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Time For Bifocals? How An Ophthalmologist Helps

Aging eyes eventually require bifocals to see well. Most people are not ready for bifocals, and you may be one of them. If you are concerned about your ability to see well, and you are wondering if you need bifocals, optometry and an ophthalmology can help. Here is how the ophthalmologist helps.

If You Go to Them, the Ophthalmologist Looks for, and Rules out, Signs of Disease

If you are in your forties or older when you first notice that your vision is changing, an ophthalmologist will examine your eyes to look for disease. Things like cataracts, diabetes, and high blood pressure can affect your vision at this stage in life. If the ophthalmologist rules out all disease, then the next step is to have your vision screened. The ophthalmologist can do this, but usually your optometrist is the one that checks your vision for issues. 

If You Only Need Bifocals, but You Do Not Want Them...

​If it is determined that your eyes are just old and your lenses are inflexible, then you need bifocals to help you see better. Most people in their forties are unwilling to wear bifocals, and will subsequently avoid filling any prescription for bifocal lenses. However, you do have a third option. An ophthalmologist can perform laser eye surgery on you and replace your natural lenses in your eyes with artificial lenses. These new lenses will allow you to see just as you have for years, only better because you will never need glasses for any reason. The artificial lenses may last a few more decades before needing further surgery, a definite benefit to having the surgery.

If the Laser Vision Correction Develops Problems...

​In a very small percentage of the population, the replacement of natural but inflexible lenses may result in post-surgical complications. That is okay, because you can just revisit your ophthalmologist and have him/her treat the problem. It is rarely more than a minor infection of the surgical sites on the eyeballs themselves, which is easily treated with antibiotic eye drops.

If your vision, for whatever reason, should somehow become worse after you have had the artificial lenses placed and sutured in, the ophthalmologist can perform another surgery to fix this problem and possibly make the prescription of the lenses stronger to fit your vision correction needs. As you can see, needing bifocals in your forties does not have to be all that bad, especially when an ophthalmologist is involved in treating your eyes.


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