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Presbyopia is a common vision issue that is a natural process which occurs with age. While eyeglasses can correct this issue, contact lenses may be preferred by those who live a more active lifestyle.
Presbyopia is an issue that usually presents with age, that causes blurred near vision. It typically starts to affect people at around age 40, even those who have never had vision problems before.
When the condition first manifests, a person will feel a need to squint or hold reading materials further than usual from them in order to properly focus. Other common symptoms include headaches, eye strain, and fatigue.
Most experts believe presbyopia is caused by changes to the eye’s lens. As someone ages, the lens gets harder and less flexible, leading to an increased difficulty focusing on nearby objects.
For many people who realize they are in the early stages of presbyopia, contact lenses will be a better option as they allow for a more active lifestyle than glasses. Also, contacts make it less obvious that someone requires vision correction.
The most common type of lenses used to correct presbyopia are bifocal lenses. Bifocal contact lenses are available in both soft and gas permeable designs. Some have a bifocal design with two distinct lens powers — one for your distance vision and one for near.
Others, multifocal lenses have a design similar to progressive eyeglass lenses, with a gradual change in lens power for a natural visual transition from distance to close-up. Depending on what your eyes need, our optometrist will determine just what type of bifocal lens is best for you. Depending on your vision needs, the precise layout of the powers of the lenses may vary. For example, the near power of the lens can be in the center, with the far vision portions on the outside, while in other lenses, the division can be evenly split between top and bottom.
Multifocal lenses are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable materials and can be either daily disposable lenses or ones you can wear overnight.
Rigid lenses can be more effective in some respects, but may be more difficult to get used to and more of a challenge to maintain.
Hybrid lenses, which combine the clarity of a gas permeable lens and the comfort of soft lenses, are also available.
For those who need intermediate vision correction as well, multifocal contact lenses are an effective option.
Monovision lenses are another correction option for presbyopia. With monovision, one eye wears a lens for near vision, while the other wears one for distance. The eyes then automatically adjust depending on the situation.
An additional option, one that used to be far more common, is for people suffering from presbyopia to wear distance lenses in both eyes, and when they need to read or do other close-up work, they can wear reading glasses.
If you have other questions regarding your personal situation, or more questions in general about the contact lens options for correcting your presbyopia, you should consult our eye care professionals at (360) 491-2121.
Don’t let your presbyopia and need for corrective lenses hold you back from an active lifestyle. There are several options available regarding contact lenses to correct your vision. Feel free to contact us at Book an Appointment if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment.
Such a nice optician. My grandson is only 4 and needs glasses. We were so sad, but he explained the issues, and we will follow up as he suggested.
I had such a good experience with the clinic. Very friendly staff and doctor, did not have to wait for long to be called, and was treated respectfully. Thanks, American Family.
Dr. Zurcher has gone above and beyond what any other eye doctor has ever done to figure out what is going on with my eyes. Very happy with American Family Vision.
Family Vision Clinic changed our lives! My daughter was frequently car sick, and she was getting headaches every day, often painful enough that they brought her to tears. We saw a string of doctors and therapists, but we made no progress. Finally, we found Dr. Levi Zurcher and his eye therapist Rain. After ten weeks of eye therapy my daughter no longer gets headaches, and she no longer gets car sick. Daily tears are a thing of the past. I really can’t say enough about this clinic. It was fascinating to watch Dr. Zurcher work. For the first time, someone who knew what they were doing was intently studying my daughter, really trying to figure out all of her eye issues, and his therapist Rain is one of the most patient and lovely people that I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet. We’re finished with eye therapy—yay!—and I have switched to American Family Vision Clinic for all of my family’s other eye health needs.
Very professional, yet kind and helpful. They do what they can to make the appointment comfortable. I was running a bit late, I made sure ti call. They were able to switch me with a patient who was already there, they treated me with respect, and helped my son have confidence by getting him the eye care he needed that day. Thank you so much! Would recommend to anyone. It's a blessing that they care enough to work with people who have all different types of insurance from work to state coverage.
The staff is friendly. The Doc is very knowledgeable. The office is family friendly and everyone is so patient with the little ones.
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