Small print hard to read?

Being in our 40’s we all start to notice some changes to our body, we are not as fast as we were in our 20’s, we notice grey hair, may have experienced hair loss already and may have gained weight. Our eyes also change and the most predictable change can be the small print becomes hard to read, especially when fatigued and if the lighting is poor.

This eye condition is named presbyopia and it is a natural change in the lens of the eye. This occurs as a hardening of the lens and a reduction in the elasticity of its capsule which is the outer layer of the lens.1

We are also spending more time looking at devices such as your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop and sustained concentration can lead to eyestrain and headaches, particularly frontal headaches.

There are a number of options for vision correction, they include spectacles for near, progressive spectacle lenses or lenses that are designed for near work with an extended range of focus of up to 4 metres such as needed when working at home or at the office. There is also the option of contact lenses, either having one eye corrected for near or multifocal contact lenses. Laser vision correction may be suitable and more recently lens exchange where the lenses in your eyes are replaced with multifocal lens implants for which I can provide a referral to a suitable ophthalmologist.

The first step is a thorough consultation with an extensive discussion about your options to provide your best outcome to make the small print clear again.

  1. Millodot, M. Dictionary of Optometry and Visual Science. 1997 (4th Ed.) Butterworth-Heinemann.

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