Eye Health Resources

Get to know corrective options for presbyopia

It happens to almost everyone—the lens inside your eye loses flexibility as you age, and seeing clearly up close becomes more difficult. So what can you do about it?^

Contact Lenses

What are your contact lens options?

Three common approaches

A woman with dark hair stands in the background as we see a close-up of a person holding a contact lens case

Contact lenses can be a great treatment for presbyopia, especially if you needed glasses or contact lenses before presbyopia started. That’s because certain contact lens options can correct both near vision and distance vision at the same time—so there can be less of a need to reach for readers. Here are the most common options your Optician may prescribe.

  • Single vision contact lenses combined with glasses
  • Monovision contact lenses
  • Multifocal contact lenses

Eyeglasses

A variety of glasses to meet a variety of needs

Over-the-counter readers: Are they right for you?

An older female doctor wearing glasses sits at a desk reading a file

You may have noticed reading glasses, or readers, at your local pharmacy or supermarket. They’re usually in a rack, labeled with different numbers from +1.00 diopter (D) to +3.00 D. If you had good vision before you noticed presbyopia setting in, these glasses may work for you and do not require a prescription like other glasses. Still, the specific power of reading glasses should be determined by an optician, and they should only be used while you’re focusing up close.

Prescription eyeglasses for presbyopia

If you already wore glasses before you started noticing the effects of presbyopia and you want to keep wearing glasses, prescription glasses for presbyopia could be a good fit for you. They might also be prescribed to you if over over-the-counter glasses aren’t correcting your close-up vision well enough. Here are a few of the most common prescription eyeglass options.

Prescription reading glasses

These are exactly as they sound—reading glasses that your eye doctor must prescribe to you. You may need these if, for example, both your eyes are not the same prescription or if you have uncorrected astigmatism. Prescription reading glasses should only be used when you’re reading, as they only correct near vision and will not correct your other vision issues.

Bifocals

An invention widely credited to Benjamin Franklin, bifocals correct close-up and far vision by using two different lens powers in the same pair of glasses. The bottom of the lens corrects presbyopia, while the top can incorporate your current prescription for distance vision. The two powers are divided by a line (which may or may not be visible).

Trifocals

These use the same idea as bifocals, but add an extra area to correct for mid-range vision, so you have three areas of vision correction with three different lens prescriptions. Trifocals work best for people who need their vision corrected whether they’re looking at something close up, far away, or in between. But note, since they have different powers depending on where you look, they do take some getting used to.

Progressive lenses

These eyeglasses work similarly to bifocals and trifocals, but instead of having a distinct division between the two powers of the lenses, the vision correction gradually changes in the lens from top to bottom.

Surgery

An ever-evolving option

Surgery is the most permanent of presbyopia correction options. It’s not often recommended for people who have no vision problems other than presbyopia because it can come with some risks. That said, an increase in demand for presbyopia surgery is helping drive advancements in surgery technique and technology.

Laser eye surgery to correct the effects of aging

Optometry Corneal Topographer Showing an Eye and Cornea on Screen

The treatment usually involves improving close-up vision in the non-dominant eye, similar to the idea behind monovision contact lenses. Some people still need eyeglasses even after surgery.

Implants and inlays

An intraocular lens on a gloved finger. Defocused Snellen eye chart is in the background.

Another surgical presbyopia treatment option is for an ophthalmologist to remove the lenses in your eyes and replace them with an artificial lens. These are called intraocular lenses, or IOLs. Another option is a corneal inlay, which is a small ring that is put into your cornea that helps with near vision. Both come with pros and cons, so it’s best to discuss these and all options with your Optician.

Eye Drops

A few drops a day could help keep the presbyopia at bay

A close up of a smiling older man's brow and eye

A prescription eye drop is now available in some countries for use to help correct presbyopia. They work by reducing the size of your pupils, which can help you see nearby objects better. The effect of the drops lasts for about six hours, which means you’d need to apply them often. 

Is Presbyopia Reversible?

Presbyopia isn’t reversible, but you have options for correcting it

As of right now, there’s no way to reverse or cure presbyopia, but as you’ve now read, you have plenty of corrective options to discuss with your Eye Care Professional.

Why choose ACUVUE® for presbyopia?

Clear vision near, far and in between12345

Seamlessly go from reading close up to seeing far away, even on the move.

Optimized for your pupils

Our pupil optimised design optimises the optical design to the pupil size according to age and refractive power, to help bring you clear vision near, far, and in between12345.

Designed for all-day comfort

ACUVUE® brand contact lenses have moisture technology to copy the mucin in tears for exceptional comfort all day long**6.

UV protection#6

ACUVUE® offers UV blocking#6 across its entire line of contact lenses, including those for Presbyopia.

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Related content

An illustration of a side view of an eye showing how light rays do not focus correctly when viewing things up close.

Presbyopia: Age-related farsightedness

If you’re around age 40, you may notice that it’s getting harder to read small print. This is called presbyopia, and it’s the most common change occurring in the adult eye.

A middle-aged woman sits in coffee shop drinking coffee from a mug read a newspaper

Presbyopia vs hyperopia: What's the difference?

While presbyopia and hyperopia (farsightedness) are both vision issues that make it hard to see clearly up close, their causes and the ways you treat them are different.

An older woman with grey hair and glasses sits at her kitchen island working on her laptop

Presbyopia vs. myopia: What's the difference?

Get to know the similarities and differences of presbyopia and myopia.

Footnotes

* Please note professional eye examination and fitting fees may apply. GCC residents 18 or over only. One trial per person. Eligibility subject to Eye Care Professional approval. Participating Eye Care Professionals only. See link for full terms and conditions.

All ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses have Class 1 and Class 2 UV-blocking to help provide protection against transmission of harmful UV radiation to the cornea and into the eye. UV-absorbing contact lenses are NOT substitutes for protective UV-absorbing eyewear such as UV-absorbing goggles or subglasses because they do not completely cover the eye and surrounding area. UV transmission measured with -1.00D lens.

For more information on proper wear, care and safety, talk to your Eye Care Professional and read the Instructions for Use.

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Last updated 12/07/2024.