Could There Be a Future Without Reading Glasses? Science Says Yes—With This Easy Fix
A new FDA-approved everyday item may one day replace your readers
Picture this: You’ve settled into your favorite reading spot after a long day, steaming cup of tea in hand, ready to dive into that page-turner you’ve been looking forward to all week. But first, you need to hunt down your reading glasses—again. Sound familiar? If it does, you’re definitely not alone.
For some, the benefits of glasses go beyond vision. They enjoy the fun colors and face-flattering styles. But whether your glasses slide down too often or fog up during an emotional part of a book or movie, glasses aren’t everyone’s go-to choice. If that sounds like you, we have good news. New research shows you may be able to trade your reading glasses for eye drops in the near future.
What is presbyopia and why does it happen?
If you’ve found yourself needing reading glasses with age, you may have a condition known as presbyopia.
Woman's World Answers
“Presbyopia is the age-related decline in the eye’s ability to focus on near objects,” says Meenal Agarwal, OD, a board-certified optometrist and leading authority on the eye-brain connection at Dr. Meenal Agarwal & Associates. “Most adults will experience some degree of presbyopia; it typically begins in our 40s and those who do more near work tend to progress faster.”
Wondering if you might have presbyopia? Dr. Agarwal says the key symptoms include:
- Experiencing blurred vision when looking at something up close
- The need to hold near things farther away to see clearly
- Headaches or eye strain when doing work up close
- Having issues changing your focus from distance to near and vice versa
- Relying on more light to see things up close.
When presbyopia begins, treatment usually involves: “Reading glasses, progressive glasses, multifocal contact lenses or surgical interventions like lens implants.” But new research supports another strategy! Hint: eye drops.
Eye drops instead of reading glasses: what the study found
When you think of eye drops, you probably think of relief for dry eyes, red eyes and seasonal allergies. You may not think of eye drops as being able to help with sight, but that could be changing.
On September 14 at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in Copenhagen, researchers presented results from a study of 766 participants. They found that people who used eye drops containing pilocarpine and diclofenac twice a day could read about two to three more lines on a Jaeger chart, which measures how well someone can see up close. Many participants maintained this improved near vision for up to two years.
You might be wondering what pilocarpine and diclofenac are, and how they work together to improve vision.
“Pilocarpine constricts the pupil (makes it smaller), which increases the ability of the eye to focus,” says Jovi Boparai, MD, Ophthalmic Surgeon and Co-Founder & CEO of CorneaCare. “Diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory agent, and its role is to minimize the potential side effects of chronic pilocarpine use.”
What these findings could mean for your readers
Does this study mean you should throw out your new pair of reading glasses? Not quite yet. While there are already FDA-approved eye drops for presbyopia, like Vuity, the specific pilocarpine and diclofenac combination tested in this study isn’t yet available.
“Pilocarpine is already FDA-approved in several formulations for presbyopia correcting prescription drops,” says Dr. Boparai. “The combination of pilocarpine and diclofenac is still being studied, and may be approved in the coming 2-5 years.”
Experts say the findings point to a future where drops could be a first-line presbyopia treatment over glasses.
“This points toward a future where drops might replace or at least reduce reliance on reading glasses for many people, but it’s not yet a confirmed standard of care,” says Dr. Agarwal.
Treating presbyopia without reading glasses
If you’re tired of glasses and want relief now, Dr. Agarwal and Dr. Boparai recommend simple strategies to manage presbyopia until new treatments are approved.
“Lifestyle modifications can play a large role,” says Dr. Boparai. “Good lighting, adjusting the font size (when possible) and holding materials at the right distance can help.”
“In some cases, vision exercises can help, good lighting and contrast, increased text size and taking frequent breaks with up close work,” says Dr. Agarwal.
Getting older means entering a new stage of life, and that can include changes in your sight. The good news is that support is already available, whether that’s glasses, contacts or prescription drops. And with new combinations still being studied, more non-invasive options may be on the horizon.
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