Monovision – Laser Eye Treatment for reading without glasses (suitable for those over 45 years old)
Reading Glasses (Presbyopia)
Those who have reached their mid-forties have noticed that reading gets harder and harder, especially when lighting is poor. To see more clearly, they tend to hold things farther away, but this is just a temporary solution. The lens and muscles inside the eye have become stiff with age and you cannot flex the lens as you used to in order to give it the extra power needed for reading.
Monovision
Monovision could be the answer to your problem. It will restore your youthful vision and allow you to resume your usual activities without the help of reading glasses. As it is not for everybody, you are advised to read on.
During the consultation, the specialist will identify your weaker eye and select it to be made a bit short-sighted for better close-up vision. Your strongest eye will not receive any treatment at all (if it doesn’t need treatment for distance vision). The result will look like this: one eye will see well in the distance and the other will do a good job with close-up objects. Thus, you will achieve good vision for both distance and near objects at the same time, without wearing any glasses.
Results
This procedure works perfectly for many patients but you need to relax and let your brain adjust to the new situation. It gives independence from glasses but patients with a difference in eyes of more than 2.5d may need glasses for difficult circumstances such as night driving.
If you eyes are healthy and you can see well with glasses, you are suitable for this procedure.
Common Visual Problems Explained
The need for Reading Glasses (Presbyopia):
Many people only need glasses for reading when they reach 45. If you have had normal vision all your life and rather dislike the idea of wearing glasses, you will need only one eye treated to achieve Monovision.
Poor distance vision is usually caused by Long Sight (Hyperopia), Short Sight (Myopia) and Astigmatism. Some small amounts in your prescription (0.5 or less) can be ignored and Monovision can be achieved without these small distance corrections prescriptions being treated.
Long Sight
Long-sighted people see better at long distance. If you are long sighted you will need treatment to both eyes to achieve Monovision. The dominant eye will be treated to obtain good distance vision and the weaker eye will be treated to be short-sighted so as to achieve clear close up vision.
Short Sight
People with short sight have much better sight at short distances. If you are moderately short sighted you can have your short sight corrected by laser but if you are over 45 and have both eyes corrected for distance, you will need reading glasses unless you choose Monovision.
Astigmatism
People with astigmatism have blurred vision no matter the distance and will need treatment to both eyes to achieve Monovision. Slight astigmatism (up to 1 or a little more) is common and can be ignored when the patient is young. Astigmatism often combines with short/long sight and is treated successfully at the same time at no additional cost.
The Level of Correction Required
The older you get the stronger glasses you need; the eye muscles gradually lose elasticity. The available power of reading glasses is up to +3. The average man or woman will have the following progression of strength of reading glasses, though it may vary from individual to individual:
At 45 +1 correction required
At 50 it goes to +1.5
At 55 it goes to +2
At 60 it goes to +2.5
At 65 it goes to +2.5 / +3
Your eye will stop getting worse at the age of 65 and +2.5/3 should give good reading for the rest of your life. The level of correction will be discussed on consultation. The level given depends on your age, how long you can wait until you get comfortable vision and how long you expect to have pin sharp close vision.
Becoming Comfortable with Monovision
It will take you some time to feel comfortable with Monovision. It all depends on the difference in the prescription between your eyes after treatment. A small correction will usually be tolerated in a few days or more; there is no problem with differences up to 2 either. A large difference (of 3 or more) can take over 6 months to get used to. You will thus be offered a simulation of Monovision with a contact lens.
Contact Lens Trial
The trial will give you a sense of what Monovision really means. The specialist will put a lens in your non-dominant eye and ask you to try it for a certain period of time. The strength of this trial lens will suit your need for reading glasses.
Finding Your Dominant Eye
Your dominant eye is the eye that you subconsciously rely on; it is the one that has the better vision of the two. This is the eye that will be used for distance vision while the weaker or non-dominant eye will be corrected for close-up vision. To determine your dominant eye, you may close one eye as if to aim at an object; the eye remaining open is the dominant eye.
Eye Surgery & Safety
No surgery is completely safe. You will hear of all the potential problems before the procedure and you will also be given an agreement to sign. As most Monovision patients have only one eye treated the risk of complications to both eyes is eliminated.
Your options
There are two kinds of treatment to achieve Monovision.
CK is non-invasive, affordable and takes only three minutes. CK lasts for 1-3 years; after that you can have it done again.
LASIK is the standard laser treatment which gives a permanent change to your prescription.
A surgical alternative to Monovision is RLE (Refractive Lens Exchange). If you have a history of cataracts in your family or you are severely long/short sighted, you should go for lens implants. The lenses inside the eye can be replaced with multi-focal lenses. This will give you both good distance and close up vision.
Permanency
LASIK is permanent and if you have full correction of plus 3, your sharp reading vision should last for the rest of your life. Lower corrections may not always give full reading correction permanently.
Not many people have heard of Monovision and even if they have, they tend to consider it rather complicated, time-consuming and expensive. Those who have felt the benefits of this procedure are now happy to have opted for it and still enjoy its advantages.