Are you tired of switching between your regular glasses and reading glasses? Do you find yourself reaching for your readers every time you check your phone, read a menu, or work on something up close?
Monovision is a vision correction approach that can reduce your dependence on reading glasses by correcting one eye primarily for distance vision and the other for near vision. At Whiting Clinic, monovision can be achieved through LASIK or PRK for appropriately selected patients.
What Is Monovision?
Monovision is a vision correction strategy designed to address both near and distance vision. One eye is corrected primarily for distance, while the other is intentionally left slightly nearsighted or corrected to focus more effectively on nearby objects.
Your brain learns to use the visual information from each eye, helping you see across different distances without constantly switching glasses.
Monovision is often considered by people experiencing presbyopia, the natural, age-related loss of the eye’s ability to focus on close objects. It can be achieved with contact lenses or, for suitable candidates, through refractive surgery such as LASIK or PRK.
Unlike standard LASIK, which typically aims to correct both eyes for distance, monovision intentionally creates a difference between the eyes’ prescriptions.
How Does Monovision Work?
Monovision is a specialized refractive surgery technique applied during either a LASIK or PRK procedure. This technique involves intentionally creating a slightly different prescription outcome in each eye to allow one eye to focus primarily on distant objects while the other eye is optimized for near vision tasks.
Monovision works by giving each eye a different visual role.
Brain adaptation: The brain learns to rely more on the eye that provides the more useful focus for a particular task.
Distance eye: Usually the dominant eye, corrected primarily for activities such as seeing road signs, watching television, or recognizing people across a room.
Near eye: Usually the nondominant eye, adjusted to help with tasks such as reading a phone, viewing a menu, or looking at nearby objects.
What Is Presbyopia, and How Does Monovision Help?
Presbyopia is a common age-related change that makes it harder to focus on nearby objects. It typically becomes noticeable in the early to mid-40s, although the timing varies from person to person.
As the eye’s natural lens gradually loses flexibility, activities that once felt effortless can become more challenging.
Common Signs of Presbyopia
You may be experiencing presbyopia if you:
- Have difficulty reading small print.
- Hold your phone, books, or menus farther away to see them clearly.
- Need reading glasses despite seeing distant objects well.
- Find that reading in dim lighting is more difficult.
- Frequently switch between distance glasses and reading glasses.
Presbyopia can affect people who are nearsighted, farsighted, or have astigmatism.
Why Consider Whiting Clinic for Monovision in Minneapolis?
Whiting Clinic offers LASIK and PRK consultations to help Minneapolis–St. Paul patients explore vision correction options tailored to their prescription, lifestyle, and visual goals.
Whether you’re considering monovision surgery or comparing laser vision correction options, our team can help you understand your choices.
Find out if LASIK or PRK is right for you –> Scheduled a FREE Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions
Over the years, we’ve heard many myths about LASIK. After all, we’ve been in the field of laser vision correction longer than most. Please contact us with any questions.
No, you can have cataract surgery after correcting your vision with LASIK. Routine eye exams are the only way to identify eye conditions that may need treatment.
Yes, even though your vision has been corrected, it is still essential to take care of your eyes by having a yearly routine eye exam. Annual exams can check for issues such as retinal tears or detachment, macular degeneration, and overall health of the cornea and interior of you eye.
No, everyone is not a safe candidate for LASIK. This is why we take the LASIK testing so seriously and while we hate to do it, we will inform some patients that they are not good candidates for LASIK. Fortunately, most patients are safe candidates for LASIK.
Yes, LASIK corrects nearsightedness, farsightedness, AND astigmatism. Your individual candidacy recommendation is based on meticulous diagnostic testing and your unique lifestyle.
LASIK technology has been evolving for over twenty years and has dramatically improved since 1996. Studies on patients who had earlier laser vision correction show their vision is still clear with no significant health effects. It is the most performed elective procedure in the world.
You will notice a dramatic improvement in your vision immediately after your procedure, and most patients feel comfortable driving the very next day!
A majority of our patients describe the procedure as virtually painless and only feel slight pressure during the procedure. Your eyes will be fully numbed with drops prior to your procedure. Some patients feel a mild stinging sensation for a short time after their treatment, but this subsides within hours. Over-the-counter pain medication and frequent use of wetting drops is enough to alleviate any discomfort.
The change made to your vision is meant to be permanent. For a very small percentage of patients, an enhancement treatment may be medically required to fine tune their vision. This is why Whiting Clinic offers a Lifetime Commitment plan for any future necessary laser vision enhancements.
Schedule Your Free LASIK Consultation.
We hope to speak with you soon and assist you on your journey toward better vision.
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