Congratulations! (We can hear you grumbling: "Thanks a lot".)
You may have noticed that your near vision is starting to become blurry or that it is more difficult to focus on small print than it used to be. This is NOT because your focusing muscles are getting weaker. It is a result of the crystalline lens inside the eye becoming less elastic from normal aging processes. Ultraviolet rays, poor dietary habits, and smoking can contribute to the aging processes, and ultimately lead to cataract formation sooner than normal.
This decrease in the crystalline lens’ elasticity is a universal human occurrence. Eventually every person will need to wear some sort of reading prescription to do the work that the eye can no longer perform on its own (unless they are just nearsighted enough that they can see up close without a prescription).
Currently we have many different options to correct this problem:
- Single vision reading glasses.
- Lined bifocal glasses.
- Progressive (no-line) bifocals.
- Lined trifocal glasses.
- Bifocal contact lenses.
- Monovision contact lenses (one eye for far, the other for near).
- Distance contact lenses with reading glasses.
- Specialty bifocal glasses, e.g. double bifocal (one segment below, the other above the pupil)
- Computer trifocals (specially designed large middle area for intermediate, arms length vision).
