A question that many patients ask is whether they will someday require reading glasses. Years ago, the question was posed in a New York Times article, which made light of the fact that just like taxes, the need for reading glasses is inevitable, even if you have had previous laser surgery to correct your vision. You can just chalk this up to the changes that happen to your eyes as you grow older.
What Happens to Your Eyes?
Everyone’s bodies age at different rates, depending on their health, physical fitness, diet, and other factors. However, what everyone does have in common with aging are the changes that occur to our eyes that actually begin while we are still children.
As a child, do you remember being told not to sit so close to the television because you would ruin your eyes? Well, that is a myth. One of the things that children have on us vision-wise is that they can usually focus on objects within an inch from their eyes. As we enter the teenage years, this ability begins to fade, and bam, before you know it, you are 50 years old and cannot thread a needle or read a book without reading glasses.
Understanding Presbyopia
Presbyopia is the Greek word for elderly vision, and it means the loss of close-up focus. It is a longstanding mystery as to its actual cause and what can be done to reverse it.
Researchers have studied the eye and its structures. They know that our eyes’ lenses are suspended in our eyeballs right behind the iris, which is the colored part of our eyes. Your lenses are connected to a ring of circular muscle via fibrous halos. These parts of our eyes show changes as we age. But what scientists have not discovered is which changes cause the loss of focus, fueling the need for reading glasses.
What Can You Do?
So yes, reading glasses are inevitable. However, there are also other changes that could occur with your eyes as you get older that can cause your vision to change. Therefore, it is essential to keep up with your yearly eye exams even if you do not currently wear glasses. The earlier age-related eye conditions are detected, the better the outcome.
Take charge of your eye health and contact Valley Eyecare Center at (602) 955-2700 to schedule your next comprehensive eye exam to determine if you are now ready for reading glasses.
