Visions problems are common as one gets older. Eyes can lose their ability to see clearly or develop other conditions in the cornea or the eye lens. One such age-related condition is presbyopia.
What is Presbyopia?
Eyes can lose their ability to see nearby things clearly due to aging. This vision condition is called presbyopia. Reading the definition of presbyopia, it may seem like a simple problem. But presbyopia requires treatment as it can make performing simple tasks difficult.
The loss of flexibility of the eye lens and its thickening are possible causes of presbyopia. There is no presbyopia cure as such. You will need proper prescription glasses after a complete eye examination. Your options are to use bifocals, progressive lenses or reading glasses. One presbyopia treatment option is eye surgery with LASIK or other procedures such as the photorefractive keratectomy (PRK).
You can also try presbyopia exercises as a treatment option. Eye exercise can help improve vision in some cases.
Here are five exercises to help you deal with presbyopia.
Rotate your Eyes
Rotating eyes clockwise and counterclockwise for 5-10 times can act as a warm-up exercise. You can do this with closed or open eyes. This exercise can increase blood supply in your eyes. The ocular muscles become ready for more intensive exercises. Eye rotations can also relax the eyes, which is very important for overall vision health.
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Squint and Look Ahead
Inhale, squint and then focus your gaze on your nose. Now, exhale, look up and focus on a distant object. Repeat for 3-5 times a day. This exercise can strengthen your ocular muscles and help them focus better on objects. It can improve flexibility of your eye muscles, which in turn can improve vision at close quarters.
Read Words Upside Down
Hold a book or any object with words written on it. Maintain a distance of 3 to 4 inches between your eyes and the words. Flip the words upside down and try to focus on a word. Then narrow your focus on each letter in that word. This exercise can also strengthen eye muscles. This can be helpful in correcting the problem of blurred vision that occurs with presbyopia.
Place Warm Palms on your Eyes
Palming is the technique to rub the palms together and then use the generated heat over the eyes to relax them. It is considered very helpful in relaxing tired eye muscles and protecting them from further damage. In any case, this exercise can help your eyes relax and at least, delay progression of the disease.
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Use Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy for eyes is using cold and hot washcloths over each eye in an alternate fashion. Place hot cloth over both eyes for at least 30 seconds and then alternate it with a cold washcloth. This exercise can help the eyes in many ways. Warm compresses can increase circulation in the eyes, relax the muscles and even reduce eye pain. It can improve the functioning of the eye nerves.
Cold compressions also improve circulation and help the eyes relax. It can also relieve any strain in your eye muscles.
Make sure to use clean washcloths and pure water for your compressions. You can repeat this exercise daily for a few minutes. While this may not cure your presbyopia, it may prevent the condition from worsening. The muscles in your eyes will be more relaxed. This may help you see more clearly as a result.
Eye exercises can make ocular muscles strong and delay the onset of age-related vision problems.
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