Question

A client tells the nurse, "I can't see well enough to read any more. I have new glasses, but it's still hard." What should the nurse advise her to do first?

1) Go back to the eye doctor and have him check your glasses.
2) Buy some audio books and listen to those.
3) Adapt to reading less and find a new leisure activity.
4) Install a bright but glare-free light near where she reads.

Answer 1

The nurse should recommend that the client revisit the eye doctor to ensure the glasses are suited to their needs. Since the issue likely stems from presbyopia, it may still be necessary for the client to use reading glasses after LASIK surgery as it corrects only distant vision.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first advice a nurse should give to a client experiencing difficulty reading even with new glasses is to suggest a consultation with an eye doctor to ensure that the glasses are correctly tailored to the client's needs. This difficulty may be due to presbyopia, a condition where the eye loses the ability to accommodate, or change focus. Presbyopia affects most adults over a certain age, usually around 40 to 45 years old. Even if distant vision is corrected, for example through LASIK surgery, individuals with presbyopia may still need reading glasses to see up-close objects clearly. This is because LASIK corrects the shape of the cornea for distant vision, but does not change the lens's ability to focus, which is the issue with presbyopia.

For someone with myopia (nearsightedness), corrective lenses like glasses or contact lenses are worn to adjust the focus so that distant objects are clear. The power of the spectacle lens needed for someone with myopia is determined by their far point, or the greatest distance at which they can see clearly, so that images are brought into focus at this distance or closer.