We fit spherical, astigmatic toric, and multifocal contact lenses
Bifocal and multifocal contact lenses are designed to give you good vision when you reach your 40s. Beginning at this age, you may need to hold reading material – like a menu or newspaper – farther from your eyes to see it clearly. This condition is called “presbyopia.”
Bifocal and multifocal contact lenses are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable (GP) materials.
Bifocal contacts lenses (like bifocal eyeglass lenses) have two powers – one for seeing clearly far away and one for seeing clearly up close. Multifocal contact lenses, like progressive eyeglass lenses, have a range of powers for seeing clearly far away, up close and everywhere in between. (“Multifocal” is also used as a catch-all term for all lenses with more than one power, including bifocals.)
Most people who try multifocal contact lenses are happy with them. But some compromises may be necessary when you wear these lenses. For example, your distance vision with multifocal contact lenses may not seem clear enough, or you may have trouble with glare at night or not being able to see small print.
In some cases, a person with presbyopia may prefer monovision or modified monovision. Both of these fitting strategies use single vision lenses – that is, lenses that each have only one power – instead of multifocals.
In monovision, you wear a single vision contact lens on one eye for your distance vision and a single vision contact lens on the other eye that has a prescription for your near vision. In modified monovision, you wear a single vision “distance lens” on one eye and a multifocal contact lens on the other eye to help you see better up close.
To determine the best contact lenses for your vision needs when you reach “bifocal age,” call our office for a consultation.
If you have astigmatism – a common condition where the eye isn’t perfectly round, but more football- or egg-shaped – then you’ll need specially designed contact lenses to achieve clear vision.
You have several options: “Toric” soft contact lenses are the most common choice, but there are also gas permeable (RGP or GP) lenses and hybrid lenses
When you have astigmatism, different meridians of your eye need different amounts of correction for nearsightedness or farsightedness. Imagine the front of your eye is like the face of a clock: A line drawn from the 12 to the 6 is one meridian, a line from the 1 to the 7 is another, and so on.
Soft toric contact lenses have different powers in different meridians of the lens to correct variations in the eye’s shape. They also have design elements to keep the lens from rotating on your eye, so the meridians of the lens stay aligned with the meridians of your eye.
Today, you can choose from many brands and styles of soft toric lenses. So if Brand A doesn’t fit properly or rotates too much, Brand B may perform better. Getting a good toric fit might mean trying a few brands of lenses.
Call Now (702) 794-2020 and receive Top Quality Eye Care for you and your Family
