Long Arm Syndrome: Demystifying Presbyopia

Do you find yourself stretching out your arm when reading a book or menu? Or perhaps you've been pulling funny faces when trying to read your smartphone screen? Have you then without success moved your arm various distances from your face to read the text, only to resort to putting your varifocal reading glasses on? This is a classic case of "long-arm syndrome".

"Long-arm syndrome" is, in fact, a sign of the common eye condition presbyopia.

But What is Presbyopia?

Presbyopia, astigmatism and myopia, these words can sometimes lead to confusion and head-scratching. Well, presbyopia is actually very simple to explain and commonly starts in most adults in their forties.

Presbyopia increasingly affects your eye's ability to see clearly close up. It develops when the lens within your eye starts to lose flexibility and gradually worsens over time, so you may find tasks on the computer or at arm's length become more challenging

Think of it as Long Arm Syndrome

Presbyopia sounds unnecessarily intimidating. Long arm syndrome and its side effects like stretching your arm to properly read a menu or a newspaper, is something we may have seen our relatives and friends do.

So, if you're over 40, and are now finding yourself 'long-arming' when reading the menu in a restaurant or the Sunday papers over your morning coffee, there's no need to worry.

Most people are either unaware that special contact lenses are available to correct eyesight affected by presbyopia. A few may have been put off by disappointing experiences.

The type of corrective lenses you'll need to look for are known as multifocal contact lenses. These can help you see clearly at all distances without strain. The good news is that the vast majority of over 40s are able to wear multifocal lenses, but if you're not sure, consult your optician.

Choose Multifocal Lenses to Leave these Struggles Behind

Multifocal lenses free you from the following nightmare scenarios:

• Awkward vision when playing sport - keep your eye on the game without fogged up glasses
• Drawing attention to yourself - it's irritating when people ask why you have so many pairs of glasses
• Feeling frustrated about your glasses - you want a different look when you've got a romantic dinner or an important social event to attend
• Reading the menu - needing to put on your glasses just to read a menu
• Forever carrying reading glasses - the annoying hassle of having to carry an additional pair of glasses just for reading
• Zooming - 150% magnification on your mobile phone is no fun, not to mention it takes longer to read an article

There's a Lens for that

Historically varifocal glasses have been the main 'go to' for people experiencing presbyopia. However multifocal contact lenses offer a much more convenient solution to assisting with vision. Unlike varifocals, multifocals allow you to see clearly at all distances without having to shift your gaze.

With one lens, you will be able to see clearly and comfortably at any distance, all day long. Multifocal contact lenses offer much more freedom with daily activities, such as playing sport or to enhance their natural look on a social occasion. The freedom is yours, when, where and how you wear contact lenses is your choice.

Introducing 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST MULTIFOCAL Contact Lenses

There's a common misconception that 'one size fits all' when it comes to contact lenses, which simply isn't true. Lenses vary in many ways, two of the most crucial differences between lenses are comfort level and vision quality.

That's where 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST MULTIFOCAL come in, it's our most popular daily disposable multifocal according to customer data. Developed by Johnson & Johnson these lenses are trusted by millions of contact lens wearers around the world.

If you've never worn multifocal lenses or aren't sure you're suitable for them it's essential to get an optician to fit them as they'll need to assess your vision at all distances and your suitability. So, if you're considering trying out 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST MULTIFOCAL book an appointment with your optician to arrange a fitting.

As well as being a fantastic lens for clear vision near, far and in between, and being very comfortable, 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST MULTIFOCAL, is highly rated by our customers, with 62 customers in their 40s rating the lens 4/5 stars.

If you're new multifocal contact lenses, and have never worn them before, check out our top 5 multifocal contact lenses guide to see our most recommended options.