Two years? Five years? 10 years? Like every other part of your body, your eyes aren’t stuck in time. You wouldn’t expect a pair of glasses to last a lifetime. If you’re in your early 20s and very short-sighted, your prescription may not have stabilised yet. We like to confirm this with a minimum of 2 years of stable prescriptions from your optician before recommending laser eye surgery. Natural shifts in your prescription can, however, still occur many years later. Further treatment may, therefore, be required as you get older.

From your mid 40s onwards, normal age-related changes mean your reading vision will likely start to suffer. This is known as 'presbyopia'. Most people underestimate this, and merely hold their phone or book further away. Once your arm isn’t long enough, it’s time to pick up some reading glasses. This will happen to us all, whether or not you’ve had laser eye surgery, but the changes affect some people more than others. If you’re long-sighted (hyperopic), you could need reading glasses even in your 30s, and then after a few more years find yourself dependent on distance glasses as well.

If you had laser eye surgery in your 20s or 30s, and now need glasses for reading, blended vision may be the answer for you. Also known as monovision, this involves correcting the focusing for one eye for distance vision and the other eye for reading vision. With both eyes open, your brain receives a spread of focus which can help reduce dependence on reading glasses.