How Presbyopia Causes Near Vision Loss and What You Can Do About It

Many people find that they need reading glasses starting around age 40. Our eye doctors in Kansas City, Missouri, offer treatments for presbyopia so you can enjoy good vision without the burden of readers or special contact lenses.

What is Presbyopia?

Good vision relies on many parts of the eye but starts with the cornea and lens. Together, these components refract light onto the retina at the back of the eye, which relays the message to the brain through the optic nerve. The dome-shaped, transparent cornea allows light to enter the eye, and the lens sits behind the pigmented iris and adjusts with the incoming light. The lens is why your pupils are large in dim environments and small on bright sunny days.

The natural eye lens is soft and flexible, allowing it to quickly change shape to view objects far away or close up, such as a menu or text message. As you get older, the lens gradually loses the ability to accommodate for nearby objects and hardens. The loss of crisp near vision that results is called presbyopia and is a natural part of aging. There’s no way to stop or reverse presbyopia, but contact lenses, eyeglasses and eye surgery can correct your near vision and stop related eye strain and headaches.

Treatments for Presbyopia

Our board-certified eye doctors offer many solutions for presbyopia, including refractive lens exchange, corneal inlays and reading glasses or contact lenses. If you only have presbyopia, readers (reading glasses) may work well for you, but people with nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism may wish to eliminate the need for corrective eyewear.

Refractive Lens Exchange

Refractive lens exchange is performed the same as cataract surgery; the only difference is that the removed eye lens is clear and not cloudy from a cataract. Our skilled eye doctors remove the aging, rigid lens and replace it with an intraocular lens (IOL) implant that corrects for near, intermediate and distance vision. Wiles Eye Center offers Crystalens HD, Tecnis Multifocal and ReSTOR Multifocal IOLs for presbyopia correction and other refractive errors. We will recommend the IOL that’s most suitable for your needs because each IOL has unique features.

Corneal Inlays

Corneal inlays can allow you to rid yourself of contact lenses and glasses for presbyopia and are removable if you’re unhappy with the results. Tiny plastic rings are placed in the cornea of one eye. The inlays have small central openings like a pinhole camera to focus light entering the eye for better vision.

If you struggle with presbyopia, schedule an eye exam at Wiles Eye Center to see if one of these treatments is right for you. Contact our Kansas City, Missouri office at (816) 455-2020 or our St. Joseph, Missouri office at (816) 279-7015.

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Celebrate Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month with an Eye Exam

August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, and our eye doctors at Wiles Eye Center want parents to understand the warning signs of eye problems and when to bring their kids in for an eye exam.

Why Children Need Eye Exams

August is typically the month when kids are funneling back into the classroom or preparing to return to school. Eye exams are a critical part of this time of year as vision problems can affect your child’s learning and development. Children constantly learn with their eyes, and the first years in school are spent learning to read — a wholly visual task. Regular eye exams can ensure good vision and eye health and avoid learning disabilities. Some parents are surprised to learn that their kid doesn’t have a learning issue but rather a vision issue. Annual eye exams with one of our Kansas City or St. Joseph eye doctors are the best way to help children stay on track and view the world in sharp clarity.

Warning Signs of Eye Problems in Children

Sometimes, blurry vision and other eye concerns are easy to spot in kids, but some warning signs may not be so obvious. If your child shows these symptoms, consider an eye exam:

• Misaligned eyes
• Red or watery eyes
• Red, swollen or crusted eyelids
• Rubbing the eyes constantly
• Covering or closing one eye to see
• Tilting the head to watch TV
• Holding a book far away from or close to the face
• Excessive blinking
• Squinting or frowning to see
• Behavioral changes after close-up tasks or reading
• A disinterest or loss of interest in reading or viewing items at a distance

Older children may complain of burning or itching eyes and say that something is scratching their eyes. Head pain, dizziness, nausea and stomach pain may happen after extended time doing close-up work. Our eye doctors can diagnose eye problems and refractive errors, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, during an eye exam.

Children’s Eye Health and Screens

School work often requires hours in front of a screen, especially during remote classes. Many children experience eye strain after extended screen use, but there are ways to decrease that discomfort. Encourage your children and the rest of the family to give their eyes a break every 20 minutes by looking 20 feet away for 20 seconds (called the 20/20/20 rule). Reducing glare from screens and adjusting the contrast and brightness controls can minimize eye strain.

These extended hours on the screen and late nights studying can affect teenagers who wear contact lenses. Wearing prescription eyeglasses instead can give the cornea a break and prevent kids from falling asleep wearing contact lenses. Poor contact lens care can cause corneal ulcers, blurry vision and eye infections.

Schedule an eye exam for your child at Wiles Eye Center today. Contact our St. Joseph, Missouri office at (816) 279-7015 or our Kansas City, Missouri office at (816) 455-2020.

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