Bifocal lenses

Bifocal lenses are often worn by people with presbyopia as they help with viewing objects both near to and at a distance. This type of lens contains two different corrective powers (two eye prescriptions) which enable your brain to choose the correct image in relation to the distance at which that object is at.

This removes the needs for having two types of glasses or lenses –one pair for looking at object close to hand and another pair for looking at objects in the distance.

Bifocals and presbyopia

Presbyopia is a condition which affects everyone once they reach the age of 40 and above. The ability to clearly focus on an object changes over time which also affects your vision. The natural lens of the eye hardens and stiffens which reduces its ability to focus and this is reflected in a change in your ability to see things close to hand.

The first indication of this is you having to hold a book at arms length in order to read the text. You may have had to purchase a pair of reading glasses for this purpose which may seem like an unwelcome sign of growing older.

Plus if you are short sighted (myopia) then you will have to remove your glasses to see objects which are close to you.

It can become irritating to have to switch between two pairs of glasses. This is especially the case if you have to switch between glasses when out in public, such as reading a label in a shop.

There is nothing you can do about presbyopia as this is something which affects all of us. We will notice this change in our vision between the ages of 40 to 45 and nobody escapes this change.

Treating presbyopia

The question is: what to do about it. There is the option to wear bifocal glasses but you can purchase bifocal contact lenses instead. You can also switch to these lenses if you have previously worn glasses as they are often easier and more convenient to wear.

There are several options in regard to how you wear bifocal contact lenses: some people prefer to wear these lenses every day, whereas others prefer to alternate between their lenses and their glasses.

Bifocal contact lenses are available as both soft lenses and gas permeable lenses. Your optician will be able to advise you about the right pair for you.