What your optometrist in Wyomissing wants you to know

If you are over 40, you may be noticing some changes in your vision. You may have difficulty reading words close up. You may find yourself holding a book far out in front of you to be able to read it. The truth is you may need reading glasses. Your optometrist at Linsey Eyecare & Dental Health Services in Wyomissing, PA wants to share the facts about why you might need reading glasses.

There are many changes in your vision that occur as you age including:

• Less tear production resulting in dry eyes
• Needing brighter light for reading and working
• Difficulty with glare at night or in bright sunlight
• Difficulty distinguishing different color shades

As you age you also lose your ability to see clearly close up because the lens of your eye loses its flexibility. The loss of flexibility, a condition known as presbyopia, impairs your ability to change focus from near to far viewing.

Presbyopia becomes worse as you age, but changes usually stop around age 60. There are methods available to cope with presbyopia including bifocal glasses or contact lenses or surgery. The easiest and least expensive method of correcting vision changes due to presbyopia is using reading glasses.

There are two main types of reading glasses:

• Full frame glasses, which are great if you spend extending periods of time reading close up; with full frames, the entire lens is your reading prescription.
• Half-eye glasses, which sit low on your nose and allow you to read and also look up for distance viewing; half-eye glasses are great if you already wear contact lenses for distance viewing, or if you have never worn glasses.

If you need reading glasses, it’s best to have them custom-made by an optometrist. That’s because they can be customized with different prescriptions in each of the lenses, in cases of astigmatism and other vision issues. Pre-made reading glasses you buy in the drugstore have the same prescription in both lenses. Wearing the wrong prescription reading glasses can result in headaches and severe eye strain.

For more information about corrective reading glasses and other vision services call your optometrist at Linsey Eyecare & Dental Health Services in Wyomissing, PA. Don’t let your eyes suffer, call today!