Presbyopia (reading glasses)

I quit playing football at the age of 40 because of failing eyesight. Now 10 years on, I've resumed playing again. Life doesn't begin at 40, it begins after laser correction. — Adrian P., Basildon, Essex

How laser eye surgery can be an effective Presbyopia treatment

Presbyopia sufferers often find the need to swap glasses in order to read or drive can become tiresome. However, the decision to undergo surgery to remove the inconvenience presbyopia causes is not a simple one and often comes down to personal preference.

So that presbyopic patients can decide if Blended Vision suits their lifestyle and needs, London Vision Clinic can perform a test to simulate the effects of blended vision, or Presbyopia treatment.

The saying is 'No pain, no gain' but I can honestly say there was no pain involved with the procedure and the gain was instant- I was reading the small print on the back of a medicine packet within seconds. I don't need contact lenses or glasses anymore — I can read, work on my computer, drive a car, watch television, you name it, without even thinking about it. Once you visit the clinic and speak to everyone involved, your initial fear will disappear. — Pamela A., WP Consultant, from Sutton, Surrey

Alternatives in Presbyopia treatment

Presbyopia and the need for bifocals is a sure sign of the passing time, however there are other solutions. For presbyopic individuals who wear glasses and would rather not, blended vision offers a remedy to presbyopia.

The laser eye procedure to correct presbyopia or 'ageing eyes' involves a technique called Blended Vision. With this technique, one eye is treated to view objects mainly at distance, but a little up close, and the other is treated to view objects mainly up close, but a little at distance. The brain puts the two images together and enables the individual to see distance and near without effort. In most cases, the brain is able to compensate and you will experience an excellent depth of focus and overall visual acuity, without the need to wear glasses or contact lenses.

Differences between blended vision and mono vision

Blended Vision is not to be confused with traditional monovision - a practice in which the contact lenses are set with one eye for near and one eye for distance. The difference with the Blended Vision Presbyopia surgery is that the blended vision near eye sees much better at distance than the near eye set with traditional monovision, similarly the blended vision distance eye sees more up close than the distance eye with traditional monovision. Because Blended Vision is milder than monovision, far more people are able to adapt to it than to monovision. Approximately 95% of people are candidates for blended vision Presbyopia surgery as compared to about 50% for traditional monovision with contact lenses.

Presbyopia explained

Presbyopia is part of the aging process and presbyopia means, literally, 'old eye'. With Presbyopia, the ability to focus on close objects gradually decreases over a number of years, with presbyopic symptoms usually becomes noticeable around middle age.

With presbyopia, the lens steadily becomes less flexible, and the muscles that pull it into focus become less powerful. As presbyopia develops our ability to adjust to vision at various distances decreases, and most noticeably, presbyopia causes near objects to appear blurry and difficult focus. Indeed, presbyopia sufferers often unconsciously adjust the distance between page and eye to compensate for their presbyopia.

If you suffer from presbyopia

You may be an ideal candidate for blended vision Presbyopia surgery. Contact a patient education consultant on 0800 587 4705 to learn more about our experiences in treating patients like you.