Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a condition that typically affects people as they age, usually starting around the age of 40 or older. It involves the gradual loss of the eye's ability to focus on nearby objects, primarily due to the lens of the eye becoming less flexible over time. This makes it harder to read small print or perform tasks that require close vision, like threading a needle.

Here’s why it happens: The lens in your eye, which helps focus light on the retina, loses its elasticity with age. This means it becomes less able to change shape to focus on objects that are close to you, which is what causes blurred vision for reading or other close-up activities.

The main symptoms of presbyopia include:

• Difficulty reading small print or seeing things up close.
• Eyestrain or headaches when doing close-up tasks.
• Holding reading material farther away to see it clearly.

Presbyopia is usually treated with corrective lenses (reading glasses), bifocals, progressive lenses, or even contact lenses. In some cases, surgical options are available to help improve vision.