40 is usually considered a milestone birthday, as is an age at which many people start to notice an inevitable deterioration of…well, just about everything.

Eyesight after Age 40

Eyesight is always affected, as between the ages of 40 and 45 everyone will experience a stiffening of the natural lens in the eye, called presbyopia.

Even if you have had refractive eye surgery, your ability to read close up is going to decrease after 40. The physiological condition of presbyopia, regardless of the state of your refraction, usually requires reading glasses.

Can’t See Things Clearly up Close?

Essentially the ‘near point’, the closest point from your eyes at which you can make out objects distinctly, recedes as we age. That’s why you’ll often notice people holding menu, jars and other printed material at arm’s length, trying to focus properly.

As children, we can hold small objects or print two inches from our eyes and be able to see clearly. By age 30, we need to hold things at least six inches away to see clearly.

By the time 40 to 45 years of age occurs it is no longer possible to see objects closely or to read comfortably at 12 to 16 inches, and many people start to need glasses for such tasks as sewing, hobbies requiring close vision, close work, and reading.

Optilase offer Solutions

Optilase offer a choice of solutions to people who have found themselves having to rely on reading glasses due to presbyopia. Irish people can now benefit from either Presbia or KAMRA, both ingenious ways to overcome presbyopia with trouble-free optical inlays.

Presbia from Optilase

A tiny Microlens, made of a biocompatible polymer, is inserted into a little pocket in the cornea. The pocket is created with a femtosecond laser and the lens is slipped in.

The corneal inlay is removable, minimally invasive and can be replaced if the patient needs additional power as their visual acuity changes with age.

KAMRA from Optilase

KAMRA is also a tiny optical inlay; extremely thin-almost like a film. It has an opening in the centre that works on the same principles as the aperture of a camera.

Basically, the design of the inlay focuses all the light entering the eye through the little hole in the middle, ensuring that only focused light gets onto the retina, forming a clear image.

It allows you to see near, far, and everything in-between, proving a very natural field of vision.

To find out if you can solve your near vision problems, and say good bye to reading glasses, call Optilase on 1 890 301 302.