All human beings will have developed presbyopia by the age of 45. There
are no exceptions. Two age-related conditions cause this inability to
accomodate visual focusing requirements at different distances, most
commonly evidenced at first by impairment of reading and other up-close
visual activities.

The causes are: 1) The tiny muscles that adjust the shape of the lens
become progressively weaker. 2) The lens itself becomes progressively
inflexible. Thus, the eye becomes relatively fixed-focus by the onset
of middle age. This aging process that causes presbyopia begins shortly
after birth and continues like clockwork at the same pace for
everybody. Fortunately and partly as a response to this situation, our
species began developing corrective lenses hundreds of years ago and
that technology is marvelously advanced now -- so much so that most any
local drug store has a substantial collection of cheap but effective
reading glasses for sale. Of course, cheap reading glasses will not
always fit the bill, so for individuals who have more complex adpative
requirements such as myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, a consultation
with an eye specialist (or continued research on the Net) may be called
for in order to find an optimal solution.

(By the way, a regular professional assessment for intraoccular
pressure -- a check for glaucoma -- is a good thing to do in order to
avoid pesky problems such as headaches or sudden and permanent
blindness. Therefore, regardless of whether or not any fancy optical
purchases will be in your future budget, it's a prudent idea to get
your eyes checked.)  -bg

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.med.vision?lnk=li

Hi Terry! My eys have also deteriorated. Had to up my contact lesn Rx and
wear cheaters to read. My doc said that it's probably a combo of the drugs
and age. I trust him explicitlly.
Shawn.