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The Eyes Have ItVision problems are like gray hair: both have a way of sneaking up with age. Almost all of us by our late 40s have trouble seeing up close, a condition called presbyopia. “As we grow older, the lenses in our eyes gradually lose flexibility,” says Allentown optometrist R. Douglas Quay, O.D.While you can’t stop the clock, having less than perfect vision doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice seeing well or looking good. New options in eyeglasses and contact lenses—not to mention surgery—can correct presbyopia right along with nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. The latest on glassesIf your vision was fine until now and you just need help with up-close tasks, you may be able to get by with inexpensive reading glasses from the drugstore that magnify what you’re looking at, Quay says. “But usually, one eye needs a different prescription than the other,” he says, “and regular eye exams are important to overall health.”Besides, glasses have gotten downright trendy these days, with hundreds of styles to choose from. Nobody needs to sport the “bifocal look” anymore thanks to progressive lenses. Also known as no-line multifocals, they seamlessly give you distance vision in the upper portion of the lens, near vision in the lower. Contact lensesThanks to improved materials that help the eyes stay oxygenated and moist, you needn’t give up contacts because of age-related loss of eye moisture. The multifocal approach so popular in glasses is now available in various types of contact lenses including disposables. Cost of these lenses varies from $250-$500 depending on the type. If you’re not sure you want to invest in contacts, ask your optometrist about a trial pair, Quay says.Another option: monovisionJust as we have a dominant hand, each of us has a dominant eye. Monovision lenses come in two different prescriptions: most often, distance vision for the dominant eye, close-up for the other. Monovision lenses are less expensive than multifocals, Quay says. The most common complaint is a slight effect on depth perception, which varies from person to person.Besides glasses or contact lenses, you can have a laser procedure to create monovision, says ophthalmologist Andrew N. Bausch, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. The cost is $3,000-$4,000 for both eyes. New strides in eye surgeryYou’ve probably heard of artificial lenses for people with cataracts. These “intraocular lens implants” have been done for years; if your natural lens becomes clouded by cataracts, the surgeon can replace it with a clear synthetic one. Now, lens implants are available with a progressive lens to correct presbyopia.Progressive lens implants soon will be one of the hottest surgical trends going, Bausch says. Among the advantages: get the procedure and you’ll never get a cataract. “There is about a 30 percent chance you can develop a slight film behind the implant, but it’s easy to fix with laser treatment,” he says. Lens implants cost up to $2,500 per eye and aren’t likely to be covered by insurance unless you have cataracts. Laser monovision isn’t usually covered either. But to achieve good vision without contacts or glasses, many people apparently are willing to pay the cost. This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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