Holding your phone at arm's length? Signs of presbyopia and the lenses to ask about

You push the menu away to read it. You tilt your phone toward the light. You borrow a friend's glasses to check a label and then wonder why it worked. If you are in your early to mid forties, the most likely cause is presbyopia.

What presbyopia is

Presbyopia is the gradual loss of near-focusing ability that comes with age. The lens inside your eye becomes less flexible, so it cannot change focus as easily from far to near. It affects almost everyone, including people who never needed glasses before. It is not a disease, and it does not mean your eyes are failing.

Common signs

• Holding phones, menus or labels farther away to read them.
• Small print blurring, especially in dim light or at the end of the day.
• Tired eyes or headaches after close work.
• Needing more light than before to read comfortably.
• Taking a moment to refocus when you look up from your phone to the road.

Other eye conditions can look similar, so do not self-diagnose. These signs are a reason to book an exam.

Why store-bought readers are not the full answer

Off-the-shelf readers are a stopgap. They use the same power in both eyes and ignore astigmatism or a difference between your eyes. They also blur your distance vision, so you take them off and on all day. A prescription made from an exam can give you the correct power in each eye, and a progressive lens can give you distance, middle and near in one pair.

Options on the Vision Express menu

A progressive lens corrects distance at the top, near at the bottom and the range between in the middle, without a visible line. The menu sorts progressives into Silver, Gold and Platinum bands, each with Starter, Enhanced and Premium tiers.

• Essilor Varilux Physio Extensee: an Enhanced tier Gold band progressive. A good starting point for presbyopia after 40. Essilor lenses arrive from France in 3 to 5 days.
• Shamir Autograph Intelligence: an Enhanced tier Platinum band progressive from Israel, with the widest option if you spend long hours at a desk. Lead time is 7 to 9 days.
• Essilor Varilux Comfort Max or Shamir Autograph InTouch UX: Enhanced Silver lenses worth asking about if this is your first progressive and you want an easier adaptation.

Your optometrist will tell you which tier suits your add power, frame and daily routine.

What if I only want reading glasses?

A single vision reading pair is a valid choice if you want near vision only and are comfortable removing them for everything else. Ask the optometrist what suits your day. If you work at a desk, drive often or use your phone constantly, a progressive is usually more convenient.

Will it keep changing?

Presbyopia typically increases through your forties and fifties, then levels off. That means your near prescription changes more often than it did when you were younger. Book an exam at least every one to two years, or sooner if your reading gets harder again.

Eye health matters at this age too

The forties are also when some eye conditions become more likely. A comprehensive exam checks your eye health as well as your prescription. If your optometrist spots something that needs a specialist, they will refer you. Do not skip tests just because your glasses work.

Tips for the first week of progressives

• Wear them all day, every day, for the first week.
• Move your head toward what you want to see instead of just your eyes.
• Look through the lower part of the lens for reading.
• Take stairs slowly in the first days.

Start with the exam

Book a Vision7 eye test at your nearest Vision Express store. Case history, visual acuity, objective and subjective refraction and the binocular exam establish your add power, which the lens is built around.

Ask for Essilor Varilux Physio Extensee at the counter for a French-made Enhanced Gold progressive, or ask for Shamir Autograph Intelligence if long desk hours need the widest option. Every pair carries a one-year warranty, free lifetime ultrasonic cleaning and free lifetime custom fitting and adjustment.