Presbyopia is a very common eye condition that impacts most adults. The condition causes your eyes to lose the ability to change focus and see objects that are close up. If you have to stretch your arms out in order to read a book or your phone, you may have presbyopia. This condition typically becomes noticeable between the ages of 40 and 50, and eventually affects all adults as their eyes mature.
The eye has a flexible, soft lens that can easily change shape, allowing our eyes to focus on objects that are both near and far away. The loss of flexibility and the lens becoming more rigid begins to happen around the age of 40. The eyes can’t change shape as easily as they once did, so it becomes much more difficult to see things up close, like your phone or a dinner menu.
Presbyopia is sometimes confused with farsightedness (hyperopia), but it is important to note that they are different. Farsightedness, which has genetic tendencies and can be present at birth, occurs when the natural shape of your eyeball causes light rays to bend incorrectly when they enter your eye. Presbyopia occurs when the lenses of your eyes lose flexibility as you age. This can be confusing because the results are much the same – difficulty seeing things up close without correction. Although there is no way to prevent presbyopia from occurring, don’t worry, as it can easily be corrected with modern technology!
