"MY ARMS ARE TOO SHORT!"
I have heard many visual complaints in the past twenty-five years but the runaway winner has to be "my arms are too short"! Those of you in your early forties may have noticed that you tend to "back-up" from reading material to get a better focus. The classic example of your child putting a picture in front of your nose and you grabbing the photo to place it at your arm's length and maybe toward a window, illustrates the phenomenon quite well. The condition is called presbyopia and we will ALL get it, sooner or later. The literal translation is "old eyes", but personally I much prefer "loss of flexibility in the crystalline lens of the eye."
Actually, presbyopia probably begins around age twenty. The focusing ability of children's eyes is tremendous but it peaks during the mid-teens and actually shows a slight loss by the early 20s. But with so much power to focus, the loss does not manifest itself for another 20 years! Many people ask if exercising their eye muscles can help prevent the condition. If presbyopia was a muscle problem, I would have to answer, yes. Unfortunately, it is a "hardening" of the lens of the eye and no amount of exercise is going to "soften" that lens. Besides, the muscles that turn and focus the eyes are ten times stronger than they ever need to be.
The lens of the eye is actually rather unique. We take it's function for granted for many years, looking at objects all around us and at different distances away from us, not even aware of the millions of little focusing adjustments necessary to see clearly all day. All those adjustments are automatic and take place at a blistering pace. It is also unique in the way it ages. It actually "grows" throughout life by adding new cellular layers OVER the old ones. In many of the body's tissues, older cell layers are sloughed off and REPLACED with new ones, thereby preventing the growth of that tissue. That makes more sense to me!
There is a constant study of the lens by researchers, and many promising discoveries. Cataract research may eventually lead us to new ideas about preventing presbyopia. Cataracts occur in the same lens of the eye, but are due to a "clouding" of the tissue. There was actually an eyedrop (Opacitrol) under investigation many years ago that showed some promise in slowing or preventing cataracts from developing. It was a new class of compound--"a protein phase separation inhibitor." Unfortunately, the study faltered, and there was never a drug approval from the FDA.
For now, we are left with optical corrections for our presbyopia. This may be simple reading glasses, or one of many bifocal styles. The "power" in the reading lenses essentially replaces the power lost in your own crystalline lenses. Initially the strength is quite mild, but as the condition progresses and there is additional focusing loss, the glasses need to compensate. Contact lenses can also be used for presbyopia but may require a bit more motivation, as the visual result is usually compromised. There is also promise that with some of the new IOLs (intra-ocular-lenses) used for implantation during cataract surgery, that some “focusing” is possible. The Crystalens is one such device, approved just recently.
So, if you are beginning to notice a more
"sluggish" focusing ability, or if you are constantly seeking
brighter light, or your eyes tire quickly with close work, and you are between
40-45 years of age and your "arms are getting too short", be
reassured that it is nothing serious. Presbyopia is a "normal"
problem and correcting it is quite a simple procedure.