While ‘presbyopia’ is a word that few of us use, its symptoms are well known

to anyone from their late forties onwards. It’s not a disease, simply an eye

condition that affects us all in later life. Our bodies become less elastic as we

get older and sadly, so do our eyes. The lens within them becomes less able to flex and as a result, we cannot bring near objects into focus. It isn’t the same as long sight, as presbyopia affects distance and near vision. Presbyopia shows itself most often in close work - reading a book, threading a needle and the like. You increasingly find that you need to be in bright light to read, or to move the text away to bring it into focus. If you already wear distance glasses, you may even be taking them off to read. Happily, presbyopia is easy to correct. If you haven’t worn spectacles before, a simple pair of reading glasses will restore good near vision, though with the drawback that now, your distance vision will be blurred! Bifocals are one solution. As the name implies, they give clear vision at just two distances, near and far. But as we age further, a ‘bifocal gap’ will usually develop so that while near and distance vision are clear, arms’ length vision will become blurred. Bifocals have a near vision segment which is clearly visible too, both to you as the wearer and to anyone looking at you.
All is not lost! Varilux lenses offer clear vision at all distances and without a bifocal line. They are suited to almost any frame and offer clear vision at all distances, near, distance and everything in between. Ask for details and we’ll be happy to tell you all you need to know.