PRESBYOPIA
My arms got shorter, and you tell me I have an elevator problem?
My arms got shorter, and you tell me I have an elevator problem?
Short Arms?
Your arms didn’t get shorter, your eyes changed, and you now have an elevator problem. Elevator problem, you ask! What’s that? Hopefully this example will give you a better understanding.
Your arms didn’t get shorter, your eyes changed, and you now have an elevator problem. Elevator problem, you ask! What’s that? Hopefully this example will give you a better understanding.
The Elevator Problem
If you first look at the Sierra mountains and then look close to read, the power in your eyes must increase. It takes more lens power for a camera to take a close up picture. The same is true for your eyes.
If you first look at the Sierra mountains and then look close to read, the power in your eyes must increase. It takes more lens power for a camera to take a close up picture. The same is true for your eyes.
When you look up close to read a book, your eye power has to increase. If you compare this to an elevator, changing your power to read would be like the power it takes an elevator to go up four floors.
Children 12 and under have the eye power of at least a twelve story building. We slowly lose parts of a floor each year starting at 13. Yes, it is hard to believe but true. You don’t notice the decline in power because we only need four floors to read.
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It is not until the 40's that we are then down to three stories and need an elevator booster to get to the 4th floor... |
Yes, the elevator booster is a pair of reading glasses.
Every other year we lose another floor. You need an elevator booster to gain the floor you lost. Your glasses need changing every 2 years. By 55 the process is done. Then you are on the first floor level!
I got the elevator idea but what happens in the eye?
The eye has two optical lenses. The first with the majority of the power is the clear outer coating of your eye called the cornea. The other lens is inside the eye behind the iris(the colored part of your eye). The inside lens changes it’s power when we look up close to read. That‘s the elevator in our example. It is called the lens
What Is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia is a vision condition all people note in their forties as they have difficulty focusing clearly at the reading distance.
What Does the Word Presbyopia Mean?
Unfortunately it translates into “old eyes” which causes many people to shudder and resist bifocals. Yet, the term was created more than 200 years ago when the life span was shorter. Today the forties aren’t considered old.
The eye has two optical lenses. The first with the majority of the power is the clear outer coating of your eye called the cornea. The other lens is inside the eye behind the iris(the colored part of your eye). The inside lens changes it’s power when we look up close to read. That‘s the elevator in our example. It is called the lens
What Is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia is a vision condition all people note in their forties as they have difficulty focusing clearly at the reading distance.
What Does the Word Presbyopia Mean?
Unfortunately it translates into “old eyes” which causes many people to shudder and resist bifocals. Yet, the term was created more than 200 years ago when the life span was shorter. Today the forties aren’t considered old.
When Do We Start Losing Our Ability to Focus Our Eyes for near Vision?
Age 12! Yes, age twelve is the beginning of the decline. At 12 we can see an inch in front of our eyes. Remember the 12 story building. We slowly lose floors over the years. Yet, it is not called presbyopia until the loss of focus is noted at the reading distance. That, as said above, hits everyone in their forties.
Do All Notice it at the Exact Same Age ?
Yes! It arrives at 42 for women and 44 for men. There are some exceptions. People from the Eastern South Pacific change at 38. No one knows why. Nearsighted people may not notice it until later if they take their glasses off to read. They still have it. They just don’t notice it. On the other hand, farsighted people notice it sooner.
What really happened? ☺
You see’ God really likes optometrists, and he wants us to have secure businesses! Thus, He designed everyone to lose our near vision focusing power and have to buy glasses.
How Is Presbyopia Treated?
The treatment is simple: provide reading glasses to match the focus loss. If you already wear glasses, you can use two pairs, the second for near. Most people find a bifocal more convenient.
From the early forties until 55 presbyopia continues. To correctly treat, your current ability is left alone, and what you are unable to focus is prescribed. By 55 the glasses do all of the focusing.
Age 12! Yes, age twelve is the beginning of the decline. At 12 we can see an inch in front of our eyes. Remember the 12 story building. We slowly lose floors over the years. Yet, it is not called presbyopia until the loss of focus is noted at the reading distance. That, as said above, hits everyone in their forties.
Do All Notice it at the Exact Same Age ?
Yes! It arrives at 42 for women and 44 for men. There are some exceptions. People from the Eastern South Pacific change at 38. No one knows why. Nearsighted people may not notice it until later if they take their glasses off to read. They still have it. They just don’t notice it. On the other hand, farsighted people notice it sooner.
What really happened? ☺
You see’ God really likes optometrists, and he wants us to have secure businesses! Thus, He designed everyone to lose our near vision focusing power and have to buy glasses.
How Is Presbyopia Treated?
The treatment is simple: provide reading glasses to match the focus loss. If you already wear glasses, you can use two pairs, the second for near. Most people find a bifocal more convenient.
From the early forties until 55 presbyopia continues. To correctly treat, your current ability is left alone, and what you are unable to focus is prescribed. By 55 the glasses do all of the focusing.
Well meaning doctors may worsen the process thinking they are doing you a favor..
They reason you will slowly lose all your focusing power by 55. Thus, to save money, rather than changing lenses yearly to keep up with your condition, they make two large jumps. At 44 they go to a 48-year-old prescription and at 48 go to the 55-year-old prescription
They reason you will slowly lose all your focusing power by 55. Thus, to save money, rather than changing lenses yearly to keep up with your condition, they make two large jumps. At 44 they go to a 48-year-old prescription and at 48 go to the 55-year-old prescription
is ignores two facts. First, presbyopia is hastened by using overly strong lenses. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Secondly, an overly strong lens not only affects focusing, it also affects the centering ability of your eyes. Thus, many people have difficulty aligning their eyes with the overly strong lenses resulting in inefficiency and eye strain.
How Is Our Treatment Different?
First, Dr. Henshaw sees you prior to presbyopia and treats eyestrain at near vision with low powered lenses that ease your transition into presbyopia, while delaying its onset. The same prescription for some lasts between 38 and 48. Secondly, as presbyopia takes its toll, Dr. Henshaw makes yearly changes so eyestrain and other unwanted vision conditions are avoided. This treatment often keeps your prescription lower than that of other doctors and your eyes more efficient
How Is Our Treatment Different?
First, Dr. Henshaw sees you prior to presbyopia and treats eyestrain at near vision with low powered lenses that ease your transition into presbyopia, while delaying its onset. The same prescription for some lasts between 38 and 48. Secondly, as presbyopia takes its toll, Dr. Henshaw makes yearly changes so eyestrain and other unwanted vision conditions are avoided. This treatment often keeps your prescription lower than that of other doctors and your eyes more efficient
What about Over the Counter (OTC) Glasses?
OTC’s create more problems than they solve.
1. The lowest power available is too strong for a beginning prescription.
2. You tend to select glasses that are too strong for you. This hastens the decline of presbyopia and opens up other problems.
3. Lenses do more than focus your eyes, they make your eyes tend to turn outward or inward. Thus, the wrong power of the OCT you selected invites eyestrain and discomfort.
4. Often OTC’s are inconvenient to look over the top for far vision. As you use them inadvertently for far away, you become dependant on the glasses for far vision as well.
5. OTC glasses are prefabricated and most likely the middle of the lenses won’t match the distance between your eyes. That induces unwanted prism power that causes eyestrain and discomfort.
6. OTC’s are typically poorly manufactured and induce prism that forces one of your eyes to look higher than the other.
7. The frames are poor in quality and hard to adjust making them uncomfortable.
Although OTC glasses are cheap, from the above you can see they may be costly.
A Final Word
For those of you who value your eyes and comfortable efficient vision, give our office a call and discover the vision excellence we have available for you.
OTC’s create more problems than they solve.
1. The lowest power available is too strong for a beginning prescription.
2. You tend to select glasses that are too strong for you. This hastens the decline of presbyopia and opens up other problems.
3. Lenses do more than focus your eyes, they make your eyes tend to turn outward or inward. Thus, the wrong power of the OCT you selected invites eyestrain and discomfort.
4. Often OTC’s are inconvenient to look over the top for far vision. As you use them inadvertently for far away, you become dependant on the glasses for far vision as well.
5. OTC glasses are prefabricated and most likely the middle of the lenses won’t match the distance between your eyes. That induces unwanted prism power that causes eyestrain and discomfort.
6. OTC’s are typically poorly manufactured and induce prism that forces one of your eyes to look higher than the other.
7. The frames are poor in quality and hard to adjust making them uncomfortable.
Although OTC glasses are cheap, from the above you can see they may be costly.
A Final Word
For those of you who value your eyes and comfortable efficient vision, give our office a call and discover the vision excellence we have available for you.
If you would like to look at a PDF of presbyopia click below.
| accommodative_infacility.pdf |
The Elevator Problem for adults video -presbyopia
The technical name of the condition in adults is presbyopia. Hopefully the nickname for these conditions brings better understanding.
The technical name of the condition in adults is presbyopia. Hopefully the nickname for these conditions brings better understanding.