If you are between the ages of 40-50 and find that you need to hold books or magazines at a distance to be able to read clearly, do not blame the publishers for small or unclear print. Chances are you are slowly developing presbyopia. Presbyopia has its origin in the Greek word ‘presbys' which means ‘adult person' and that should tell you a whole lot about the cause of the problem. If you have guessed that presbyopia is an age related condition, you are absolutely right. It is a condition that reduces the ability in people to focus on close objects and arises gradually as a person ages. Studies have shown that there are about 90 million people in the United States who either already have presbyopia or will develop it by 2014.

What Causes Presbyopia?

Simply put, age. As you age, you gradually develop presbyopia. Most other eye conditions like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) or astigmatism arise because of problems with the shape of your eyeball and genetic factors have a large role to play in the development of these conditions. One the other hand, presbyopia is believed to arise because of a slow loss in the flexibility in the natural lens, which exists inside your eyes and is a natural process. As you age, changes take place within the proteins in the natural lens and these changes make the lens harder and less elastic. These age-related changes also affect the muscle fibers that surround the natural lens. The result of all these changes is that the eye has difficulty in focusing on close objects.

This normally means that as people age, they will find that they have to hold objects like books, newspapers and magazines at arm's length to be able to focus properly. If they have to do near work like work on a computer or do some sewing work, they may start feeling the strain and at times, even develop headaches.

How Do We Treat Presbyopia?

The simplest way of treating presbyopia is to use bifocal eyeglasses. These special eyeglasses have two parts to them - the main upper part contains the regular prescription for myopia or hyperopia, the lower part will contain the stronger prescription for presbyopia, to help in carrying out close work.

Reading glasses are another way of treating presbyopia. Unlike the bifocals, reading glasses can be worn only at those times when one needs to do some close work. In fact, even if you use contact lenses, reading glasses that can be worn with the contacts on, can also be prescribed. These kinds of reading glasses can be easily obtained over-the-counter or if you prefer, you could get your eye-doctor to prescribe better quality ones.

Research into surgical treatment of presbyopia is being actively pursued in many countries and in fact some surgical options are already available for patients in many countries. Recently, certain presbyopia correcting intraocular lenses have been introduced and this has helped many people undergoing cataract operations to not just be able to see clearly but to be able to do so at all distances. Another surgical option that is being offered is known as the refractive lens exchange, which essentially means exchanging your old, inflexible natural lens with an artificial, presbyopia correcting one.

Having to deal with presbyopia is inevitable. However, with the number of treatment options that already exist and are ever growing, it need not prevent you from leading a full, active life.