I want to see better without all this hassle. I hate my bifocals, and when I wear my contacts I need reading glasses on top of them (I am 48 years old!). What can I do?

Lasik laser vision correction can correct your vision in the same way that your contacts do. We can eliminate your contact lenses and give you excellent distance vision, without glasses or contact lenses. Because you are over 45 years old, you have an additional problem that younger people do not have, which is the farsightedness of middle age, also known as presbyopia. (Note: if you are under 45 none of this is relevant to you, at least not now. You can have your distance vision corrected with Lasik laser vision correction, and still see well up close without any glasses. When you then become over 45, then an adjustment can be made in your vision, or you can use reading glasses.)

Lasik cannot cure presbyopia. So we have several ways that people over 45 years old can deal with their middle age farsightedness. Option #1 is to simply wear reading glasses. These glasses (often referred to as magnifying glasses) can be bought in the drug store for around $15. You can share them with your friends or significant other. And because they are so inexpensive, you can have many pairs and leave them in the places that you are most likely to want to use them — your car, different rooms of the house, in different purses. This does not solve all the vision problems for the over 45 crowd, but it solves much of the problem.

Option #2 is known as monovision or blended vision. In blended vision, one eye is adjusted for optimum distance vision and the other eye is adjusted for optimum near vision. With blended vision, many people do not use glasses for distance or for near vision, or at least use glasses in a much more limited way.

Option #3 is known as mini-monovison. This is a cross between option #1 and option #2. Mini-monovison provides for excellent intermediate vision (computer distance) but will require reading glasses for very small print.

Testing in the office can determine which of these options is best for you.