Middle Stage (40-59 years)

For most people, turning 40 is a landmark birthday, for our eyes it is the age when most refractive errors, nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, are very stable, making this an excellent time for permanent vision correction surgery.

You can't escape turning 40, and you also can't escape presbyopia, a natural and normal loss of focusing ability due to hardening of the lens inside your eye. With presbyopia, you experience blurry near vision; it is difficult to read and do close-up, fine detail tasks (if you are nearsighted, you can see up close without your glasses or contacts, but when you put your distance glasses or contacts on, your near vision is blurry). Early presbyopic symptoms include noticing that you are having to hold reading material further away ("arms are too short"), needing more light to see clearly or breaking out the magnifying glass more often!

Presbyopia can be corrected with reading glasses, bifocals or progressive addition lenses (so called "no line" bifocals). Contact lens wearers can switch to monovision or multifocal lenses or wear reading glasses over their contacts. Many people who were previously able to wear contact lenses without difficulty find they are now less comfortable or even become intolerable because of age-related dry eye. Dry eye is especially prevalent in women after menopause, and makes wearing contact lens uncomfortable. It can also cause blurry vision that makes reading and driving difficult.

If you are looking to be as free as possible from glasses or contact lenses (both for distance and reading), then either NuSite™ Advanced Surface Ablation or LASIK with a monovision effect (one eye for distance, one eye for near), or Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) either with the monovision effect, with the Crystalens AO™ focusing lens implant or with a multifocal lens implant may be selected. It is necessary to try monovision and multifocals with contact lenses prior to deciding on these modalities to insure that you are able to tolerate these vision methods.

Alternatively, if your wish is to be glasses or contact lens free for distance only in both eyes, and don't mind wearing "over-the-counter" reading glasses (or wearing a single contact lens for reading at times also known as "monovision"), then NuSite™ Advanced Surface Ablation, LASIK or Refractive Lens Exchange may be performed for distance vision only in both eyes.

If you are turning 40, or have recently passed your 40th birthday, contact us to schedule a vision analysis and comprehensive eye exam. We will tailor a vision correction method to suit your current needs, lifestyle and occupation while taking into consideration your unique ocular characteristics and future needs.