Q: Since my mid forties, I have been using readers or “cheaters” to read, and had one pair of glasses prescribed also. I just didn’t find the bifocal lenses easy to use. Any new options?
A: Yours is a very common situation, and yes, you have a couple good options.
First, if you truly got a pair of bifocals with a line to separate the top and bottom powers, you should instead move to a progressive lens. This design has mostly replace bifocals by giving you a gradual prescription change from distance to near as your eyes move from top to bottom of the lenses. Most patients find the new designs in progressives to be easy to use and really love them. A word of caution, as there are over 400 designs/brands of progressives sold! They very enormously in optics and precision. Invest in a new and superior design.
Second, and even better for many, are multifocal contacts. These soft lenses are first of all extremely comfortable. Most people forget the lenses are even on during the day! The lenses today provide a smooth range of vision from near to intermediate to distance…..without having to move your head or eyes up or down. The design is different than glasses and more natural for many patients. I think we are like most offices in that when you first are prescribed multifocal contacts, you should receive a sample or diagnostic pair of lenses to wear in your normal life a week or more to see how your vision seems. Unlike glasses, there is more variation in the final prescription and lens design with contacts, so that about a third of the time, we will make a little change in the lens power or design after you give us feedback about your vision in your normal routine. And these lenses come in two versions: monthly lenses you will remove each night to soak in a disinfecting solution, and dailies that you discard each night and replace with a perfect new pair each morning. Both give great optics and comfort.
Talk with your eye doctor at your next exam to see if your vision prescription is available in both options, and if you’d like to be free of glasses, try out the new multifocal contacts!