PRESBYOPIA, THE AGING OF THE EYE DUE TO EXPOSURE TO MULTIPLE SCREENS

With technological advances, we are no longer surrounded by television screens, computers, mobile phones and tablets, and that is why diagnoses of eye aging have grown exponentially. This alarm was detected in people under 40 years of age who have been diagnosed with presbyopia or commonly called eyestrain.

Presbyopia or eyestrain is an eye defect that usually affects the majority of the population over the age of 50 as a consequence of the aging of the eye; But in recent years, a greater number of cases have been seen in the younger population, between 38 and 39 years old, as a consequence of excessive exposure to computer screens, tablets and mobile phones.

"We are beginning to see fatigued vision that limits work and advances its appearance by about 10 years," has recognized in Spain the medical director of the Tres Torres Ophthalmological Institute (IOTT), Emilio Juárez, who also recognizes this greater precocity of the Presbyopia has occurred in just 5 years.

This dysfunction of the ocular lens is caused by a progressive degeneration of the lens that prevents it from focusing up close, which makes patients feel a progressive inability to read, heaviness in the eyes, itching or discomfort, even after just half an hour reading something up close.

In addition, he regrets that it is unlikely that the increasingly early appearance of this problem can be reversed and he even fears that it will get worse, since "The only thing that would prevent or delay it is to reduce the time of use of these devices, and we are increasingly hooked."

At his center, Juárez says, younger patients are increasingly being operated on for this problem. "Around 10 percent of all surgeries to correct presbyopia occur in this group, which just five years ago were an exception and only represented 0.5 percent of these interventions," according to this expert.

There is no other cause that explains its precocity

In fact, when analyzing other risk factors such as the presence of other eye disorders, they saw that suffering from myopia or hyperopia did not advance its appearance. "The only thing that characterized these patients was a greater use of devices. They probably already used computers at work, but now they also use smartphones and tablets, and their screens end up deteriorating the functioning of the lens," adds Juárez.

The problem with these younger patients is that the use of corrective lenses is not entirely effective, since "the lens is not prepared for this early deterioration that it has suffered, which causes rigidity and calcification as a result of excessive use."

"No. is what corresponds to that age, a progressive evolution of this deterioration allows a progressive adaptation to glasses, but a sudden adaptation to the loss of near vision is difficult, and solving it with glasses is not easy," explained this expert who, in fact, admits that the majority of patients opt for surgery just months after trying other options.

Surgery as a solution

However, surgery has changed a lot in recent years and thanks to the use of laser "it does not depend on good days or bad of the surgeon", since it is previously calibrated to perform these interventions with precision.

The process takes just one minute per eye and consists of removing the lens that no longer works, cleaning the area and implanting a new multifocal lens, injected through a type of cartridge that deposits it in the eye and then expands. When done manually, it took up to 10 times longer.

In addition, in a week they can recover their daily routine and even return to work. And although the price is higher, "it solves a problem that is cheaper than changing progressive lenses, and after the fifth year it is already amortized," according to him. Likewise, Juárez assures that it is perfectly compatible with other surgeries such as myopia or cataracts.