# Eyes, Aging, Reading Glasses, And Eye Surgery **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441 "2009-05-05T18:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/1 "2009-05-05T18:05:05Z")
I have a couple of questions here. I had my last eye exam when I was 39, (I’m 44 now) at that time the doctor said “You got eyes like a hawk,” of course when you get in your late 40s, from the way your eye looks you’ll most likely need reading glasses. Sure enough about two years ago I noticed I am holding my books and paper a bit farther and today I was trying to read a bottle of asprin and it was pretty much hopeless. I figure I’ll go to Walgreens and see about reading glasses. I assume for most people this is just a fact of aging, but my question is, does it get progressively worse. Like if I get reading glasses of 1.5 will it get worse and I’ll have to get 2.0. I was reading about laser surgery, because I like to read in bed and glasses would be a hassle lying your head on the pillow. But if it does progress doesn’t this mean laser surgery wouldn’t “Fix” the problem but rather only remedy it and then require more laser surgery later on? I was just wondering if anyone had eye surgery for this. As I said, my vision as I look at the computer is very sharp, and it’s just a matter of moving the book back a bit to read it, so I know it’s just the typical aging eyes thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/2 "2009-05-05T18:15:50Z")
[LASIK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK) doesn’t fix [presbyopia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyopia), which is the need for reading glasses (or holding your book really close) with age. It may well progress. They do make implantable lenses that could correct this but I haven’t really seen it recommended for people who only have presbyopia. If you develop a cataract, it could be an option, but typically then you’re dealing with issues like multifocal lenses (like bifocals but in your eyes) and other issues. (I work in ophthalmology, but not in LASIK/PRK/similar areas. IANAD/N.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/3 "2009-05-05T18:54:20Z")
I solved this problem with “monovision” contacts. That is, normal contacts, but one eye is optimized for middle and distance vision, the other optimized for close and middle vision. Most things, I can see with both eyes. Reading I do primarily with the left, and really far things are only viewable with the right eye. After a few years, as my presbyopia got worse, I strengthened the “reading” prescription, and I’m fine again. Sounds crazy, but it actually works…TRM ---
**Author:** ![FORTRAN\_forever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FORTRAN\_forever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FORTRAN_forever)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/4 "2009-05-05T19:04:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Idoes it get progressively worse Ayup. Background: I’m 61 and have dealt with it for many years, but that doesn’t make me any kind of an expert on it. This is just how I (dimly) recall it being explained to me when I first started experiencing it. There are muscles in the eyes that stretch the lens so that you can see nearby objects (lens = thin, sees far away objects OK, lens = thick, sees nearby objects OK). The relevant muscles are plenty strong enough to stretch the lens - but as we age, the lens loses some of its elasticity and doesn’t “spring back” to the extent that it used to. The net effect is that us geezers just can’t focus on nearby objects all that well. It gets progressively worse until (for me, anyway) you sort of reach your natural limit. I had LASIK surgery many years ago, and love the results - but I still had to wear reading glasses as I got older. ---
**Author:** ![Drygon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@Drygon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drygon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/5 "2009-05-05T19:35:20Z")
I had eye surgery a few years ago and my doctor told me then that I would need reading glasses in the future. So doubt that eye surgery would be a good option for this problem. > [@](#): > > I assume for most people this is just a fact of aging, but my question is, does it get progressively worse. Like if I get reading glasses of 1.5 will it get worse and I’ll have to get 2.0. I’m unsure of whether it will get progressively worse or not, but I had a friend who refused to wear glasses because of this. He claimed that by wearing his glasses his eyes would get lazy and weaker and eventually he would need “coke-bottle glasses.” (Which is pretty much what I wore…) So he just got by without using glasses and having very bad headaches all the time from the eye strain. He eventually got contacts a few years later, but I couldn’t imagine going around with a constant headache like that voluntarily. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/6 "2009-05-05T19:53:36Z")
> [@Drygon](#): > > I had eye surgery a few years ago and my doctor told me then that I would need reading glasses in the future. So doubt that eye surgery would be a good option for this problem. > > I’m unsure of whether it will get progressively worse or not, but I had a friend who refused to wear glasses because of this. He claimed that by wearing his glasses his eyes would get lazy and weaker and eventually he would need “coke-bottle glasses.” (Which is pretty much what I wore…) So he just got by without using glasses and having very bad headaches all the time from the eye strain. He eventually got contacts a few years later, but I couldn’t imagine going around with a constant headache like that voluntarily. Myopia does not worsen by wearing corrective lenses. Your friend was sorely misguided. However, the presbyopia does worsen with age, as noted previously. The OP is still under 50, and his reading glasses should be only 0.5. Many recommend having an eye doctor prescribe the reading lens, but my ophthalmologist told me (20 years ago) that all I need to do is pick up a pair from the drugstore, with (then) minimal correction of 0.5. I am now 71 and have transition lenses with correction for reading of +2.0, this after having undergone RK (radial keratotomy in 1991), which has nothing to do with this thread. (My pre-operative correction was around 8 diopters and postoperatively, my vision is much better, but I still need glasses.) But I don’t know why the OP finds reading with glasses in bed a problem. I do it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/7 "2009-05-05T20:07:03Z")
I had to get 1.0 reading glasses when I got to 51 and at 57 have settled into 2.0. I buy a 4 pack at Sam’s ($15) about once a year as I take really poor care of where I put them when I’m not using them. At 48 I was convinced I would never need them. ---
**Author:** ![FORTRAN\_forever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FORTRAN\_forever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FORTRAN_forever)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/8 "2009-05-05T20:49:57Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > I buy a 4 pack at Sam’s ($15) about once a year as I take really poor care of where I put them when I’m not using them. Mt wife and I treat them like Bic pens - we buy a ton of them, scatter them all around the house, and pick up a nearby set whenever we need one. Sometimes I think Bic pens and reading glasses two are prime examples of creeping socialism. Nobody “owns” a Bic pen… ---
**Author:** ![AquaPura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AquaPura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AquaPura)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/9 "2009-05-05T21:12:42Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Myopia does not worsen by wearing corrective lenses. Your friend was sorely misguided. However, the presbyopia does worsen with age, as noted previously. The OP is still under 50, and his reading glasses should be only 0.5. Many recommend having an eye doctor prescribe the reading lens, but my ophthalmologist told me (20 years ago) that all I need to do is pick up a pair from the drugstore, with (then) minimal correction of 0.5. _snip_… While age is a factor in the necessity of reading glasses, it doesn’t tell us the power that they should be. I see many 40 year olds with a stronger reading Rx than + 0.5 diopters, on the other hand, I have several 70 year olds that don’t need a reading Rx at all. YMMV. The best course is to get an eye exam. You may not need anything more than a pair or seventy of dime store readers, but you are at the age where significant eye problems usually present. These eye diseases can often be treated IF caught early. When you go for your exam talk to your doctor about the option of using “cheaters” the doctor will tell you if it is the right option for your eyes. ~Aqua (Glasses Chick) ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/10 "2009-05-05T21:27:14Z")
Would exercising those muscles prevent this type of thing, or will it only make worse/cause eye strain? With exercise I mean shifting the focus from near to far repeatedly for a short period fo time every day. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/11 "2009-05-05T23:29:10Z")
I don’t think any kind of exercise would stop a hardening of your lens, though I don’t know what it might do to the muscles that focus the lens. We’re not entirely sure of the causes but those are the likely ones. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/12 "2009-05-06T00:43:41Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > But I don’t know why the OP finds reading with glasses in bed a problem. I do it all the time. I put my head on the pillow and the stem of the glasses grinds into the side of my head 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eyes-aging-reading-glasses-and-eye-surgery/495441/13 "2009-05-06T01:09:01Z")
> [@FORTRAN\_forever](#): > > Mt wife and I treat them like Bic pens - we buy a ton of them, scatter them all around the house, and pick up a nearby set whenever we need one. > > Sometimes I think Bic pens and reading glasses two are prime examples of creeping socialism. Nobody “owns” a Bic pen… That’s me. And my Wife is on the way. I had LASIK too. I had to wear contacts for any distance, and then started to need reading glasses too. I figured that if LASIK could get rid of needing contacts, I would be ahead of the game. One less ‘appliance’. I have five or six pairs of reading glasses. Some more dedicated than others. (Work, bedroom, computer room. The rest sort of just float around). I’m 48. eta - but I don’t have to wear contacts as well.