Presbyopia

Presbyopia

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What is Presbyopia?

Presbyopia (or “lao hua yan”) is the inability to focus on near objects as a person ages. This is due to the weakening of the muscles which control the focusing power of the lens and also the hardening of the lens.

In a normal eye, the lens works together with the surrounding muscles to change its shape to enable focusing at near. Typically, a person starts to experience difficulty focusing at near around the age of 40 years old. The ability to focus continues to decrease as the person ages.

What can be done if I suffer from Myopia, Hyperopia, Astigmatism and/or Presbyopia?

The options available are:

• Wearing of progressives or reading glasses
• Wearing of multifocal contact lenses or using a pair of reading glasses on top of the contact lenses
• LASIK and Implantable Contact Lens treatments
• Intraocular lens (IOL) implantation with cataract surgery

The table below gives an overall summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the different vision correction options for presbyopia:

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