You're in your mid-40s, and all of the sudden, it seems like your arms just aren't long enough.  You've lost your reading vision and you can't hold the page far enough away to get a clear view. 

Why Does This Happen?

The answer is presbyopia.  When we are born, the lens in the eye is soft and flexible, allowing the lens to change shape and adjust focus for near or far. By our mid-40s, the lens has become more rigid and cannot change shape as easily.  We start to need extra magnification to see up close. 

Depending on other conditions you have in the eye, such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, presbyopia may have more or less of an impact on your vision.

How Can Presbyopia Be Corrected?

Of course, glasses or contacts can help you see better. Surgical options include LASIK or lens replacement surgery with a multifocal IOL.  LASIK can only correct the vision in each eye for distance or near, not both at the same time.  Some patients opt for monovision, which is one eye with distance correction and one eye with near correction. The multifocal IOL is the only modern-day option that corrects for both distance and near in the same eye.

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