Answer True or False to the following questions to test your Eye-Q.
- One pair of glasses will meet all your vision needs.
- Special glasses can be made for specific hobbies and occupational tasks.
- A gradual loss of close-up vision starting around the age of 40 is called presbyopia.
- Tilting you head back at odd angles to see through your glasses can cause neck and shoulder discomfort.
- All readers are created equal.
SEEING THE FINE DETAILS
You’ve worked on model planes since you were a kid but now you notice those itty, bitty parts have become more difficult to see. Or maybe needlepoint is your passion but you discover the patterns seem to be getting smaller and smaller with each project you do. No, you’re not imagining things, you eyes are changing and your close-up vision is losing its sharp focus.
Whether you’ve never worn glasses before or have worn glasses to correct your distance vision, around the age of 40, most people begin to notice a gradual loss of their close upvision. This is called presbyopia—a loss of flexibility of the eyes’ lens, which makes it harder for the eye to focus up close. Your eye care professional has a number of vision solutions that will bring the fine details back into focus.
BRING THE FINE DETAILS BACK INTO FOCUS
READERS
For close-up work such as beading, needlepoint, crafting or anything requiring long periods of time working at very close distances, you’ll find a separate pair of reading glasses to be helpful for these tasks. If you don’t need glasses for distance viewing, your eye care professional will recommend a separate pair of glasses to correct your close up vision only. While some people may decide to purchase these glasses at a drug store, this might not be the best vision solution. Over the counter readers come in one power for both eyes. But what happens if you need a +1.00 for your right eye and +2.00 for your left eye? Your eye care professional will prescribe the optimal vision correction and have your readers custom made just for you. Since any frame can be fitted with lenses for close up vision, your choices are no longer limited to the small selection of ready made readers. Now you can turn any frame into readers, matching the frame to your unique style and personality.
SPECIALTY LENSES
You might find that your everyday glasses are not quite right for a specific hobby or the tasks you need to do at work. For example, if you find yourself tilting your head up at odd angles—which can lead to neck and shoulder discomfort—because what you need to read is not in your lap like a book would be, then you may need a special pair of glasses just for this situation. Your eyecare professional can place the reading zone in your glasses exactly where you need it for your specific hobby or occupational task.
Some tasks such as cooking require not only your close up vision to be crystal clear (reading the recipes) but also your intermediate vision to be sharp as well (for measuring out ingredients). This is another situation where a special pair of glasses can provide you with the best visual solution for a particular task or hobby.
PROGRESSIVE ADDITION LENSES
Already wearing glasses for distance vision? Then you’ll want a pair of glasses that will correct both your distance and close-up vision plus everything in-between. These lenses are called Progressive Addition Lenses or PALs. Replacing your old lenses with PALs will give you clear vision at all distances. No more switching back and forth between one pair of glasses for driving and another pair for reading the map. Today’s PALs provide the most natural vision available, are easy to adapt to, and bring the fine details back into focus.
