Ask the Expert
Specialists in Eye Care: A to Z

I have had perfect vision all my life, but starting in my 40s I started needing glasses to see to up close. Why is this? Can it corrected?

Inside the eye, about five millimeters behind the surface (cornea), is the lens. The lens works with the cornea to focus light. Unlike the cornea, however, the lens is flexible in that a person can control its shape by attempting to focus on something close up (a process known as accommodation). That is, there are small muscles inside the eye that attach to the lens and cause the lens “ball up” and become more rounded. The rounded lens acts like a magnifying glass, allowing a focused view of nearby objects. The problem is that, starting around age 40, the lens becomes stiffer and resists rounding up. This is when it seems that your arms have become "too short" to read and you have to hold things further away to see well. You eventually require the magnification help of reading glasses, or bifocals if you already wear glasses. The increased difficulty for near focusing with age is known as presbyopia. Currently there are several surgical options to correct the effects of presbyopia, and more are being developed.

About The Eye Center Group

The Eye Center Group is the largest multi-specialty eye care practice in the state of Indiana. The Eye Center Group has on staff over twenty physicians board certified and specialized in particular fields of eye care and offers nine locations throughout Indiana and Ohio, including, Muncie, Richmond, Marion, Kokomo, Fort Wayne, Greenville, Winchester, Connersville and Portland Eye Centers. The Eye Center Group services include the full range of comprehensive medical and surgical eye care including: Laser Vision Correction (LASIK, PRK, ASA refractive surgery), cataract IOL surgery, multifocal lens implant, glaucoma, retinal disease and surgery, macular degeneration, oculoplastics, facial cosmetic surgery including Botox, Restylane and CosmoDerm, diabetic eye care, general eye diseases and family optometry including exams for glasses and contacts (in select locations).

Contact:
Susan Conyers, Marketing Specialist
200 N. Tillotson Ave., Muncie, IN 47304
765.286.8888 or 1.800.223.2733
sconyers@eyecentergroup.com