No, I haven’t been eating hallucinogens, not that kind of vision. I’m curious what could be done to fix someone’s vision. In my own case, I’m nearsighted. Also, I’m 52 so my close vision is going bad as well. Are there any treatments that can be performed to fix this? Or am I just doomed to be wearing bifocals?
Regards and thanks.
Testy
Glasses, Contacts, Lasik.
Note: Lasik and PRK don’t correct age-related nearsightedness, to the best of my recollection. They should work on the nearsightedness.
There are also implantable lenses, which can supplement or even replace your natural lens.
I don’t understand your reply at all. Those surgical methods should work quite well on nearsightedness, age-related or otherwise.
You DON’T correct nearsightedness with intra-oculasr lenses. You use those when you have to replace a lens that has a cataract, or other defect.
(Most people don’t realize that by far most of the optical effect occurs at the cornea of the eye, and that the “lens” is really for fine tuning. So surgical procedures to correct myopia – LASIK, PRK, etc. – are done on the cornea, not the lens.)
Joey P and Ferret Herder
Thank you. Actually I’ve worn glasses to correct for myopia since I was 16 so that’s nothing new. I understand that Lasix can correct for myopia but the problem is that soon I’m going to be unable to see things either far away or close-up due to the age thing. I don’t think Lasix by itself would fix that. Glasses and contacts are what I’m trying to avoid.
Thanks again
Testy
The ophthalmologists I work for have stated that LASIK/PRK aren’t/shouldn’t be done for presbyopia, and the wiki link for the disorder only gives intraocular lenses as a surgical option, and the one on IOLs states, “An intraocular lens (IOL) is an implanted lens in the eye, usually replacing the existing crystalline lens because it has been clouded over by a cataract, or as a form of refractive surgery to change the eye’s optical power.”
Implanted IOLs can be done as an extra lens, or removing the natural lens - even a “clear” one:
There are also implantable “contact lenses” for the posterior chamber for both near- and farsightedness, which I know for certain are used for vision correction specifically.
Now admittedly lens correction isn’t my field (I’m a retina person), but it does seem like these aren’t solely for cataract sufferers, from my readings on the subject.
But really, any options that are out there are limited by the person’s own eyes, the techniques available to the ophthalmologist in question, and that doctor’s preferences. I recommend that Testy check out some ophthalmologists and see what is available.
IOLs CAN be used for other things, but usually if the natural lens has to be replaced, as I say above. It is NOT used to correct myopia (which is different from presbyopia)
Presbyopia is “farsightedness”, and is not necessarily an age-related condition, and is not nearsightedness of any kind (and definitely not age-related nearsightedness). LASIK should work fine for my own age-related myopia.
Anyne with questions about vision or corrective surgery should definitely talk to a doctor about it.
Ah, sorry, I just saw what you meant:
Editing error that I didn’t catch - the bolded word should be “farsightedness.”
IANAOphthalmologist, but I do work for one, and one of my jobs (as patient services manager) is helping patients and prospective patients choose a surgical or mechanical correction to their vision. Basically, I explain this stuff to people for a living. 
Presbyopia is unlike regular nearsightedness (myopia) and regular farsightedness (hyperopia) in that while myopia and hyperopia are due to spherical aberrations in the eye, presbyopia is a mechanical problem. Your eye’s natural crystalline lens is suspended behind the iris, and tiny muscles move it back and forth to allow you to focus on near and far objects - much like the front lens of a telescope. As you age, this lens grows thicker and less flexible, and the muscles whose job it is to move the lens begin to lose their tone. As a result, it becomes difficult, then impossible, to focus on close objects. That’s why pretty much everyone, some time between the ages of 45-60, starts to need reading glasses or bifocals. Incidentally, the crystalline lens often becomes cloudy, then opaque, during this agine process - a condition also known as cataracts.
It isn’t possible to correct presbyopia with LASIK, since it is a mechanical problem, but many patients elect to undergo a procedure called blended vision or monovision. Kind of like organic bifocals, this procedure consists of correcting one eye (either with contact lenses or LASIK) for close vision and one for distance vision. It sounds strange, but in most patients, the brain quickly “learns” which eye is for which purpose and the patient can reduce or eliminate the need for glasses or reading glasses.
There are IOL that reduce or eliminate the need for reading glasses, IOLs are very expensive ($4000-5000 per eye is not unusual). Because of this, maost patients wait until their presbyopia advances into cataracts (at which point Medicare and other insurance plans will help defray the cost) before electing to get those implants.
Let me know if this helps, and if you have any other questions. You’re welcome to take the questions offline if you’re more comfortable with that.