What are Multifocal Contact Lenses?

Are you, for the first time, researching bifocal and multifocal contact lenses?  Are you horrified that you're even having to do it, not to mention overwhelmed at having to weed through all the information?

If you're like many people nearing their early-to-mid-40's, you might be experiencing one of the more visible signs of aging; presbyopia.  Presbyopia is a condition of the eye that happens as we age; our eyes become slightly less elastic, which results in blurry vision when trying to read things up close.  You can tell you are in the beginning stages of presbyopia when you start having to hold your reading material farther away from your face, usually at arm's length. 

The two types of contact lenses that might be able to help you are bifocal contact lenses or multifocal contact lenses (sometimes referred to as progressive contact lenses). 

Bifocal contact lenses work very similarly to bifocal eyeglasses.  There are two separate prescriptions in one contact lens; one to correct your vision for close-range vision (for reading); and one to see normal or far away distances.  Just like with bifocal eyeglasses, there is a definite line of distinction between the two prescriptions.  However, the contact lenses are designed to stay in place within your eye, so they don't rotate around over time or when you blink. 

Multifocal contact lenses, on the other hand, have multiple “powers,” or prescriptions within each lens, instead of only two. This is usually a good choice for people with more advanced stages of presbyopia, or who have different vision correction requirements for various distances. Multifocal contact lenses also get rid of annoying “image jump” that happens with bifocals. Instead of your eye having to choose between one of two powers, you can have a variety of powers that imitate the action of the normal eye; and are easier to adjust to than bifocals.

Multi focal contact lenses come in three main designs:

1. Concentric is one of the most common of the designs. With the concentric design, the near prescription is in the center; with a larger circle of the “far” prescription surrounds it on the outside (or reversed, if you prefer).
2. The alternating, or translating, design is basically the bifocal design. This works well for people who perhaps don't need a strong distance prescription, and are mainly wearing the contacts to read up close. 
3. The simultaneous design puts both the near and the far prescription in front of the pupil at the same time; and allows the brain to choose which strength it needs at any given time. 

These contact lenses can come in either soft or RGP contact lenses.  RGPs are not the hard contact lenses that our parents fought with; technology has improved them and many people prefer RGPs over soft.  They take some getting used to as your eyes adjust to the rigidity of the lens; but many people find that RGPs provide sharper, clearer vision. 

Fight old age head on by refusing to look like an “old person”!  Multifocal contact lenses will allow you see both near and far, and no one will ever have to know.

More reading:

Multi Focal Contact Lenses
RGP_Contact_Lenses

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