People always say that it is your eyes that can speak a thousand words and many languages. But what if your eyes are unable to do so? People of all age groups face many eye issues which they leave unattended. Your eyes are an essential organ of your body and taking good care of it should be on your priority list. With passing time and age, it is often seen that people start facing some blurriness or unfocused vision, there can be many reasons behind it. But the most common eye issue related to it is presbyopia.

Not many people know but presbyopia is considered to be a naturally occurring and age-related vision issue. This condition mostly happens when a person starts to age and is also famous by the name ‘aging eye’. However, most people consider presbyopia to be a serious eye disease. However, it is a condition which happens with growing age.

Understanding eye focus and presbyopia

The natural focusing process of an eye can be effective in understanding presbyopia in a better way. It is the pupil through which light enters your eye and effectively reaches the lens. Also, your eye lens has circular muscles attached to it with the help of fine fibers. The circular muscle or ciliary muscle can help in changing the shape of the lens which ultimately allows it to focus on things placed in different locations.

These muscles are known to get tight when you are trying to focus on closely placed objects. It allows the lens to get thick and curved and the entire process is called accommodation. In other words, the eye allows the light onto the retina which further helps in seeing a sharp image. If you are looking at distant or far away objects, the muscle tends to relax and the lens tends to get flat and thin.

How does age change your ability to see?

With increasing age, individuals face some changes in their vision. This is because the lenses experience some molecular changes. Thus, hardening of lens and inflexibility of the lens is likely to happen. The hardening of the lens leads to thickening and curving of them while looking at closely placed things. Thus, there is a decrease in the focusing power and accommodation.

Due to all this, individuals start to experience presbyopia which mainly happens in the 40s. There can also be instances where a person would hold things a little away to see clearly. The issues with the focus become evident when you are unable to read a small print or dim light that bothers you.

However, certain changes in your vision will continue till the age of 60 and will later become stable.

Presbyopia in comparison with other vision issues

Presbyopia is a unique eye condition. However, there are some other vision problems which show similar symptoms.

Presbyopia and hyperopia

These eye conditions can lead to problems while seeing the nearby objects. Hyperopia or farsightedness can occur with short eyes and sometimes when the cornea gets flat. Thus, the light is unable to reach the retina and gets behind it. Whereas, presbyopia happens due to increasing age where the lens gets hard. Hyperopia can happen to anyone but presbyopia happens to people above the age of 40.

Presbyopia and myopia

Myopia or nearsightedness leads to clear focusing on close objects without facing major accommodation. However, people with myopia are able to understand the effects of presbyopia much later than expected.

Facing presbyopia with other vision problems can happen to anyone. For instance, hyperopia can be experienced with early signs of presbyopia. However, presbyopia is likely to happen to every individual due to the age factor. There is no prevention of this eye issue but it can be managed to experience clear vision.

What are the symptoms of presbyopia?

If you are worried about your eyesight then it is essential to know the presbyopia symptoms. These symptoms can start to appear in the early 40s of a person till mid-40s. However, the entire condition can get complicated at the age of 65.

Here are a few symptoms that you need to take care of:

Blurry vision

Blurred vision while looking at close objects can be an early sign of presbyopia. For instance, reading books, holding smartphones, etc. have become hard to see. While reading books if the text appears to be fuzzy and you are unable to focus then it can be problematic. The blurriness with time can get worse and lead to stress. It is a hard lens that is unable to curve to focus light and leads to blurriness. The light focus is not on the retina which makes every image unclear. However, this situation is hard to tackle in dim light.

Eye strain and severe headaches

It is the culinary muscles that are known to handle extra pressure. This pressure comes in when close objects are unable to be seen by the eyes. This leads to extra strain which can be negatively affected. However, the common sign that shows up is eye fatigue. Your eyes will start to feel tired and this can further lead to discomfort. Also, people facing presbyopia often try rubbing their eyes or squinting them for a better visual experience.

Headaches are another common sign which can create problems in your daily life. This can appear when eye muscles are reshaping the hardened lens. The situation can occur after strenuous reading, constant use of computers, or doing any serious or detailed work.

The need for bright light

The need to work under extra or bright lighting can be concerning. People who are facing presbyopia require extra light to properly see things. The bright lights are helpful in making the pupils small and changing the way light hits the retina. Further, it is helpful in seeing things better but temporarily.

This can happen in situations like reading a book, checking any digits or alphabets on the labels, using electronic appliances in medium light, or doing detailed hobbies. Therefore, all these symptoms lead to presbyopia, and getting professional help can be beneficial in leading a quality vision.

Holding things farther away for clarity

This is known as a trombone effect which can tell that you are developing presbyopia. Stretching out your arm to have a better focus while reading is an early sign. Thus, your eyes are always looking for ways to see things in a more focused way. However, if the objects still appear small at arm’s length then this shows that you require professional help. This arm-stretching habit cannot work for a long time. Thus, a proper treatment is required.

What are the causes of facing presbyopia?

The ability of the eyes to focus better on closely placed objects does not go away in the blink of an eye. It is the natural aging process that hampers eye focus and reshapes the vision of any scene. Here are presbyopia causes which should be known to all:

Aging and lens getting hard

The most common cause of presbyopia is the hardening of lenses. Plus, the lenses are not as flexible as they used to be. However, during this process, an individual won’t be able to understand the seriousness of the vision issues. It also happens because of the change in the lens protein called alpha-crystallin. This protein decreases which happens because of increasing age.

The decrease in this protein combines with the bigger protein groups which can stiffen the lens. This often happens quickly after hitting the middle age. Due to this reason most people at the age of 45 start experiencing presbyopia.

No more lens flexibility

With the increasing age, there can be reduction in eye flexibility. However, at the age of 60, a severe flexibility reduction can be seen. Also, the lens stiffness keeps changing in different parts of the eye. In young people, the cortex is stiff as compared to the nucleus. However, both these parts get hard with increasing age but at their own pace. By the age of 45, both these parts get stiff. Also, at different stages of life, new lenses get formed at the lens’ edges just like an onion. Thus, the lens size gets bigger and thicker.

Involvement of ciliary muscles

In the presbyopia process, ciliary muscles play an essential role. This is effective in controlling the shape of the lens while adjusting the tension. Also, these muscles are important in curving the lens and its thickening which helps in better focus on the closer things. However, with increasing age, these muscles lose their power to change the shape of the hard lens.

How to diagnose presbyopia?

There is no presbyopia treatment as it is a natural condition that ought to happen to every individual with increasing age. However, there are certain methods to diagnose presbyopia, such as:

Eye exam and getting a refraction test
Different tools involved and used by eye doctors

When to get the eyes checked?

An eye examination is essential. Thus, every individual should get their eyes checked at a certain age, such as:

Every individual under the age of 40, every 5-10 years.
Every individual at the age of 40-54, every 2-4 years.
Every individual at the age of 55-64, every 1-3 years.
Every individual at the age of 65 and above, every 1-2 years.

Conclusion

Presbyopia can lead to a lot of problems in your daily routine. It mainly happens naturally with increasing age. However, the above-mentioned information about presbyopia will help you understand its causes, symptoms, treatment, and much more. If you are facing presbyopia, then seeking help from Mitra Eye Hospital can be helpful in many ways. The professional and expert eye doctors will offer the best solutions to your eye problems.