Multifocal Lenses

A universal aspect of approaching middle age is the need for vision correction up close. Traditionally, this can be approached with spectacle lens options such as bifocals, progressives, or even over-the-counter readers, however, we also have many contact lens options that allow patients to achieve both distance and near vision correction.

Multifocal contact lenses allow for the simultaneous vision of distance and up close through two types of lens designs:

• Aspheric - The power spread from distance to near as smoothly distributed across the lens

• Concentric - Distinct optical zone rings exist that alternate power between distance and near

Multifocal contact lenses come in a variety of modalities and include:

• Daily soft multifocal contact lenses

• Monthly/biweekly soft multifocal contact lenses

• Rigid gas-permeable (hard) multifocal contact lenses

• Scleral multifocal contact lenses

Besides multifocal contact lenses, monovision, a method of vision correction in which one eye is corrected for distance and the other eye is corrected for up close, is another option that can be explored in soft contact lenses, rigid gas permeable lenses, and scleral lenses.