Like many (ahem) middle-aged people, I need reading glasses. The change for the worse happened suddenly, in a matter of months, during the pandemic. One day I could work in front of the computer without any problems and the next day everything was blurry. My visual acuity was worse in the morning than in the evening and, although it has stabilized, it has not improved since.
Presbyopia, or eyestrain, is an age-related eye condition that makes it difficult for us to focus on objects that are close up. A camera, like the one on your cell phone, focuses images by moving a lens back and forth, but our eyes have an even better focusing system.
The lens of the eye is a living, clear lens located behind the iris (the colored part of the eye). It is surrounded by muscles that stretch and compress it, changing its curvature to focus images on the retina. It becomes thicker to focus on nearby objects and thinner to focus on distant objects. And it is composed mostly of water and proteins, making it both transparent and flexible. Over time, these proteins become stiffer and less organized, leading to a loss of elasticity and ability to focus.
Additionally, it is also thought that the ciliary muscles surrounding the lens may lose strength, contributing to difficulties focusing at near. However, in recent years, it has been proven that the muscles are still active even in people over 80 years old. It is therefore possible that presbyopia is primarily due to the hardening of the lens.
Presbyopia usually begins to appear between the ages of 40 and 45. It is a gradual process that worsens over time.
Presbyopia usually begins to appear between the ages of 40 and 45. It is a gradual process that gets worse over time. Most people notice the first symptoms when they start having difficulty reading small print or when they have to move objects farther away to see them clearly, sometimes humorously called “playing the trombone.”
Presbyopia appears with age and does not distinguish physiologically or respond to medical history. However, certain factors can influence when and how it manifests, appearing earlier in some people and later in others.
For example, people who are hyperopic (have difficulty seeing up close) may notice symptoms of presbyopia earlier than those with normal vision or nearsightedness. The predisposition to developing presbyopia can be hereditary. If your parents or grandparents had early presbyopia, you are more likely to have it too.
Additionally, certain diseases, such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis, can affect the elasticity of the lens and accelerate the onset of presbyopia.
Do we suffer from presbyopia because we always look up close?
A century ago, most people worked outdoors, especially in agriculture. In modern society, people have begun to spend more time indoors, while currently, in addition to being most of the time at home or in the office, according to a report by Electronic Hubs, Spaniards spend 35% of their waking hours indoors. looking at a screen.
It is true that presbyopia cases are increasing worldwide, but appearances are deceptive. It is not the increase in screen use, but simply the aging of the world population. More elderly people, more cases of presbyopia. In addition, some people living in less developed countries are now starting to receive a diagnosis that was not previously available, which contributes to the number of cases.
It is true that cases of presbyopia are increasing worldwide, but appearances are deceptive. It is not the increase in screen use, but simply the aging of the world’s population.
Yet it is easy to think that the more time we spend looking up close, the more we strain the lens muscles and therefore increase the risk of presbyopia. However, the hardening of the lens occurs regardless of whether we look up close or far away, and there is no evidence that looking up close accelerates the onset of presbyopia. Unfortunately, at present, presbyopia cannot be prevented or reversed, but only treated.
Spending more time looking up close and indoors has been shown to influence another vision problem: myopia (difficulty seeing far away). For example, there is talk of an epidemic of myopia in Asian countries, but this is an effect that mainly occurs in children and not in the elderly.
Reading glasses do not make presbyopia worse
The most immediate solution to presbyopia is to wear glasses for reading, working with screens, and other tasks that require close observation. Presbyopia corrective glasses are convex lenses that help focus light correctly on the retina.
It is common for people with presbyopia to complain that since they have been wearing glasses, they can no longer read well without them. This can give the false impression that glasses make the problem worse, but again, this is not the case.
Presbyopia gets worse over time. As you age, you may need higher prescription glasses to compensate for the progression of presbyopia. This adjustment is part of the natural aging process and does not indicate that the glasses have worsened your vision, only that your presbyopia has naturally worsened.
It is common for people with presbyopia to complain that since they have been wearing glasses, they can no longer read well without them. This can give the false impression that glasses are making the problem worse.
Another myth is that not wearing glasses can slow down the progression of presbyopia. In reality, presbyopia cannot be prevented. Straining your eyes without glasses can only cause discomfort, eye fatigue and headaches.
Prolonged work with a computer, looking at a mobile phone and other activities that require us to focus closely, if we do not wear glasses, have negative effects: digital eye strain (DES). It is characterized by dry eyes, itching, a feeling of having something in the eyes, watering, blurred vision and headaches, and occurs when looking at a screen for long periods of time. One of the main causes of this syndrome is that when we look at screens, we blink only four to seven times per minute, while the normal frequency is 15.
Eye strain has a cure. The discomfort is usually temporary and resolves with rest or adjustments to working conditions, such as improving lighting or increasing the size of the characters on the screen.
To improve the symptoms of eye strain, it is recommended to follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away (about 6 meters, the method is an American invention) for at least 20 seconds.
Glasses for presbyopia improve the quality of life. They allow us to read, write or work with screens without tiring our eyes and without frowning. But as always, it is important to go to the ophthalmologist regularly to properly monitor our visual health and adjust our glasses.
Darío Pescador is editor and director of the Quo Magazine and author of the book the best of yourself Published by Oberon.
