Monovision is one way eye care professionals treat patients with presbyopia who are interested in LASIK. Presbyopia is the inability of the eye to focus at all distances, usually noticed when fine print starts to blur. It’s a common condition in patients between the ages of 40 and 50. Presbyopia occurs as the eye’s natural lens begins to harden and lose its flexibility.
In the past, the standard remedy was to wear reading glasses or multifocal lenses (like bifocal or progressive lenses). But today, surgical remedies like monovision LASIK are available for qualified candidates. With monovision, the dominant eye (usually in line with your dominant hand) is corrected for clear distance vision. The non-dominant eye is then purposefully corrected in a way that yields better up close vision.
Normally, when you look at an image, both eyes work together equally to produce binocular vision. However, you probably have a dominant eye that your brain tends to favor. For example, most people always use the same eye to look through a camera lens when taking a picture. LASIK surgeons will produce monovision in presbyopic patients by leaving the non-dominant eye slightly nearsighted so that patients can see up close without glasses.
Illinois Eye Center recommends “trying” monovision with contact lenses to make sure you can adapt to it before undergoing monovision LASIK. Patients are encouraged to go out and spend the whole day wearing the monovision contact lenses to get a better understanding of the type of vision this procedure produces. Golfers and tennis players should participate in these activities while wearing monovision contact lenses, as these activities are demanding of their best vision.
If you are over 40, or wear bifocals or reading glasses, your LASIK surgeon will want to discuss monovision during your consultation in order to make sure you end up with a satisfying and functional result. Call (309) 243-2400 to schedule your consultation at Illinois Eye Center today.