Presbyopia is a condition when eye gradually lose the ability to focus on seeing objects distance near. This condition occurs naturally as part of the aging process.
Basically, the lens of the eye is surrounded by elastic muscles. These muscles can change the shape of the lens to focus light so it falls on the retina. As we age, the muscles around the lens of the eye lose their elasticity and harden.
As a result, the lens becomes rigid and cannot be deformed. Light can not fall right on the retina so that the received image becomes blurry. Generally, a person only realizes that he is suffering from presbyopia, when he has to keep books or books away WL in order to read it.
Causes of Presbyopia
The process of seeing begins when the eye catches light reflecting off an object. The captured light will then pass through the clear membrane of the eye (cornea), and be passed on to the lens which is located behind the iris (iris).
Next, the lens is in charge of directing light to the retina, which will convert the light into electrical signals. This electrical signal will then be sent to the brain, which will process the signal into an image.
The clarity of the image received by the brain depends on the ability of the lens to direct light. If light falls exactly on the retina, the brain will receive a clear image. On the other hand, if light does not fall directly on the retina, for example behind or in front of the retina, it will appear as a blurry image.
The lens of the eye is surrounded by elastic muscles. These muscles are responsible for changing the shape of the lens, so that light falls on the retina. However, as we age, the muscles around the lens of the eye lose their elasticity and harden naturally.
Tightening of the muscles around the lens causes the lens to become rigid and unable to change shape. As a result, light cannot fall right on the retina and the received image becomes blurry.
Presbyopia Risk Factors
There are several factors that can increase a person's risk of suffering from presbyopia, namely:
- 40 years and over
- Taking certain medications, such as antihistamines, antidepressants, and diuretics
- suffering from diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or heart and blood vessel disease
Symptoms of Presbyopia
Presbyopia develops gradually. Therefore, a person sometimes only realizes the symptoms after passing the age of 40 years. Some of the symptoms commonly experienced by people with presbyopia are:
- The habit of squinting
- Need a brighter light when reading
- Difficulty reading small letters
- Blurred vision when reading at a normal distance
- Headache or eye strain after reading at close range
- Tends to hold objects farther away to see them more clearly
When to go to the doctor
Check with an eye doctor if your vision is blurry when reading or doing other normal activities. Your doctor will perform an eye exam to determine if you have presbyopia or other eye disorders.
Immediately consult a doctor if you experience the following symptoms:
- Sudden blurred or foggy vision
- sudden loss of vision in one eye, accompanied by pain in the eye
- Flashes, black spots, or circles appear when looking at a light source
- Seeing two images of one object (double vision)
Have a complete eye exam at regular intervals. Generally, an ophthalmologist will recommend age-appropriate eye examinations such as the following:
- 40 years: every 5–10 years
- 40–54 years: every 2–4 years
- 55–64 years: every 1–3 years
- 65 years: every 1-2 years
In patients who are at risk of developing eye disease, for example due to diabetes, eye examinations should be carried out more often.
Presbyopia Diagnosis
To diagnose presbyopia, the doctor will run a refraction test. Refractive tests will determine whether the patient has presbyopia and/or other eye disorders, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
The doctor may also give you eye drops to dilate the pupil of the eye, to make it easier to examine the inside of the eye.
Presbyopia Treatment
Presbyopia treatment aims to help the eye to focus on close objects. Some methods to treat presbyopia are:
Use of glasses
Wearing glasses is a simple and safe way to treat presbyopia. Patients with good eye conditions before experiencing presbyopia, can wear reading glasses that can be found in optics. If the patient has had vision problems before, the doctor will prescribe glasses with special lenses.
Use of contact lenses
Patients who do not want to wear glasses can wear contact lenses. However, contact lenses cannot be used in people with eyelid disorders, tear duct disorders, and dry eye syndrome.
Refractive Surgery
Some of the surgical procedures that can be done to treat presbyopia are:
- Conductive keratoplasty
Conductive keratoplasty is a procedure to change the curvature of the cornea and improve the focusing ability of the eye, by heating the points around the cornea using radiofrequency energy.
- Laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK)
LASEK is a procedure to reshape the outer layer of the cornea using a laser beam.
- Monovision aser-assisted in situ keratomileusis
The procedure is also known as monovision LASIK is done to shape vision monovision, so that one eye is used to see objects at a distance, and the other eye to see objects at close range.
- Photorefractive keratectomy
Photorefractive keratectomy is a procedure to reshape the cornea using a laser beam, but it is a different technique from LASEK.
Lens implant
Lens implant procedure aims to replace the patient's eye lens with a synthetic lens (intraocular lens). Generally, these synthetic lenses are effective in improving the patient's vision, both for seeing far or near.
However, in rare cases, lens implants can cause a decrease in the ability to see up close, so the patient still needs reading glasses.
Corneal inlay
A corneal inlay is the procedure of inserting a small ring of plastic into each eye's cornea to change the curvature of the cornea. This ring works to focus light on the cornea, so the patient is able to see objects at close range.
If the patient feels that the results of the corneal inlay are unsatisfactory, the patient can ask the doctor to remove the ring and choose another procedure.
Presbyopia Complications
If left untreated, presbyopia can get worse. As a result, presbyopia sufferers will experience many difficulties in carrying out their daily work and activities.
In addition, left presbyopia will cause the eyes to work harder than they should, especially when doing work with high precision in seeing. Over time, this can lead to tired eyes and headaches.
Presbyopia Prevention
It is not known how to prevent presbyopia. However, you can maintain the quality of your vision by:
- Have regular eye exams
- Use good lighting when reading
- Wearing appropriate glasses for your vision
- Wear protective glasses when doing activities that risk causing eye injury
- Overcoming diseases that can cause vision problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure
- Eat healthy foods that contain antioxidants, vitamin A, and beta carotene