Ask a Health Professional (715) 732-2101 3003 Cleveland Avenue Marinette, WI Andrew Congdon, o.D. INSIGHT Doctor of Optometry VISION CENTER Question: Why do people end up needing glasses? You may have noticed get reading glasses for when you that most people over need to see at near. Over the counter 45 end up needing reading glasses are common and are doesn't matter who you are, you will Most everyone will need bifocals, or If you do not want to get bifocals, some sort of glasses for reading. It sometimes referred to as cheaters reading glasses, by the age of 45 or glasses, there are other options. eventually need glasses to see at distance, at near, or for both. Why does this happen? Everyone has a natural crystalline Contact lenses can fix this problem lens in the eye that is attached to a at distance and near. There are two muscle. This muscle will pull on the options, multfocal contacts and lens to change the shape of the lens, mono-vision. Multifocal contacts focus and changing the shape of the lens the vision at distance and at near all will focus your vision at different distances This is much easier to do your vision will not be as clear is it when you are young and the muscle could be with glasses. Mono-vision is is strong. What ends up happening is when you use one eye to see at near, the lens will grow larger over time and and the other for distance. This option develop more and more layers,like a is dlearer for distance and near, but tree or onion. Once this lens becomes sometimes people do not like only too large, the muscle in the eye is not using one eye at a time. Contacts as effective and the lens can no longer are not for everyone, but they are an focus for different distances. Usually option LASIK correction ats similar to the very close up vision will start to contacts get blurry, then eventually all near ision distances will become blurry lenses inserted into the eye to help This happens to everyone around the with distance and near. Essentially age of 45, even if you never needed you would have a cataract surgery glasses before in the same lens. The drawback is that The last option is to have multifoca done, which removes the natural Essentially you start to develop two enlarged lens. Then an implant different distances that require glasses would be placed into the eye to focus to see clear. If you already had glasses light at distance and near for distance, you will still need that Drrection. This means you have two glasses at some point in their different needs for correction (distance life. Make sure to get your eyes and near) The only way to get two checked at least every couple years prescriptions into the same pair of glasses is to use a bifocal. If you don't to monitor for this condition. need glasses to see far away, you can Everyone will eventually need