glasses for close foresight tasks. In the early stages of presbyopia reading assistance is commonly needed only for definite situations, such as low lighting in restaurants and theaters, or for extremely small printed details, like maps and treatment bottles. With advancing age, as the reading issues become more profound, other options, such as multi-focal contact lenses, can be explored. The use of easy reading glasses retains the good length foresight from the old contact lenses and provides very productive near vision. As the presbyopia deepens, stronger reader powers will be required, and distinct powers will be needed for distinct working distances. Reading a book at 16 inches requires as stronger reading lens than working at a computer monitor at 22 inches. Cheaters are available everywhere, and can be a fun fashion accessory. They are also available in protection glass and sunglass designs.
Mono-vision - History Revisited
The old photos of historical figures wearing monocles depict a foresight correction still widely employed today, especially among contact lens wearers. The long absence of functional multifocal contact lens options resulted in patients and their eye doctors seeking some means of dealing with presbyopia without the use of the stigmatizing reading glasses. The technique of correcting the foresight in one eye for length and the other eye for reading is called mono-vision. This antique technique is very easy to try, especially with contemporary soft contact lenses, but it is poorly tolerated by the majority of patients who endeavor it. Obviously, mono-vision will disrupt general binocular foresight and interfere with length visual acuity and depth perception. Curiously, those who are able to tolerate the imbalance do surprisingly well for many years. Mono-vision must never be used by individuals requiring optimum length foresight and binocularity, such as market vehicle operators, pilots, or professionals complex with precise, near-point depth tasks. A easy trial in the eye doctor's office can determine if this go-or-no-go application is viable.
Multi-focal contact Lenses - gently Getting There
Multi-focal contacts have been available in rigid contact lens designs for over fifty years, but not until the fairly up-to-date explosion of availability in soft lens configurations have they been a truly viable choice for the huge habitancy of emerging presbyopes. All of the major soft contact lens manufacturers have entered the multi-focal market. Lenses are available in a wide collection of materials, both approved daily-wear and new, oxygen-permeable silicon materials. Even significantly astigmatic patients now have multi-focal lens options available to them. Virtually all of the new multi-focal designs employ a highlight called simultaneous vision, wherein the eye is viewing straight through both the length and near part of the lens all of the time. The distinct fellowships try distinct combinations and arrangements of the two visual zones, but there remains a important similarity in all of the designs. Practically speaking, this means that the two definite power zones inevitably get in each other's way. The problem most oftentimes reported by my patients is a important discount in visual acuity during night driving, with annoying amounts of flare colse to lights. This results from the enlarged, dark-adapted pupil allowing more light to enter straight through the two conflicting zones of the contact lens. Some patients are much better able to cope with this than others. I have had some important success using a contemporary form of mono-vision, with a distance-only lens on one eye and a bifocal on the other. Fitting multi-focal contact lenses involves a great deal of important trial-and-error, and it is important that there be important communication between patient and doctor if there is to be a truly functional result.
Summation
While any options do exist for presbyopic contact lens wearers, and for mature new contact lens candidates, there are many times when the easy solution is the best choice. For many patients dealing with tedious, demanding near foresight tasks, especially in dry office environments, visually excellent progressive spectacle lenses may furnish much better and more comfortable performance. The contact lenses may be much better superior for recreational and communal wear. Consult spontaneously with your eye care supplier and keep your options open.
palpate Lens Options in Maturity
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