If you have had no trouble with your vision for as long as you could remember and you suddenly feel uncomfortable reading close up text from a page, then you know that you may have developed presbyopia. This is a common enough condition and nothing to be scared about. A lot of people have them, even kids. The important thing to remember now is to go to a doctor and get an eye exam. If you don't then you may experience what some people call the optic nerve headache.
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This headache is quite different from other headaches as it is in between one and a migraine. It gets worse when you have to read and your eyes ache just behind it. It feels somewhat relieved when you press on your eyes but then it does not correct the blurring. Then whenever you try to read you experience more discomfort and you just cannot continue reading. If you do, then the headache just gets worse. Sometimes these optic headaches get so bad that you get nauseous and you can't keep your eyes open. If that does not bring you to the doctor, then that is pure hard headedness.
When the doctor finally does give you an eye exam and comes up with a result, you might meet something like a +1.75 reading glasses. This simply means is that your eyes need that amount of magnification to make it focus successfully on close up objects like the text on the book that you like reading. The optician would most probably tell you to go out of the exam room and to choose from among the variety of frames that they have on display or if they do not have them, they will point you to an optical supply store which has the items that you need. A clerk will give you OTC reading glasses with a stamp or label of +1.75 on each and every one. This number corresponds to the measurement that the doctor reached.
Try out the glasses and see how comfortable they are for about thirty minutes before purchasing. These thirty minutes should be spent reading according to the position that you usually read in. if you develop any discomfort during this time immediately inform the doctor who will probably do another series to tests to figure out if it is because of a faulty lens or your eyes just won't respond well to ready to wear reading glasses. If your eyes are picky, then you would probably need custom reading glasses.
Typically, people over 40 require reading glasses. As we age the lenses within our eyes naturally lose elasticity. Without that flexibility the human eye has difficulty focusing on close objects. Physicians call the condition "Presbyopia."
Presbyopia usually becomes more pronounced as people age requiring stronger reading glasses. Presbyopia is not a disease nor can it be prevented.
Some signs of Presbyopia include needing to hold reading materials at arm's distance, blurry vision in low light, and eye fatigue or headaches when working up close.
Reading glasses have come a long way since today's senior citizens started using them. Seniors are accustomed to buying bland styles of reading glasses at drug stores. But Baby Boomers have embraced readers in a way that could never have been anticipated. Boomers view them not simply as a vision aid but as items that help make fashion statements. That's caused a lot of cool new styles to be introduced into the marketplace at many different price points.
Reading glasses are the first juncture wherein health care meets fashion.
Major department stores carry an assortment of stylish glasses, as do many specialty stores. There are even web sites dedicated to offering a terrific and diverse selection of fashion and designer reading glasses for men and women such as VisAcuity.com.
Those with presbyopia typically know the strength of reading glasses they need. An ophthalmologist will generally tell patients which "diopter strength" is right for them (be careful about asking an optometrist, though. They're in the business of selling glasses and will often tell customers they need glasses that are much more expensive than are actually necessary.)
Other ways to determine the strength required include reading glasses using properly an eye chart at a store or one posted on a web site and simple experimentation: try several different strengths until you find the one that's most comfortable to use. Since Eye MDs advise no damage can be done to your eyes by experimenting with different diopter strength glasses, you've got nothing to lose.