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Multifocal Contact Lenses: An Excellent Choice for Presbyopia

Bausch & Lomb | Multi-Focal Contact Lenses

Along with graying hair, wrinkles, and other tell-tale signs that we are getting older is a condition of the eyes called, Presbyopia. Presbyopia is from the Greek word, “presbys” which means, “old man, or “elder” in conjunction with the Latin term “-opia,” which means, “eye.” It burdens us with less ability to see things close up.

The signs of Presbyopia can be first noticed around 40 years of age. In low light, reading small print begins to become more difficult. Also, eyestrain becomes a problem after reading for long periods of time. When reading, it becomes more and more necessary for the sufferer to have their reading material further and further away in order to focus. This symptom is even more prevalent, in lower light conditions. But, conversely, it becomes less of a problem in brighter light conditions. That is because, like a camera’s lens, the lens of the eye or “iris,” closes down to a smaller diameter to let in less light. In doing so, the focal ratio increases the variant in distance, so that the depth of field is greater. It means that we can see more normally; seeing less objects out of focus.

Since Presbyopia is a naturally occurring symptom of old age, it is basically incurable; just like graying hair or wrinkles. But, just as we can touch up and color gray hair, or put creams and ointments on our skin to diminish wrinkles, we can reduce the symptoms of Presbyopia with reading glasses or contact lenses.

In the case of contact lens, there are at least two methods that people use to help them with reduce the symptoms of Presbyopia. One is the “monovision” method. In this process, a person would choose to wear two different prescriptions of contact lens; one to correct an eye for seeing objects that are near, and one for seeing objects that are far away. But, this method of correction is based on older technology. Science has now provided us with multifocal contact lenses; allowing us to see better in varying situations of light and distance.

Multifocal contact lenses are an excellent choice for correcting Presbyopia in that they eliminate the need for glasses, while providing good far and near distance vision. Some multifocal contact lenses work with a bifocal design with two different lens powers built in; one for distance and the other for close up. The other common design is “progressive” in that there is a gradual change in the power of the lens so that a person has more of a natural experience of transitioning between close-up and far distances.

Multifocal contact lenses also come in a soft, or a rigid style; for daily wear or extended wear. Wearing contact lenses overnight or for extended periods of time would require the extended or rigid style, while the occasional use of contact lenses would allow you to choose the soft multifocal contact lenses style.

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Presbyopia

There is little doubt that we all will experience aging in one form or another. Grey hair, wrinkles, loss of hearing and not being able to read a book without the assistance of eyeglasses or mulitfocal contact lenses are all signs that the human growth hormone switch has been turned off and we are getting older. One of the biggest challenges that we face as we age is diminished eyesight. Presbyopia or the inability to focus on objects close to us is a condition that can occur anytime after 40 or 50. Actually the inability to focus on objects close to us is a gradual process. As we age the ciliary muscles that straighten and bend the eye lens lose power. Our eye lens changes its curvature due to muscle issues. There is a loss of crystalline lens elasticity, which creates the condition known as Presbyopia.

The focusing mechanism is an interesting one. The lens of the eye is suspended using tension from a membrane known as the zonula. When the ciliary muscle contracts tension is released and the lens flattens to see and read at the near point or the closest point that the eye can focus on. Some medical professionals believe that the ciliary muscles are ligaments, which are not under the control of the nervous system. Regardless of whether they are muscles or ligaments, the fact remains that the aging process does weaken them and that could be the result of a HGH deficiency.

The cure for Presbyopia through the years has been reading glasses with lenses that magnifies the print or the object of interest. Multifocal contact lenses are now available that have the ability to bring distant and near vision into focus without the need for reading glasses. There are other types of multifocal contact lenses that gradually change in lens power. Progressive eyeglass lenses are available in soft or the rigid version, which is also known as gas permeable lens material. They can be worn daily and certain designs can be worn overnight. Multifocal soft contact lenses are also made as a disposable product that can be discarded at the end of the day, which means there’s no need to clean them or care for them in any way.

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