So you've just visited the eye doctor because you've started having a harder time seeing close up, and you have gotten the news that you need to get bifocals. Most people aren't really excited to have to get bifocals. You may feel like they are going to age you, and you don't want everyone to know you need them, especially if you haven't really had to wear glasses much in the past. In the past, you may have just had to get glasses if you wanted to. These days, you actually have the choice to get contact lenses that have multi-focal capability.
What Does Multi-focal Mean?
Mutli-focal just means that the lens has separate areas that are set so that they focus in different areas. For example, with bifocal glasses, there are two separate areas of focus. The larger portion of the lens is set for a distant focus. The way that the lens is made allows the eye to see far away things easier. The smaller section of the lens is created so that the focus part is closer. Multi-focal contact lenses work the same way, just in a much smaller area.
How Do Multi-focal Contact Lenses Work?
The way that contact lenses in general work is that they help to change the lens of the eye to adjust how the eye focuses so that your vision is corrected. It's no different for multi-focal lenses. They change the way that your eye focuses. There are different ways that you can take advantage of the different focal points.
The alternating vision method is similar to what you would use if you had bifocal glasses. The top of each lens is set for one focal point, the bottom is set for another. You are able to focus in on different distances by the way that your eye moves. If your glance goes higher, you get one distance; a lower gaze gets the other. The top of these lenses are usually thinned out and flattened a bit so that they are always inserted the right way and so that they don't move around on your eyeball when you blink.
There is also a simultaneous vision method. With this method, you have to be looking at both powers of the lens at the same time. It can take your brain some time to get used to this method of seeing. But, there is always a learning curve when you change your prescription. There are two basic ways that simultaneous vision contact lenses are set up.
- Concentric: These lenses are set up with the different powers in rings around the center. If the areas of focus were set up in different colors, it would look similar to a target.
- Aspheric: With the aspheric lenses, the different powers are both on the front of the lens and blended together.
Multi-focal contact lenses are a great way for you to get the vision correction you need without having to resort to wearing bifocal glasses. Contact a professional like Jeffrey C. Fogt, OD for more information.
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