Presbiopia is a companion of advancing old age

So it is arranged that after 40 years the human body begins to age inevitably.This applies to all organs, including the eyes.From this age (with normal vision), senile hyperopia or presbyopia usually begins to develop.If a person suffered from hyperopia or nearsightedness from a young age, then presbyopia can make itself felt much earlier. So,age-long-sightedness: what to do, how to treat?

The essence and causes of presbyopia

Presbyopia is an age-related phenomenon caused by a decrease in the accommodation function of the eye.Our pupils have a unique ability to expand and contract, adapting to the vision of objects located at different distances from a person.Accommodation is provided by the lens, which is endowed with the ability to change its refractive force (refraction) depending on the degree of remoteness of the object and focus its image on the retina.

This ability, unfortunately, with age, is lost, as the elasticity of the eye tissues decreases.

Presbyopia of the eye mainly occurs due to sclerotic changes in the lens: its curvature changes, the capsule and nucleus compacts, the ciliary muscle degeneration. In addition, the supporting lens of the ciliary muscle is weakened, which is responsible for focusing the vision. All these inevitable processes lead to age-long farsightedness.

With presbyopia, a person sees badly near, it is difficult for him to read, to work at a computer. Close-up images appear before him in a fuzzy, fuzzy form.This reduces his state of health, there are headaches, eye fatigue with prolonged performance of visual work. At first, most people are helped to remove the text for a greater distance from the eyes. Hsooner or later a person will have to seek help from an ophthalmologist. This process can be aggravated up to 65 - 70 years, and the patient will need to wear more and more powerful "plus" glasses or lenses.

Presbyopia can have another etiology. After all, not all people who have overcome the 40-year boundary, there are similar problems.Previous studies have shown that, with a visual strain, the focus moves forward to examine the text.The picture spreads, the body becomes tired, and pain arises. If this tension is removed, the vision can be restored.

Some scientists argue that presbyopia, as such, does not exist.They believe that this is only a form of hyperopia, in which a person sees badly both in the distance and near.According to another theory, the deterioration in the properties of the lens is associated with inadequate nutrition and a deficiency of vitamins in the body. In this case, simple exercises for the eyes, as well as dieting, consumption of B and C vitamins will help.

Symptoms

In people with emmetropia (with normal vision), the first signs of presbyopia develop in 40-45 years.When working at close range (writing, reading, sewing, classes with small details), rapid visual fatigue occurs (accommodative asthenopia):

• tired eyes;
• headache;
• dull pain in the eyes, nose and brow;
• lacrimation;
• light photophobia.

With presbyopia, objects located at close range become vague, fuzzy. A person has a desire to move the object away from the eyes and turn on a brighter light.

Subjective manifestations of age-long farsightedness develop when the nearest point of sharp vision is separated from the eyes by 30-33 cm. This usually occurs after 40 years.

Changes in accommodation are progressing to 65 years - at about this age, the nearest point of a clear vision is removed to the same distance as the next point.Thus, the accommodation becomes zero.

Presbyopia in people with hyperopia (hypermetropia) is manifested, as a rule, earlier: at the age of 30-35 years. In this case, vision deteriorates not only near, but also in the distance. So farsightedness contributes to the early development of presbyopia and strengthens it.

In people with myopia (myopia), presbyopia can often go unnoticed. Whensmall myopia (1-2 diopters), the age-related loss of accommodation is compensated for a long time, and the manifestations of presbyopia develop later.People with myopia (3-5 D) often do not need a vision correction near: in this case, they just need to remove the glasses in which they are looking into the distance.

Correction of glasses with glasses - a modern technique for restoring vision in the elderly

Diagnostics of presbyopia

Diagnosing the presence of presbyopia, the doctor takes into account age characteristics, asthenopic complaints, as well as survey data.To identify and evaluate presbyopia, visual acuity testing is performed with tests for:

• refraction;
• definition of refraction (skiascopy, computer refractometry);
• determination of the amount of accommodation;
• A study of finding the nearest point of clear vision for each eye.

In addition, the structure of the eye is examined by magnification with the help of ophthalmoscopy and biomicroscopy. To exclude the concomitant presbyopia of glaucoma, gonioscopy and tonometry are performed.

Correction and treatment of presbyopia

Presbyopia - the natural state of the body of a mature person.To prevent this disease is impossible, but you can try to avoid the unpleasant consequences of age-long sight: blurred vision, eye fatigue, headaches.To do this, you need to make timely correction of age-related farsightedness with glasses, contact lenses or surgically.

Correction of vision in presbyopia

Reading glasses are the simplest and most common way to correct age-related farsightedness.A person can use them while working at close range.

The most modern version is glasses with bifocal lenses. Such devices have two focuses: the upper part of the lens is suitable for viewing in the distance, the lower part for working at close range.

Progressive lenses are analogous to bifocals.However, contact lenses have an undeniable advantage, as they provide a smooth transition between the upper and lower lenses. Progressive lenses perfectly correct vision at presbyopia and allow to see perfectly at any distances.

Also, the modern medical industry offers special gas-permeable or multifocal contact lenses for correction of hyperopia.Peripheral and central zones of these lenses are responsible for clearness of vision at different distances.

To correct age-related farsightedness, we apply a method called "mono-vision." The essence of it is that the correction of one eye is carried out for the purpose of good vision near, and the other eye - to the distance. In this case, the brain independently chooses a clear image, which the person needs at the moment. But "mono-vision" does not suit all patients: not everyone can adapt to it.

In the complex correction of presbyopia, the following are simultaneously used:

• vitamin therapy;
• gymnastics for the eyes;
• massage of the cervical-collar zone;
• magnetolaser therapy;
• reflexology;
• hydrotherapy;
• electro-ictostimulation;
• training on the accommodative trainer (apparatus "Brook").

Surgical methods of correction of presbyopia

Treatment of age-related hyperopia surgically suggests several options:

• Laser thermokeratoplasty. During this procedure, the radio waves change the curvature of the cornea on one of the eyeballs, modulating the monody.
• Multifocal LASIK- an innovative way to correct age-long farsightedness, which is still at the stage of clinical trials. This procedure is carried out with the help of a laser excimer, thanks to which in the cornea of ​​the eye there are created different optical zones, intended for seeing at different distances.
• Lens replacement.This radical way of correcting age-related farsightedness is associated with a certain risk. Replacement of the lens is especially important if presbyopia is combined with cataracts. Artificial lenses can correct not only the age-long farsightedness, but also astigmatism, nearsightedness, and simultaneously.

Prevention of presbyopia

As already mentioned, the natural process of changing the lens can not be completely prevented. But it can be significantly slowed down.For this, ophthalmologists recommend the use of lutein-containing vitamins for vision (for example, "Lutein Complex "or others), as well as eye drops that improve metabolic processes in the eyeball (Quinax, Taufon and so forth).

Physiotherapeutic procedures give good results:

• improve blood supply in the eyeball and surrounding tissues;
• train the eye muscles by narrowing and dilating the pupil when exposed to light.

The most effective device that can be used at home is Sidorenko's glasses.They combine at once four ways of influence:

• phonophoresis;
• infrasound;
• color therapy;
• pneumomassage.

Such an integrated approach allows to achieve good results in various age-related eye diseases.

An important role in the development of age-long-sightedness is the presence of concomitant diseases in humans:

• diabetes mellitus;
• hypertension;
• chronic intoxication;
• alcoholism.

With all these conditions, the densification and clouding of the lens of the eye progresses significantly, which leads to the premature development of presbyopia and cataracts.

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Night vision contact lenses are a modern way of restoring vision for any age.

There are exercises for the eyes to improve vision, and which ones, read here.

What to do if the child has a red eye: http://eyesdocs.ru/zabolevaniya/krasnye-pyatna-pod-glazami/u-rebenka-krasnyj-glaz-chto-delat.html

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conclusions

So, presbyopia is an inevitable phenomenon, through which every person passes after 40-45 years. Often in elderly people, one can observe tearing, which is written here.It is important not to start the disease and timely correct vision under the supervision of an experienced ophthalmologist.In this case, age-related farsightedness will not spoil the quality of life and does not interfere with full-fledged activity even when working with small details. How to treat atrophy of the optic nerve, which leads to impaired vision, which is also often observed in the elderly, you can read here.