Do You Wear Reading Glasses, Bifocals or Varifocals?

• London Vision Clinic treats people who want to improve their age-related near vision loss(presbyopia)
• Learn more about this technique, called blended vision
• There are common questions regarding enhancing your reading vision that may help you
• You may call a patient education consultant to discuss our experience in treating patients like you

We reduce the effects of presbyopia in people aged 40-plus

In late February I saw an article in the Daily Mail re: laser treatment for the older person. I immediately rang and my call was answered by a gentleman - very calm and reassuring - who took my details and my lens prescription, and set up an appointment for me in London. I was so happy because another laser clinic had told me my prescription was impossible to correct. —Janet B. from Sevenoaks, Kent

People aged 40-plus lose their near vision and require reading glasses

I'm 59, and when I would start reading the paper, as I'm getting through a line, the words would become blurred in and out. It's difficult to keep within the same line, and I would keep losing my place. —Roger W. from Ashtead, Surrey

Suddenly, you may find yourself needing glasses for the first time in your life. Having taken your good reading vision for granted, this sudden loss might come as a considerably unpleasant surprise to you.

Longsighted people aged 40-plus will require varifocals

Perhaps you have needed glasses and/or contact lenses for as long as you can remember, and now bifocals or varifocals serve to add insult to injury. Just as you are starting to really enjoy life, your eyes start to let you down.

I am in my mid-sixties and wanted the best of both worlds - to read the share prices in the Financial Times and to see my golf ball at 200 yards: this has been achieved. —Brian M. from Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire

Laser eye surgery can help with near vision problems in mid-life

We have combined the latest research and state-of-the-art laser technology to successfully treat the effects of "aging eyes" or presbyopia. For many, this solution is tantamount to a miracle.

I feel so much more confident. I don't need to have three, four pairs of glasses, and sunglasses. Don't have to worry if you have the right glasses with you at work. Reading menus is a big change. My friends say now when we're out at a restaurant 'give it to Norma, she can read it!' And also I must admit, it is nice that people can't automatically guess my age because of my reading glasses. Wearing the reading glasses was an obvious sign that I was over forty. —Norma M. from Bromley, Kent

Presbyopia itself cannot be treated using laser eye surgery, but a technique, 'blended vision', where one eye is corrected as close to 20/20 as possible for distance vision, and the other is made slightly shortsighted for reading vision. The brain then compensates, and can achieve some improvement. This treatment does not suit everyone; contact a patient education consultant on 0800 587 4705 to discuss your suitability for blended vision or for more information about this treatment.

Common questions about enhancing your reading vision with laser eye surgery:

• How long will the effects of blended vision last?
• What does laser eye surgery have to do with cataracts?
• Why do so many clinics not treat the loss of reading vision?
• How much can my reading vision improve?
• Will the improvement of my reading vision affect my distance vision?
• How does the reading vision treatment differ from conventional laser eye surgery for short and longsightedness?
• I have tried monovision contacts; does blended vision have the same effects?
• Do most patients requiring blended vision require laser eye treatment on one eye or two?

Does your question about presbyopia treatment not appear in the above list?

You are most welcome to contact a patient education consultant on 0800 587 4705 to discuss your suitability for laser eye surgery at London Vision Clinic.