What is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia , or eyestrain, is the loss of sharpness in near vision that typically appears from the age of 40 to 50. It manifests as difficulty focusing up close, forcing us to hold a book away to read it.
What are the symptoms of a patient with Presbyopia?
The crystalline lens is the eye’s natural lens, and it has the power to focus images on the retina by changing its curvature. Over the years, the crystalline lens loses elasticity and therefore its ability to accommodate or focus, leading to eye strain.
Eyestrain develops progressively . Initially, the patient will strain his or her eyes to focus on images or move objects further away to see them better. As the condition progresses, the use of reading glasses becomes essential for proper vision. These may be used only for near vision in some patients, or they may be progressive lenses for all distances in patients who also require distance vision correction if they have myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism.
Preguntas frecuentes sobre la Presbicia
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Presbyopia is typically treated with glasses, as we mentioned, generally with progressive lenses , which allow us to focus at all distances using different parts of the lens. Most patients today adapt to progressive lenses, but in cases of difficulty, bifocal lenses can be used. For some patients , the use of contact lenses can also be helpful, in what we call “monovision.” This means that by using an appropriate contact lens, we leave one eye slightly myopic so it can focus up close. The other eye (the dominant or better vision) is prescribed for distance vision.
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There is no specific age at which one begins to experience symptoms of presbyopia or tired eyes.
As we age, our vision naturally changes. The properties of our eyes gradually deteriorate, and vision problems begin to appear.
Thus, it is estimated that the age at which presbyopia begins is around 40 years old , as the lens loses elasticity and becomes more rigid, causing the muscles that control it to weaken, resulting in problems focusing and seeing at different distances.
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The answer is yes. However, as we’ve already mentioned, there are other treatments available before presbyopia surgery, such as the use of presbyopia glasses.
Presbyopia surgery, for those patients who so desire, involves replacing the presbyopic lens with an intraocular lens that allows us to focus at various distances.
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Presbyopia surgery is like cataract surgery. It is performed under eye drop anesthesia, using microincisions that allow us to “aspirate” the lens and replace it with the chosen lens. Visual recovery is usually almost complete within 24 hours, although some cases may require 2-3 days for complete recovery.
In some cases, surgery can be performed on both eyes on the same day. This surgery also corrects any myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism the patient may have. Furthermore, since this surgery affects the lens, the operated patient will no longer develop cataracts and the results will be stable over time.
The success of the intervention will be determined by the appropriate selection of the implanted lens in each case. The choice of lens will be determined by several factors: the characteristics of the eye, the patient’s preferences, age, or profession.
There are basically two ways to correct presbyopia using intraocular lenses:
Monovision
Monofocal lenses are used. The dominant eye is left with a prescription for distance vision, while the other eye is slightly myopic . This achieves a very satisfactory result in selected cases.
Multifocal or “Premium” lenses
Advances in optical design have allowed for great strides since its earliest designs. Today, we are basically talking about the Trifocal intraocular lens . The design of this lens allows for adequate vision at distance, near distance, and intermediate vision (computer). With proper patient selection, the level of satisfaction with this technique is very high, completely independent of glasses .
It is essential to emphasize that a prior study of each patient is very important before recommending a treatment.
