Presbyopia literally means old eye. Age-related nearsightedness is a disease that occurs as a result of the loss of the ability of the eye to make changes in order to see clearly, called accommodation, especially after the age of 40. In order to truly understand this disease, it is first necessary to understand how the eye performs its visual function.
How Does the Eye See?
The eye is an organ with a complex working mechanism among the sense organs. The rays that hit the objects and come directly to the eye pass through the structures of the eye that refract the light accordingly. These structures are the cornea, the pupil known as the pupil, and the most important structure that refracts light and adapts to vision, namely the lens of the eye. Their purpose is to focus light on a place called the retina. The retina contains some specialized cells. These are called photoreceptors and are the structure that converts light into a signal and transmits it to the brain via the optic nerves. As a result of this signal reaching the brain, the light coming into the eye creates meaningful images. Due to the problem occurring in any of these steps, the vision process does not work properly and the person cannot see clearly or perceive any images. It is an eye defect that results in the inability to see objects coming close from a distance clearly due to the loss of this feature of its adaptable structure due to age. It can also be described as a decrease in the ability to focus near. When the elastic tissue of the eye lens thickens and hardens, the light that needs to be collected on the retina reaches the retina in a scattered manner.
This causes the retina to send complex signals to the brain and the eye perceives the object with blurry images. The causes of this eye defect, as a result of the progression of age, apart from genetics and gender, have been investigated. Although the exact cause has not been found, it is thought that this disease occurs due to the aging of functional cells as people age and the inability to produce new ones of these cells. In addition to this situation, astigmatism, etc., is also associated with the progression of age. Many eye defects can also be seen together. .
What are the Symptoms of Presbyopia?
The problem of age-related nearsightedness, which is a very common problem in daily life, especially the inability to read the book or newspaper clearly, the inability to see the picture or object in hand, and As a result, the reaction to remove this object from the eye is its clearest manifestation. As a general rule, it is defined as not being able to clearly see objects closer than 50 cm to the eye. Headache may occur in people who cannot see clearly for a long time. Again, in the long run, when the person forces himself to focus in order to see the near clearly, he may experience focusing and focusing problems when looking at distant objects.
This disease has been diagnosed even though it does not show any symptoms in some older people. The reason for this is that there is another disease that causes visual defect that usually accompanies this disease and can hide the symptoms of each other. For this reason, not only blurry vision should be obvious, but also older people should be evaluated together with other diseases that cause vision problems. >
What are the Causes of Presbyopia?
Although the cause of this problem is still not fully understood, some studies have been conducted. There are opinions. It usually occurs between the ages of 38-45. The lens of the eye is transparent, flexible and covered with a capsule. It works in coordination with other structures of the eye. Many conditions such as hardening of this structure, loss of flexibility, deterioration of the structure of the capsule, deformation of the fibers that help the movements of the lens have been seen as the cause of this disease. Some of the eye cells cannot renew themselves by producing new ones as often as skin cells. When these conditions occur, they do not heal on their own until a radical treatment is applied.
How is Presbyopia Diagnosed?
Presbyopia is usually diagnosed during a brief eye examination. The patient has difficulty seeing objects closer than 50 cm.
When she applies to the doctor, Snellen tries to read the letters in the table in the eye test. This test is at a predetermined distance and is sufficient to make a diagnosis as it is performed by the physician.
If you break another light If it does not give satisfactory results due to problem a, the doctor may request retinoscopy. This is a decision that the physician will make according to the patient's condition, but it is usually diagnosed with a simple screening test.
How is Presbyopia Treated?
The most common treatment method for age-related blind people is presbyopia glasses, "reading glasses", as it is known among the people, is to use it. Special eyeglass lenses are provided to do the focusing and collecting the light on the retina, which the eye lens cannot do, before it reaches the eye. Since this visual defect is seen in individuals over a certain age, it is easier for people to adapt to glasses.
However, as some people do not prefer to wear glasses, other treatment methods have been considered. Contact lenses, which have been used for other problems for a long time, are an alternative for people who cannot wear glasses. While the use of glasses carries less risks that may arise from the use of contact lenses, contact lenses used for presbyopia provide a wider visual angle compared to glasses. The advantages and disadvantages are decided together with the doctor according to the condition of the person.
Surgical treatment can also be preferred as another treatment method. Different techniques are still being tried among surgical treatments. Common ones include applying laser therapy and lens surgery to the intraocular lens. Some patients may not be willing to use glasses and contact lenses due to their lives, or it may not be appropriate for some patients to use glasses and contact lenses in the long term. Surgical treatment is mostly preferred in these cases.
What are Presbyopia Surgeries?
Today, presbyopia is successfully treated with laser application to the cornea or placement of a multifocal/trifocal or accommodative intraocular lens.
Laser surgery known as laser corneal scratching The method is suitable for patients over the age of 40, who do not want to wear glasses, who have myopia, hyperopia and asigmatism. The procedure is performed with drop anesthesia and the patient immediately returns to his social life. Accompaniment refractive errors can also be corrected in the same session.
What Can Be Done for the Progression of Presbyopia and Early Diagnosis?
Based on the researches and data, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, all healthy individuals over the age of 40 must have They should be subjected to an eye examination by specialist physicians. If it is necessary to limit it according to age, the frequency of examination should be arranged once in 2-4 years for each patient between the ages of 40-55, without any disease or symptoms, and once in 1-3 years for people aged 55-65. For every person over the age of 65, it is recommended to have an eye examination once a year, if possible. Presbyopia is a physiological problem that does not create a situation to be afraid of when necessary precautions are taken. It should be remembered that everyone is at equal risk with age. For presbyopia, which is treated simply and does not adversely affect the quality of life, the responsibility of the person is to have an eye scan only at certain times. The eye, which is one of the most affected organs during aging, is an important sensory organ that carries the risks of such diseases that can progress without any symptoms. It is important not to skip routine checks.
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