Do I Need Reading Glasses?
Age has an effect on your eyes just like it does on your joints and other parts of your body. When you reach your 40s, the natural internal lenses in your eyes become less flexible. They can't focus as easily from near to far vision like they could when you were younger. As your eyes get less flexible, your close vision gets worse. It's a condition called presbyopia , and it may make you wonder if you need reading glasses. Here are a few signs that you do: When you hold books and other reading materials up close, they look blurry. You have to hold them farther away to read them. You have trouble seeing smaller print in dim light. Your eyes hurt when you try to read, sew, or do other close work. You get a headache when you try to read. How to Choose a Strength If you decide to try a pair of inexpensive "readers" you see at drug stores, look for the number on the tag that's on them. Reading glass power is measured in units called diopters. The lowest