Two common contact lenses prescriptions prescribed for people today are for the eye conditions called presbyopia and astigmatism.
Bifocal and toric contact lens designs are now available in rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses and the soft lenses.
Most people do not prefer the rigid gas permeable lenses. The soft contacts are the preferred choice for most people since these lenses keep their shape over the cornea better than the more rigid lenses. The soft contacts also provide crisper vision to people with the eye condition called astigmatism.
Soft lenses are also available in more choices and take less time to adjust to. Presbyopia occurs as the eye’s lens ages and begins to lose elasticity needed to focus on both near and far objects. About 100,000,000 Americans have this common eye condition.
Presbyopia affects adults of the ages forty to fifty. Once presbyopia begins, your vision will continue to change requiring regular eye exams by your eye care practitioner.
As your eye’s lens lose elasticity, the eye needs longer to adjust between objects.
Bifocal eyeglasses used to be the only option for people with the condition, however, today there are many bifocal contact lenses in a variety of convenient and comfortable designs.
The most obvious sign that you are developing presbyopia is the need to hold reading material further away from your eyes to focus and see clearly.
Bifocal contact lenses work similar to bifocal eyeglasses. The contacts have two separate powers on one lens – one to correct distant vision and the other to correct near vision.
There are different design options for the bifocal lenses. One of the designs works like bifocal eyeglasses work with two obvious prescriptions separated with a line (the distance vision on the top and the near vision at the bottom).
The other design works like a progressive eyeglass lens, having the two different prescriptive powers blended on different parts of the lens, forcing your eyes to learn to differentiate the correct power for the correct distance.
The nice thing about bifocal contact lenses is the convenience they offer. Contact lenses are so thinly designed that the wearer doesn’t even know they are there.
Contact lenses eliminate the barriers that eyeglasses provide with the line of vision from below, above and the sides of the eyes, allowing for great peripheral vision with the hassle and image distortion sometimes caused by bifocal eyeglasses.
Astigmatism is a common vision problem and may be accompanied by nearsightedness (hyperopia) or farsightedness (myopia). The cause of astigmatism is an irregularly shaped cornea which can be corrected with toric contact lenses.
Toric contact lenses are made in disposable, frequent replacement, multifocal and colored lenses and come in both soft and rigid gas permeable designs.
Toric contact lenses come in several options and your eyecare practitioner will help you select the lenses best for your eyes. Multifocal toric contacts offer correction for presbyopia and astigmatism.
Overall, contact lenses are a easy way to treat eye vision problems. Presbyopia and astigmatism correction can be achieved with a small adjustment period without the hassle of eyeglasses. A visit to your eye care practitioner can help you with the best lens choice and replacement schedule for you.
Concerned about eye health and protecting your vision?
With reason! Our eyes are complex and exquisite structures. You can provide vision health support nutritionally.
There is a formulation that provides healthy amounts of bilberry extract, lutein and zeaxanthan to support circulation and eye structure. You can read more about eye health and occular nutrition supplementation here.
Supporting eye health with the proper nutrients can help ensure that our eyes remain healthy and functioning as we age.
Leave a Reply