Every year, on the second Thursday of October, the world rallies around vision health . Organized by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) , World Sight Day aims not only to raise public awareness of vision issues but also to promote equal access to eye care and to remind people that many vision disorders are preventable or treatable.
For the 2025 edition, the campaign adopts the slogan "Love Your Eyes", inviting us all to place our eyes at the heart of our concerns whether in our professional, digital, or daily lives.
But within this vast subject, two themes deserve particular attention for many of us: presbyopia , a very common visual defect from the age of forty, and the effects of blue light on our eyes , especially in the digital age.
Understanding Presbyopia: When Reading Becomes More Difficult
What is presbyopia?
Presbyopia is a natural phenomenon linked to the aging of the eye. With age, the crystalline lens, the inner lens of the eye, loses its flexibility, and the ciliary muscles responsible for accommodation (i.e., the transition from distance vision to near vision) become less and less effective. As a result, the eyes struggle to focus when reading text up close.
This is why we often start to have difficulty reading small print (smartphone, watch, labels), or we are forced to move the device away to see better.
When does it appear?
Typically, the first symptoms of presbyopia appear around the age of 40-45. They gradually worsen until the phenomenon stabilizes, often around the age of 65.
How does it manifest itself?
Here are some common signs:
- Rapid visual fatigue when reading or in front of the screen
- Need to move the text away to see it better
- Itchy or burning eyes when reading for a long time
- Headaches or tendency to squint
- Less clear vision in low light conditions
Presbyopia is one of the main uncorrected visual disorders in the world: according to the WHO, out of more than 2 billion people with visual impairment, 826 million suffer from near vision impairment caused by untreated presbyopia .
What are the solutions?
- Reading glasses or dedicated lenses: the simplest and most common solution.
- Progressive lenses or bifocal lenses: for people who also have distance vision defects.
- Surgery: Certain techniques (e.g. implants or corrective methods) can correct presbyopia in some cases.
- Visual adjustments: increase brightness, adopt correct posture, take frequent breaks when reading or working on a screen.
At Varionet, our glasses for presbyopes can be fitted with solar proximity lenses, anti-reflective and anti-blue light proximity lenses to improve visual comfort throughout the day, even in front of screens.
Blue light and eyes: myth, reality and precautions
What is blue light?
Blue light is a component of the visible light spectrum. It is naturally present in daylight (especially during the day, blue sky) but also emitted by digital screens (computers, tablets, smartphones, LED lighting).
Potential effects on the eyes
There's a lot of debate surrounding the exact risks associated with blue light. Here's what we're seeing:
- Digital eye strain: Overexposure to screens often leads to visual discomfort, dry eyes, a burning or stinging sensation.
- Circadian rhythm disruption: “Cold” blue light in the evening can delay melatonin production and make it harder to fall asleep.
- Hypothetical risk to the retina: Some research suggests that, over the long term, excessive exposure could affect retinal cells, but evidence in humans remains limited.
On the other hand, it should be noted that the blue light emitted by screens is not intense enough to directly cause visible damage to the retina under normal conditions of use; on the other hand, spending long hours in front of a screen leads to eye and visual fatigue.
How to limit side effects?
Here are some best practices:
- 20-20-20 Rule: Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet (~6 m) away for 20 seconds to rest your eyes.
- Regular breaks: lift your head, blink, stand up, do some stretches.
- Screen settings: decrease brightness, use a “night” or “warm light / blue filter” mode in the evening.
- Distance and posture: keep a reasonable distance (at least an arm's length) between the screen and your eyes, and adopt a comfortable position, avoiding tilting your head too low.
- Optical protection: choose computer glasses equipped with lenses that reduce some of the blue light, “anti-blue light” lenses.
- Good ambient light: avoid strong contrasts between the screen and the bright/shadowy environment
Sight, a precious asset
At Varionet, we believe everyone deserves clear, comfortable, and lasting vision. On World Sight Day, our mission is twofold:
- Inform and raise awareness among our visitors about the silent dangers of presbyopia and blue light.
- Offering concrete solutions, through our range of near-sighted glasses for presbyopes , to be equipped with anti-reflective and anti-blue light lenses to reduce visual fatigue.
This is why we also encourage you to:
- schedule a regular eye exam, every 2-3 years maximum), even without apparent discomfort
- adapt your digital habits to protect your eyes
- Discover our reading glasses designed to combine visual correction and comfort when using screens.
To celebrate World Sight Day, Varionet is offering you a 15% discount on all presbyopia glasses for orders over €39.00.