WILL MYOPIA GO AWAY IN OLDER AGE?

Some opinions say that people with myopia will have brighter eyes when they get older, due to the progression of presbyopia, which improves distance vision. To verify the accuracy of this issue, as well as learn more about myopia and presbyopia, please refer to the following article from Japan International Eye Hospital.

What are myopia and presbyopia?

Myopia occurs when the eyeball axis is longer than normal, causing light to converge at a point in front of the retina instead of exactly on the retina, making near vision clear but distance vision blurred. Some common causes of myopia include genetic factors in the family, racial factors, unscientific eye use, or rapid increase in myopia during puberty.

The more severe the myopia, the more impaired the distance vision. Myopic patients often experience symptoms such as difficulty observing objects at a distance, eye fatigue, eye strain, and headaches.

Presbyopia is not a refractive error like myopia, but a condition of decreased accommodation function for near vision caused by the natural aging process. The elasticity of the lens helps the eye to accommodate smoothly, bringing the image of the object to converge accurately on the retina, helping us to see everything around us clearly. As age increases, the body gradually ages, causing the lens inside the eye to also harden and become less elastic, leading to the situation where the elderly often find it difficult to see close up.

This is a common disease in people over 40 years old, with symptoms such as not being able to see clearly at close range, tending to hold phones and newspapers far away to see more clearly, headaches, eye fatigue.

Will myopia go away with age?

For patients with not too high myopia, when presbyopia occurs, the myopia on the eye will help support close-up work. Therefore, in daily activities such as reading books and newspapers and using the phone, the patient will not need to wear reading glasses, but can still see everything clearly. However, for distant work such as driving and traveling, the patient still needs to wear glasses for support. For patients with high myopia, when presbyopia occurs, the patient will need to wear multifocal glasses or wear two glasses to support both near and far vision.

Because the two causes of myopia and presbyopia are completely different, a person can have myopia and presbyopia at the same time. Myopia may not fully compensate for the decline in accommodation function for near vision caused by presbyopia. Therefore, for patients with myopia when they turn 40, presbyopia may also appear, causing vision obstruction and difficulty in daily life.

Treatment methods for myopia

To treat myopia, patients can refer to the following 3 methods:

• Use glasses or soft contact lenses to restore clear vision for patients in daily activities.
• Use Ortho-K hard contact lenses with a mechanism to shape the cornea during sleep for 6-8 hours, helping patients temporarily restore clear vision during the day without the need for glasses.
• Myopia surgery using Phakic or Laser intraocular lens placement such as ReLEx SMILE, Femtosecond Lasik, SBK Lasik.

Presbyopia treatment methods

To treat presbyopia, patients can refer to the following 3 methods:

• Using bifocal glasses for good vision at near and far distances, trifocal glasses for good vision at all three distances: near - intermediate - far, multifocal glasses provide clear vision at different distances.
• Using monovision single-vision contact lenses to adjust for one eye to see well near and one eye to see well far, multifocal contact lenses are designed to divide the viewing areas with different refractive powers on one lens to help patients see well at both near and far distances at the same time.
• Presbyopia surgery using the LBV Presbyond Laser method or the Phakic IPCL Presbyond intraocular lens technology.

Myopia and Presbyopia Treatment at Japan International Eye Hospital

Invested and managed by Paris Miki Holdings Group (Japan), Japan International Eye Hospital is proud to be the first ophthalmology facility in Vietnam to provide medical services meeting Japanese standards, leading the number of Phakic surgeries in Vietnam & Phakic ICL in Southeast Asia and Australia, winning the Vietnam SMILE Ambassadors 2024 award, having more than 250,000 visits, more than 30,000 successful surgeries with a satisfaction rate of up to 99%!

The hospital is a reputable address for examination and eye surgery, with diverse services to meet the needs of all ages, professional examination and surgery procedures, a team of experienced doctors, modern machinery systems, convenient facilities, fast service and reasonable costs.

It can be seen that myopia will not go away on its own when you get old. In fact, people with myopia when they get old can also develop presbyopia, causing vision to decline at both near and far distances. Therefore, having an eye examination with an ophthalmologist and having an early treatment plan will help patients quickly find the best solution to maintain their vision and quality of life.