New Lens for Boomers with Presbyopia
Professor David Demko, PhD
AgeVenture News Service
One hundred million Americans over the age of 40 suffer from a condition known as presbyopia, the age-related loss of the eye's ability to view near objects. In response to this trend, Essilor of America Inc, the makers of Varilux, a "progressive addition lens" for coping with presbyopia, has declared April National Presbyopia Month to help educate the public about this widespread eye condition.
Now boomers have a resource for confronting the myths and realities of presbyopia, the "Varilux Brochure". The free brochure offers facts about presbyopia and describes solutions that work best depending on your type of visual difficulty. And you can find out your type of difficulty by taking the Presbyopia Self-Eye Test in the brochure.
Presbyopia occurs when the cells in the crystalline lens of the eye keep growing and multiplying, but the capsule that encloses the lens loses its elasticity. Eventually the cells become so densely packed that the lens can't change shape when trying to focus on near objects. Progressive Addition Lenses (PALs) allow for different prescriptions in one lens, thus eliminating the "old age" line and "vision jumps" associated with the sharp breaks in bifocal prescriptions. PALs can be used with almost any style frame, making it unnecessary to switch back and forth between regular glasses and reading glasses.
The Varilux triple-patented Instant Focus System allows the user to focus instantly at all distances. The Varilux PALs are available from eye care professionals in most eyecare centers.
Graphic Credit: Essilor of America Inc, Chicago, IL.
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David Demko reports on lifestyle issues and trends in Aging America.
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