I’m in my late 40s and feeling it. I exercise a lot but still manage to pull out my back doing stupid sh-t like getting out of bed, I forget what I meant to get in the kitchen constantly and I need a nap every day although that’s not a bad sign everyone should be taking naps. However nothing made me feel older than when I started to need reading glasses a few years ago. It wasn’t that bad to start with, I got one bifocal contact lens and that worked fine. Then I needed 1.0 readers and now I need 1.25. I leave reading glasses throughout the house and have some in my purse and car but still end up forgetting them and holding my phone far away from my face. The good news is that there’s a new prescription eye drop that’s FDA approved to treat blurry near-sightedness. It’s called Viuty and is available now. It sounds like it’s meant to treat mild presbyopia because it’s not recommended for people over 65 as it’s not as effective.
A newly approved eye drop hitting the market on Thursday could change the lives of millions of Americans with age-related blurred near vision, a condition affecting mostly people 40 and older.
Vuity, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October, would potentially replace reading glasses for some of the 128 million Americans who have trouble seeing close-up. The new medicine takes effect in about 15 minutes, with one drop on each eye providing sharper vision for six to 10 hours, according to the company.
Toni Wright, one of the 750 participants in a clinical trial to test the drug, said she liked what she saw.
“It’s definitely a life changer,” Wright told CBS News national correspondent Jericka Duncan.
Before the trial, the only way Wright could see things clearly was by keeping reading glasses everywhere — in her office, bathroom, kitchen and car.
“I was in denial because to me that was a sign of growing older, you know, needing to wear glasses,” she said.
It was in 2019 that her doctor told her about a new eye drop with the potential to correct her vision problems, temporarily. The 54-year-old online retail consultant, who works from her farm in western Pennsylvania, instantly noticed a difference.
“I would not need my readers as much, especially on the computer, where I would always need to have them on,” she said.
Vuity is the first FDA-approved eye drop to treat age-related blurry near vision, also known as presbyopia. The prescription drug utilizes the eye’s natural ability to reduce its pupil size, said Dr. George Waring, the principal investigator for the trial.
“Reducing the pupil size expands the depth of field or the depth of focus, and that allows you to focus at different ranges naturally,” he said.
A 30-day supply of the drug will cost about $80 and works best in people 40 to 55 years old, a Vuity spokesperson said. Side effects detected in the three-month trial included headaches and red eyes, the company said.
I would pay $80 for this for one month to see how it works and if I get any side effects. I’m lucky I’m in a position to afford it. It seems so unfair that it’s not covered by health insurance. It may not be a necessity but medical advantages should be available to everyone. That’s how our for-profit healthcare system works. I checked the website for this product and you can use it with contact lenses, you just have to take your contact lenses out and then wait ten minutes before putting them in again. I’m going to see if my eye doctor can give me a prescription for this.
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