Bifocal Lenses
If you are having trouble reading while you wear your prescription glasses, it may be time for bifocal lenses!
Bifocal lenses are lenses for eyeglasses that combine two prescriptions into one pair of glasses. The top part of the lens will adjust the person's vision for distance, and the lower half of the lens will adjust for items that are close to the person's eyes, such as reading material. The section of the lens that is used to look at things near to the eye can be as large as the entire bottom half of the bifocal lenses, or quite small, such as a little circle or half circle.
When you are wearing bifocal eyeglasses, you will look up through the top portion when you are looking at something far away. This is the normal way you look at items that are at a distance, and takes very little getting used to. However, when you read you will need to look down into the special portion of the lens, and this does take some getting use to. The reading portion will generally be lined up with the lower portion of your eyelid.
There are many benefits to bifocal lenses. The only alternative is to have two pairs of glasses - one for looking at distant objects and one for reading. This is not a good alternative, because there are numerous situations you will face every day that require you to look both at a distance and nearby at the same time. For example, if you are driving in an unfamiliar location, you will need to be able to see the road and your map at the same time.
People who need bifocal eyeglasses are those who have a condition known as presbyopia. Presbyopia is a combination of two conditions, the hardening of the eye’s lens and the difficulty of focusing. As we age, our eyes naturally begin to harden. The lens is a mobile part of the body, and when it hardens, it can no longer adjust to changes needed to focus on near and far objects. This creates a difficulty whenever you try to focus. As a result, when you look up from reading, or look down from looking far away, your eyes will struggle to focus. This is a sign that you may be in need of bifocal eyeglasses. This condition usually begins around the age of forty-five.
How will you know when you need bifocals? Most likely you will find that it is harder and harder for you to read items in your hand. You find yourself reaching your arm out farther and farther to try to read things. One day, your arm will no longer be long enough to allow you to read what is in your hand. No, your arm did not shrink – this is the result of presbyopia! This means it is time to see your eye doctor – you just might be in need of bifocals. Reading glasses will help, but if you already wear glasses, this condition will mean constantly switching between reading glasses and your normal pair, unless you get bifocal lenses.
When shopping for bifocal lenses, it is important to choose a good eye doctor. As with any other health professional, you will want to take your time to choose the best possible eye doctor. Remember, the health of your eyes is not something to take lightly.
When shopping for bifocal eyeglasses, it is best to choose a reputable doctor. This is the time to ask your friends and family whom they recommend. Perhaps they have a favorite doctor who is still taking new patients. You can also browse the Internet to find professional organizations for eye doctors. These websites will usually have contact information for their members, and you can use them to get in contact with several eye doctors in your area.
Remember, bifocals are a specialized type of eyeglasses. You may want to talk to others that you know who currently have bifocals before you make your appointment. You will be paying more for your bifocal eyeglasses than you did for your current pair, so make sure you are getting a good doctor!
Perhaps while you have been shopping for an eye doctor for your bifocal lenses you have come across the terms ophthalmologist and optometrist. If you have, you may be wondering what the difference between these two types of eye doctors is, and which one you should use for your bifocal lens needs. These two terms confuse many patients, so you are in good company!
An ophthalmologist is an eye doctor who has a medical physician’s degree. This means he went to four years of regular college, four years of medical school, and four years of residency. He is an expert in treating eye diseases and may even be qualified to perform some surgeries. This is the best choice for all of your eye health needs, including bifocal lenses, but is also the most expensive choice.
An optometrist is also a doctor, but he only had eight years of study. He pursued the four year undergraduate degree and then four years of optometry training. Optometrists do an excellent job of prescribing eyeglasses and contacts, but do not usually treat eye diseases. Unless you have an eye disease, however, going to an optometrist for your bifocals is usually sufficient.
Trifocal lenses are, as their name implies, lenses that have three sections, rather than two. Presbyopia creates difficulty focusing at all ranges. Bifocals allow you to focus on items that are near and far, but what about those items, such as your computer screen, that are in the middle? Many people with presbyopia have trouble focusing on objects that are at an intermediate distance from their eyes. Trifocals fit this need. They have a third area in the lens, usually above the reading lens and below the distance lens, that corrects for those items that you need to view that are somewhat nearby.
Not everyone who has presbyopia needs trifocals. Much of the time the need for trifocals depends on the work the person does. A person who spends a large amount of time looking at a computer screen, for example, is more likely to need the help of trifocals than someone who works construction or teaches for a living.
There are many alternatives to traditional bifocals for the modern patient. Most people feel that the look of bifocals indicates age, particularly because traditional bifocal lenses have a visible line between the two parts of the glass. You can, however, have the benefit of bifocal lenses without this line!
Progressive lenses eliminate this line, creating bifocals and even trifocals that cannot be seen when someone is looking at the wearer. These glasses are sometimes called no-line bifocals. Progressive lenses divide the lens of the pair of glasses into several sections. At the top of the lens will be the distance portion, where you look at things that are far from you. There is an intermediate zone in the middle that allows you to focus on items that are fairly close, such as your computer. Then at the bottom there is a near vision section that allows you to read. Therefore, they are more similar to trifocals than they are to bifocals.
The benefit of progressive lenses is that the glass transitions smoothly from one section to the other. This is often easier on your eyes, and it hides the fact that you are wearing bifocals. A good eye doctor will help you by measuring your eyes to align the glasses to your particular eye shape. This means that the different sectors of the glasses will line up with where you would normally be looking. Then to train your mind to use the new glasses, all you have to do is point your nose to the item you want to look at. Your eyes will automatically be lined up to see and focus on that object.
Even if you have worn glasses all of your life, adjusting to bifocals takes some time. Your eye is not used to having to look through different areas when you want to read versus when you want to look far away. You should give yourself some time to adjust to bifocal eyeglasses after you first get them.
You may find yourself looking through the top portion, which is the portion of the lens intended for distance viewing, when you are trying to read. This happens when you drop your head completely to read, which may be your habit. You will need to train yourself to keep your head up slightly, and look through the lower portion of your bifocal lenses.
Sometimes you may find that you are looking through the bottom portion when you are looking at distance objects. Again, this will take time as you train your eyes where to look. Some people experience nausea and headaches while they are adjusting to the new lenses, but they do eventually adjust. In the end, people with bifocal glasses usually find that the convenience far outweighs any inconvenience they experienced while adjusting to the glasses.
Whether you have bifocals, trifocals, or progressive lenses, give yourself time to adjust. Adjustment can be short for some people, but can last several days for others. Look for a doctor that allows you a trial period, during which you can return the glasses for a different style of shape if you cannot adjust to them.
Contact lens wearers often balk at the diagnosis of bifocal lenses. They do not want to give up their non-glasses appearance, and many will not get the bifocals even when desperately needed. This, however, is a sad fact, because there are now bifocal contact lenses for patients such as these!
Bifocal contacts, like bifocal eyeglasses, have two different prescriptions melded into one pair of contacts. One type of bifocal contacts is the translating bifocal contacts. These lenses are almost the same as bifocal eyeglasses. The top section of the lens is prescribed for distance, and the lower portion is prescribed for those items near you. Your pupil will look through the appropriate section as needed. These lenses will be weighted so they stay in the right place on your eye.
Another type of bifocal contacts is the concentric ring contact. This contact has alternating rings of near and distance prescriptions around the pupil. Again, your eye will learn how to look through the different rings while you are wearing the contacts. Finally, aspheric multi-focal contact lenses blend near and far prescriptions in the same way that progressive eyeglass lenses do. This is the most popular form of bifocal contacts on the market today. However, your eye doctor will help you decide which type is the best for you if you should decide to try bifocal contacts.
No loner are bifocal lenses only for the elderly. As the “baby boom” generation is needing them more and more frequently, eye doctors and scientists are finding ways to make bifocal lenses less conspicuous. As such, progressive lenses no longer have the telltale line that shows the world that you are wearing bifocals.
In fact, some patients who need reading glasses but not other prescription glasses are opting for bifocals instead. They will buy a pair of bifocals with a non-prescription lens on the top portion and a reading lens on the lower portion. This allows them to keep the glasses on at all times, eliminating the need for constantly carrying and putting on cumbersome reading glasses. And, since so many eyeglasses are quite fashionable, they can make a fashion statement at the same time!
If you are tired of switching between reading glasses and your normal glasses or if you are tired of struggling to read things, then you need to go to your eye doctor and talk about prescription bifocal eyeglasses. You can have the ability to see everything around you again. Just keep in mind that it might take you a little while to adjust to the bifocals once you get them. If you give yourself the time necessary to adjust, you will find that bifocals give you your eyesight back again!