How many Shankill Mirror readers are holding this edition of the paper a little further away from themselves than previously in order to maintain clarity of the print? Also how many have noticed they have to hold their phone a little further away to be able to read it? Another question might be: how many are over 40 years old and have noticed the effects of Presbyopia?

Presbyopia is a normal part of the aging process that affects everyone in and around their early 40s. At this age range everyone will begin to notice that it takes a little longer to focus on things close up and objects start to become slightly blurrier the closer you hold them to your eyes.

Presbyopia happens when the lens inside the eye begins to stiffen as we get older. When we are young, the internal lens of our eye is very flexible and we can focus in close up without any difficulty. This occurs when a muscle changes the shape of the lens and we can seamlessly alter our focus and over a wide range of distances. As the lens ages, this ability to focus reduces and hence we start to notice the tell-tale sign of near vision becoming more of a challenge. Presbyopia can also lead to eyestrain, headaches and visual fatigue. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms it is important to book in for an eye examination.

You may even have experienced the need to move your phone or the paper further away from you to try to make things clearer in a trombone fashion, trying to find the best working distance. This all tends to make reading less comfortable and more tiring.

The good news is that there are a number of solutions. In terms of glasses, there is the option of single vision reading glasses which you wear when reading and remove afterwards. This is not always convenient for everyone, particularly if you already need a pair of glasses for distance vision and don’t want to have to be constantly changing between pairs. A more convenient solution to explore is multifocal lenses and these are usually in the form of varifocals nowadays. I will go into the details of near vision glasses, bifocals and varifocals in another article as there are many different aspects to explore and to be aware of when considering which type of lenses will work best for you.