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Bifocal Contact Lenses

Motivation is always an important factor for success with wearing contact lenses, but it is especially so with the bifocal type. If you have been successfully wearing single-vision contact lenses and now wish to start wearing bifocal contacts to correct normal age-related presbyopia (trouble with focusing for near object), you may be disappointed. They are not nearly as easy to wear. In fact, only about half of those who start wearing bifocal contacts continue for very long.

If you have not worn contacts before, you fall into the group with the poorest success rate. You are not a good candidate either if you are over 40, especially if you are male.

How Do They Work?

A contact lens moves when your eye looks up or down. When you read, your eyes move downward and the lens moves upward. The segment containing extra power for reading has to be placed on the lens so that it moves into the proper position for reading when you need it.

No lens accomplishes this perfectly. Some contact lenses have the bifocal segment ground at one edge, with a weight added to keep the segment at the bottom. Others have the reading power all the way around the outer edge. There are many variations. Most types that have had a reasonable measure of success are made with soft materials and some of gas permeable types have also been successful.

Are They for You?

It seems that no matter what method is used for getting the bifocal in front of the pupil, the sharpness of the focus is never as perfect as you can have with eyeglasses. You could probably read a menu or play cards, but might not be able to see well enough for fine close work, such as drafting or needlepoint. You will need to be very, very motivated if you are to wear bifocal contacts regularly. The happiest bifocal contacts wearers are those who wear the only socially, or for work that has little critical visual demand.

Alternatives

If you have been wearing contact lenses before becoming presbyopic, your simplest option is to continue wearing them and to use reading glasses (full or half-glasses) whenever you need them.

Or, you might wish to consider monovision, which means that you wear your regular contact lens (distance correction) in one eye and a contact lens having the full reading power in your other eye. The eye with the reading lens having the full reading power in your other eye. The eye with the reading lens would, of course, have blurred vision for distance, and the eye with the distance lens would have blurred vision for near. This combination may cause annoyance and some less noticeable if you persist in wearing the Monovision requires motivation. Some people are delighted with it while others are driven crazy by it.