Has your vision been clear for years and are you now experiencing difficulty reading or experiencing glare or blurry vision? The decline in vision is probably due to a condition called Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome or DLS. Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome is the normal, progressive aging of the lens inside the eye which can cause blurry vision.
When you are young the lens is clear and light passes through the eye and focuses without blur or glare. The young lens is not only clear but is flexible and able to change shape to focus near and far, like the automatic focus of a camera lens.
In Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome, the lens slowly and progressively loses its youthful function, stiffens and loses clarity. This syndrome presents in three stages:
Stage one DLS occurs in your 40s as the lens stiffens and loses its flexibility to change shape and focus. At this stage you may start to need reading glasses or bifocals. If you are nearsighted you may need to remove your glasses to read.
Stage two starts in your 50s or 60s. In stage two the lens optics further degrades with loss of image quality from lens scatter and yellowing. Night vision may be affected. More light and stronger reading glasses may be needed.
Stage three of Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome starts in your 60s or 70s and is a cataract.
DLS is a natural process and even affects people who have had LASIK. LASIK only treats the cornea to improve focus and does not treat the lens itself. LASIK does not wear off, but the lens changes and visions worsen.
Stage one or two DLS may be resolved by surgically replacing the dysfunctional lens with an intraocular lens or IOL. This procedure improves and stabilizes lens optics before cataracts develop in later life. Premium IOL implants may be an excellent option to improve vision and decrease dependency on eye glasses or contact lenses.
Our eye exam and advanced testing will stage and monitor DLS. Our TRACEY iTRACE technology uses wavefront technology to measure DLS and is a valuable tool to educate you about how vision quality changes over time. Our eye sight is our most important sense and affects everything we do every waking minute of every day. If you are not seeing well from aging eyes and DLS, consider achieving clearer vision. Make an appointment to learn more about treatment options for Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome.
