Presbyopia is a condition that disproportionately affects people who are over the age of 40. Without going into a lot of detail, your eyes harden, which makes it harder to focus on objects at certain distances. To remedy this situation, bifocals were created. They allowed a person to look through part of the lens to focus on closer items while being able to use a different part to focus on things farther away. Today, this same concept has been extended to contact lenses. In general, they fall into a category known as multifocal contact lenses. There are a number of different types of these lenses available, so here is a quick introduction to what they are and what options you have.
Multifocal contact lenses are essentially bifocals in contact form. They do not have any delineation lines like bifocals do, but are designed based upon the same concept. However, there are a number of different ways that your contacts can attack this problem. The two main decisions that you will have is what type of materials you want the contact lenses to be made out of and what type of correction technologies is best for you.
Of the materials available for your contact lenses are soft lenses, GP, and hybrids. Soft lenses are just like traditional daily wear lenses. They are disposable and can be for daily wear, weekly, or even monthly. While some can be worn overnight, it is rarely recommended. The next type are known as GP lenses. They are made with a semi-firm material so that it keeps it shape at all times. While this can make them less comfortable, they are still effective. Plus they are smaller, which makes them appealing to some. The find type are known as hybrids. They have a rigid middle, similar to a GP, and a flexible outer area similar to soft contacts.
The next option made available is that type of corrective technology that the contact lenses will use. The three most common options are concentric bifocals, alternating image design, and simultaneous image design. Concentric bifocals are fairly simple. The center portion helps you see close up and the outer portion helps you see things that are far away. Alternating image design (translating design) are only available in GP lenses and have the distance portion of lens on top and the close-up portion on the bottom (just like traditional bifocals). The final option is simultaneous image design. These lenses can be either soft or GP. They place both the near and far powers across the center of the lens so that you are can focus on both simultaneously.
While these options may seem a little overwhelming at first, your optometrist should be able to let you know which ones will be viable for your specific needs. From there it is simply a matter of trial and error until you find the one that feels the best, while also correcting your vision. While there are a number of additional details to keep in mind when looking for the right type of multifocal contact lenses to meet your needs, this quick introduction should help you get started in the right direction.
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