Are you farsighted or presbyopic? What is causing your strained vision?

Is your newspaper getting blurrier by the day? There could be two potential causes of your vision woes. How do you know what is causing it? and should you run straight to the optometrist?

If this change in vision seemed to have occurred in your early 40's, you are noticing the beginning signs of presbyopia. The condition of presbyopia is an age related phenomenon that effects only near vision.

Presbyopia is caused by a hardening of the lens inside your eye. Known as the crystalline lens, it allows us to adjust focus from distance to near. It accomplishes this feat by adjusting shape. In order to do this, it must remain extremely flexible. So what actually happens as we approach 40 is the lens has grown so dense, that it can no longer flex to accommodate our near vision adequately. This happens to most everybody right around the age of 40 years or better.

Presbyopia can be addressed in a number of ways. The simplest form of correction is with cheater glasses. All you have to do is put them on and you can see. Of course, don't expect to see anything in the distance if you are wearing reading glasses, unless they are bifocals or prescription progressive lenses.

an alternative method used in alleviating presbyopia is with contact lenses. Lenses can be fit in a variety of ways. One widely used fitting style is referred to as mono-vision; where one eye is corrected for near vision and they other for distance. This works very well for many people and is a simple solution. Multifocal contact lenses can also be employed for a more progressive range of vision.

There are even some surgeries being tested to correct your presbyopia. CK surgery is the most common and widely used corneal refractive surgery used to correct the symptoms of presbyopia.

So what if you are having trouble seeing up close, but you are no where near 40 years of age? You are most likely hyperopic, also referred to as being farsighted. essentially your eye, from the surface of the cornea to the retina, is too short and light rays do not come to a clear focus. in theory, the focal point is behind the eye. Because of the power of the crystalline lens in young people, mildly hyperopic kids and teenagers don't even notice a vision correction is beneficial. Hyperopia that is left not corrected can lead to excess eye fatigue and headaches.

What about that doctors appointment, should you go? Of course you should! Only your eye care provider can be entirely certain that your eyes are healthy. Your vision is only part of the story, your eye exam is critical to your overall health.

Gordon Kay is a person who has presbyopic eyes. He recently accepted his vision. After years of denial, Gordon has put together http://www.eyeonpresbyopia.com to keep himself and other presbyopic folks in the know when it comes to their near vision.

- Gordon Kaye