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If you are around forty years old, you may have started having difficulty focusing your eyes on objects up close. Are you finding yourself holding magazines, newspapers or restaurant menus farther away from your eyes in order to see clearly?
 

A condition called presbyopia is a likely cause. It’s both common and treatable.
 

Multifocal contact lenses are a great alternative to reading glasses. They allow your eyes to focus up close, far away and in between without the need for eyeglasses.
 

How Multifocal Lenses Work

A single multi-focal contact lens contains multiple prescriptions. There’s typically one prescription to correct up close vision, one for distance vision, and one for intermediate distance vision. This design lets your eyes smoothly transition for clear vision at different distances.
 

Multifocal versus Bifocals

Much like progressive eyeglasses, multifocal contact lenses have a range of optical powers in the same lens. resulting in a gradual transition between the different prescriptions in each lens.
 

Bifocal lenses, on the other hand, have just two prescriptions in each lens with a distinct edge between the near and far vision prescription areas. This physical edge in the lens can sometimes be a problem for you because instead of having a gradual transition between prescriptions, you have to learn how to visually switch between the two prescriptions. In addition, some of our patients find their depth perception needs time to adapt to the bifocal lenses.
 

Types of Multifocal Contact Lenses

Multifocal contact lenses use either soft lens or “hard” rigid gas permeable (RGP) materials. There are also advanced soft lenses made with a silicone hydrogel material that allows more oxygen to reach your eyes so they stay comfortable longer (read our article on dry eyes and contact lenses to learn more about these high tech ‘hydrophilic’ lenses).
 

The most common multifocal lens design is made up of a set of concentric circles, each circle representing a specific lens power in your prescription. This design allows your eyes to comfortably switch between focusing up close and at different distances.
 

Another design option blends both the near and distance prescriptions close to the center of your eye (your pupil), mimicking a natural viewing experience by correcting the specific points of aberration in your eyes.
 

Benefits of Multifocal Contacts

• Sharper vision for the range of distances from near to far
• A less abrupt switch between prescriptions
• The ability to see in most conditions without extra eyewear

Drawbacks of Multifocal Contacts

• More difficult to adjust to due to a different viewing experience
• Accompanied by nighttime glare and hazy or shadowy vision during the adjustment period
• More expensive because of the increased complexity in design

Alternatives to Multifocal Contacts

Multifocal lenses are a great solution for many of our patients but they aren’t for everyone. In some cases, bifocals may be the answer to your presbyopia. Other options you have include:
 

• Combining reading glasses with normal contact lenses
• Monovision contact lenses – you wear one lens to correct only near vision in one eye and one lens to correct only distance vision in your other eye.
• Surgical correction or lens implantation recommended by your doctor

If you think presbyopia has become a problem for you, make an appointment with us to discuss your options. Your eyesight and vision health are our top concern.