Aged Over 50?
There are special considerations
for many patients aged over 50 for whom the need for reading
glasses (Presbyopia) is brought on by stiffening of the muscles of
the lens inside the eye that enable you to focus close-up.
For these patients there is a trade off between having good
distance vision after treatment and good reading vision. You
will need to decide which is more important to you.
Monovision
The concept of monovision is a
good compromise that uses one eye for distance and the other for
close up vision. Short-sighted people have the advantage of
being able to read close up if they remove their glasses (their
distance vision is blurred but close-up vision is good). The
dominant eye can be treated by
Laser Eye Surgery to fully correct
distance vision. The other eye is deliberately kept a little
short-sighted and used for close-up work.
After a few months, most patients
usually achieve completely comfortable vision with
Monovision and have the advantage of being able
to see at all distances without corrective lenses throughout their
advancing years. These options should be discussed
with your
Optimax eye doctor during consultation.
Multifocal lenses are available
for people who require cataract removal or choose Refractive Lens
Exchange (RLE) or Clear Lens Exchange (CLE). These may enable
older patients to achieve both good near and distance vision.
Implantable Contact Lenses (ICL)
Implantable Contact Lenses are unsuitable for
people aged 60 years and over or anyone developing
Cataracts. Clear Lens Exchange (CLE) may be a
preferable option for those nearer the age of
Cataract formation. It involves replacing
the eye's natural lens with an artificial lens of the correct power
for the elimination of glasses.
Cataract Surgery
Cataract sufferers can have their
sight restored with Cataract Surgery or, if combined with lens
replacement (Implantable Contact Lens), it can replace the
need for distance glasses for older patients.