Put Those Glasses Away For Good

By Roland Piquepaille

This story is mostly for people above 40 and who need special glasses to see clearly both near and far.

The condition is called presbyopia (Greek for "old vision"). It starts at fortysomething and worsens for the next 20 years, as the lenses harden or enlarge and lose the flexibility to focus at close range. One alternative is progressive specs -- with lenses that increase in magnification, so you don't have to take them off.

"Past age 40, the eye loses its flexibility." Here is how the eye works with and without correction. The illustration is from BusinessWeek. (Copyright 2003, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.)

Past age 40, the eye loses its flexibility

Instead of having one or two pairs of glasses, you can look at several surgical solutions.

Conductive keratoplasty (CK)
Surgical reversal of presbyopia (SRP)
Refractive lens exchange

I don't know about you, but I'll keep my glasses: the idea of a surgeon cutting through my eyes frightens me. If you're interested, please read the whole article.

Source: Pam Black, BusinessWeek, January 27, 2003


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