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A Close-up Look at Improving Reading Vision

Summary & Participants

Aging can often mean losing the ability to read up close. But does that mean a life of looking for lost glasses? Learn what other options are available.

Medically Reviewed On: July 05, 2008

Webcast Transcript

PENNY ASBELL, MD: One of the jokes is that your arms are too short, because at first you can read here and have great vision, then you're going like this, like this, and eventually even holding it far away, you still can't see anything.

ANNOUNCER: That comes as a real shock to people who've never needed glasses before.

PENNY ASBELL, MD: There are people who their whole life they had great vision. They said, "I'm eagle eyes. I can see everything far away." Now they're into their 40s, and now they're having trouble reading, and it's really disturbing to them.

ANNOUNCER: What's going on is the gradual development of a condition called presbyopia.

PENNY ASBELL, MD: Inside the eye is a lens, and that lens actually changes shape. So when we're younger and we're looking from distance to near, it actually changes shape so the focus is good and we continue to have good vision.

What happens as we age is that lens gets a little stiffer, and it doesn't change shape as easily, and that's when you start reaching for reading glasses, because you need the extra power that the lens can't provide anymore.

Typically you first become symptomatic in your 40s, and you start with a low-plus lens, a +1. And then it moves up to about a +3 or thereabouts. So as we age we end up needing a little bit more, and it's changing over time.

ANNOUNCER: Glasses are probably the simplest way to easily read your newspaper.

PENNY ASBELL, MD: Everybody ends up needing reading glasses. This is universal. That's why they now sell reading glasses in the drugstore. Those work fine for many people.

ANNOUNCER: Getting used to glasses means keeping track of them. Some people choose to solve that problem by wearing glasses full time. Lenses can be divided to correct near, far and in-between. And for those who don't need help with distance, lenses can be clear on the top.

PENNY ASBELL, MD: There are glasses that have a different power on the top for distance, and the bottom power has reading power. Bifocals are usually the ones that you actually can see the line in them.

ANNOUNCER: "Progressives" are an update on the traditional bifocal.

PENNY ASBELL, MD: They look like normal glasses, but they actually have different powers to give you good distance vision and good reading vision all with one pair of glasses.

ANNOUNCER: Another option sounds a little lopsided, but actually works fairly well. In people who need help only with reading can wear just one contact lens. The brain miraculously makes the necessary adjustments to see everything else properly.

This system, called "monovision," works for people who also have problems with distance. Here two contact lenses are in order.

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