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Age 40+ and Reading Glasses
Do you find it hard to read menus in restaurants without putting on your reading glasses? Or how about the hassle of not being able to read your text messages quickly when you’re out and about?
If you have always had good vision and now find yourself over 40 and needing glasses for close distances, or if you have been wearing glasses for distance vision, and now find you are losing your close up vision; you may be developing presbyopia. This is simply an unavoidable condition where the eye’s ability to focus on near objects diminishes as we get a little older!
The good news is that laser eye treatment may be an option for you. FOCUS Laser Vision is a specialist clinic in the treatment of age related reading problems. You may have seen Paul Ross on ‘This Morning’ with our founder Dr. David Allamby – we successfully treated Paul and corrected both his reading vision AND short sight with our pioneering blended vision procedure.
Laser eye surgery for reading glasses is done using a technique known as blended vision. Where, one eye (usually the dominant eye) is treated to correct your distance vision and the other eye is treated to correct your near vision. The brain then blends these two images together to give you clear vision for both near and in the distance. Around 85% of presbyopic patients find that blended vision suits them. If necessary the reading eye can be retreated to make it suitable for distance vision.
Types of laser eye surgery used to treat reading glasses
Presbyopia is treated by either LASIK or LASEK surgery, depending on which is more suitable for the patient.
Our state of the art laser, the Wavelight Allegretto™, creates a profile called ‘Custom-Q’ which allows the shape of the cornea can be changed in such a way that even though the eye has been modified for reading vision, it still retains good distance vision. The result gives less ‘difference between the 2 eyes’ and less of a compromise in terms of visual quality. This provides true customisation and offers a treatment ideally adjusted to the individual needs of the patient.
Understanding Presbyopia & Near Vision in more detail
Presbyopia is a loss of flexibility of the crystalline lens of your eye that causes a gradual progressive decrease in focusing ability. As we enter our 40′s, the crystalline lens begins to lose its flexibility, making it more and more difficult for you to change focus and see arms length or close objects or reading material and thus resulting in presbyopia. The loss of focusing ability results in an inability to see near objects and therefore blurs your vision for near tasks such as reading and viewing a computer or trying to read or type a text message on a mobile phone.
Presbyopia is a normal part of the ageing process, and will affect everyone. People who are experiencing the start of presbyopia often notice that their ‘arms are too short’ to read and they have to hold things further away to see them clearly. Presbyopia typically becomes noticeable between age forty and fifty and progressively worsens through age sixty five. When presbyopia begins, people who already wear glasses may need bifocals or varifocals, and those who have never worn glasses will require reading glasses.
Not everyone is suitable for laser eye surgery, particularly for blended vision. To determine if you are suitable for blended vision you will need to come in for a comprehensive consultation – why not book one online now?. If necessary we may be able to simulate the effect of blended vision using contact lenses.
How much does Blended Vision laser eye surgery cost?
Blended vision is a slightly more complex procedure than standard Z-LASIK Crystal Plus. As such the price reflects a certain increase in the amount of time we need to spend examining your scans, results and data. Blended vision costs £4500 (For both eyes) and this can of course be spread over a finance period – for more information on our finance packages please visit the pricing and finance section of this site. We also offer KAMRA – LASIK for Reading, a revolutionary new inlay at £5500 (For both eyes).
Is Blended Vision safe?
Mr David Allamby our chief surgeon has been a pioneer in the treatment of age related eye conditions and has always been at the forefront of the technology used to treat presbyopia. As such he is probably one of the best surgeons to perform a blended vision treatment in the UK and has a wealth of case studies to draw from when discussing the treatment. Blended Vision now uses our state of the art Z-LASIK Crystal Plus platform ensuring not only superb results for our patients but also world class safety, comfort and aftercare.
