Is your newspaper getting blurrier by the day? There could be two potential causes of your vision woes. But how do you know what it is? should you be worried? and most important, should you see the eye doctor?

If you are in your late 30's or early 40's and you are beginning to notice that reading has become difficult, chances are you are noticing the beginning signs of presbyopia. If you had great eyesight your entire life, and all of a sudden that dinner menu or newspaper is getting a little fuzzy, you can relax. There is nothing wrong with your eyes. Welcome to the presbyopia club.

Presbyopia is caused by a hardening of the lens inside your eye. Known as the crystalline lens, it allows us to adjust focus from distance to near. It accomplishes this feat by adjusting shape. So what actually happens as we approach 40 is the lens has grown so dense, that it can no longer flex to accommodate our near vision adequately. This also explains why it strikes everybody right around the age of 40.

Presbyopia can be addressed in many ways. The simplest form of correction is with cheater glasses. Just pop on a pair of specs when you need to see up close and voila! However, don't expect to see anything in the distance if you are wearing reading glasses, unless they are bifocals or prescription progressive lenses.

an alternative means of correcting presbyopia is with contact lenses. Lenses can be fit in a variety of ways. One widely used fitting style is mono-vision; where one eye is corrected for distance vision and the other for near. Alternatively, consider multifocal lenses for a progressive style of vision.

There are even some surgeries being tested to correct your presbyopia. Conductive Kerotoplasty is the most common and widely used corneal refractive surgery used to correct the symptoms of presbyopia.

So what if you are having trouble seeing up close, but you are no where near 40 years of age? Most likely you are farsighted, also known as hyperopia. essentially your eye, from the surface of the cornea to the retina, is too short and light rays do not come to a clear focus. Theoretically, they focus behind the eye. Thanks to the crystalline lens, young people who are mildly hyperopic usually don't even realize it until later in life.. Hyperopia that is left not corrected can lead to excess eye fatigue and headaches.

What about that doctors appointment, should you go? Absolutely! Only your eye care provider can be entirely certain that your eyes are healthy. Vision is only a small portion of your eye exam.