Presbyopia is a common problem among people over 40 years old. Presbyopic patients have difficulty in perceiving close objects. They usually have to hold materials at an arm’s distance. This problem is quite bothersome because close vision is very important even for old individuals. Most people in their 40s and 50s are still unwilling to give up newspapers reading and the like. As a result, they must resort to vision correction.
For close vision only, the most convenient and common way is to wear reading glasses. But it can be problematic if a wearer also wants to see distance objects. To solve this problem, bifocal lenses were invented. The first design of bifocal eyeglasses was invented by the American statesman Franklin. Nowadays, bifocal contact lenses are also available. And they have undergone some improvement.
In the past, bifocal contact lenses were made of hard materials. They were the only option that presbyopic individuals had to wear a lens with a close prescription and another lens with a longer distance prescription. Taking use of two separate prescriptions will inevitably decrease depth perception and sometimes cause fuzzy vision. Unfortunately, it was the sole choice.
Nowadays, bifocal contact lenses also come in soft ones. Furthermore, they are in a different design that there are prescription areas in rings on a lens. With such a design, a wearer will look through a certain part when he wants to view distance things and through another area for close vision. This advantageous design enables wearers to gain both close up vision and far off vision.
Soft type bifocal contact lenses are currently provided by various manufacturers in their own brands. Acuvue Bifocal is one of the most notable brands. An Acuvue bifocal lens contains half water, which provides much comfort. This model of bifocal contact lenses floats on a layer of tears on the eye.