Shrinking Arms Or Presbyopia?

If you are over forty and finding that your arms are shrinking, you might be tempted to competitively compare your deteriorating eyesight with that of your peers.

Are they also finding it a bit of a struggle to read the newspapers (irrespective of the gloomy  recession doomed content), extending their arms further and further away and searching out the best lit area of the room?

After a quick survey of friends, colleagues and relatives you might ask yourself: “Why is it that they don’t need reading glasses and I do?”

“Have they got contact lenses? Have they had Laser Eye Surgery? Or are they just lucky?

“Why is it that some people begin to need reading glasses in their forties while others seem to manage without them until their sixties?”

I went to the London Vision Clinic with my question; and Dr Dan explained that ageing eyes (or presbyopia) affects 100% of the human race – eventually every one of us will need either reading glasses or bi-focals (unless – of course –  we have Laser Eye Surgery).

So why does it strike some people sooner than others? Because somebody might be slightly long-sighted already without realising it.

“If you are slightly long-sighted then you are going to start to notice the presbyopia somewhat earlier in your life”.

Like Dr Dan’s wife who  is in her mid-forties and, as a plus 2 prescription, is dependent on reading glasses. Hardly surprisingly, she is booked in for surgery.

Incidentally, Dr Dan (aged 46) has a zero prescription.

Image Source: jaffelasik.com