Sooner or later, it comes the time to start using progressive lenses. In fact, at the age of around 40-45 years, people face difficulty in seeing near objects. This problem is not a disease or something that should worry you. The proper name of this problem is “presbyopia”.
What is presbyopia
Presbyopia is actually a fact of life, due to natural aging of the eyes. This natural process is gradual. You might start to notice this issue when you need to keep your phone or your book further away, in order to be able to read.
Presbyopia is due to the hardening of the “crystal lenses” that are inside your eyes. As the crystal lenses harden, they become less flexible. Hence, they are not able to change shape as they used to. As a result, your eyes lose the ability to focus properly at near objects.
Your options: Reading glasses, bifocal lenses, or progressive lenses
Like other issues that come with aging, this problem can be annoying. One possible solution for people with presbyopia is to have two pairs of single-vision glasses: one for distant view and another set for viewing close-up objects.
But it is quite inconvenient to carry two sets of eyeglasses all the time. Here, progressive lenses act as a saviour. People refer to progressive lenses with various names, sometimes as multifocal lenses, or also as varifocal lenses. How we call them is not really important. This is just to clarify that all these are actually the same kind of lenses.
The ideal solution for presbyopia
Progressive lenses are an updated version of bifocal and trifocal lenses. Bifocal lenses were used more often in the past, by people who had difficulty to see both distant and close objects.
With advances in technology, progressive lenses have replaced bifocal lenses in most instances. Progressive lenses are designed with invisible zones demarcating the different prescription areas in the eyeglasses.
The upper section of these lenses provides the strength to view distant objects, while the lower section provides the power needed for nearby objects. The middle section is for clear viewing at an intermediate distance. Hence, these lenses provide a gradual transition in strength from top to bottom.
Although the need for multifocal lenses increases with age, it can also be an appropriate option for children and youngsters with both nearsightedness and farsightedness. In fact, anti-fatigue lenses, or digital lenses, are a special type of progressive lenses.
And myopia-control lenses developed for nearsighted children are another special type of progressive lenses. Conversely, children with high hyperopia, that is farsightedness, also benefit from using progressive lenses.
The merits of progressive lenses
Apart from correcting vision problems, multifocal lenses offer numerous other advantages. Some of them are listed here:
- Eliminate the need for two pairs of single-vision glasses. One of the most appreciated advantages of these lenses is that they eliminate the need to carry two eyeglasses. In a working environment, it is very inconvenient for people to handle two single-vision glasses. Progressive lenses make it possible to see clearly, both near and distant objects without the need to carry two pairs and keep changing between them.
- Younger appearance. Bifocal and trifocal lenses have lines that are visible across the lens. This might make one feel self-conscious, like a sign of age. But with multifocal lenses, this is not a problem anymore as they do not have a visible demarcation.
- No sudden changes in image clarity. Bifocal lenses have a sudden change in power as the eyes cross the line on the lenses. Furthermore, there is also a jump of the image, as the objects seem to have changed position when we look through the two different parts of bifocal lenses. Unlike bifocal lenses, progressive lenses have a gradual shift in lens strength. Hence, one has to not deal with any sudden changes in clarity.
Conclusion: Get your progressive lenses today!
Even though progressive lenses offer numerous benefits over other lenses, your eyes might take time to adjust to them. There is usually an adaptation period, especially for patients who wear them for the first time.
So, do not wait any longer. Get your eyes tested by qualified optometrists in Singapore and get your first pair of progressive lenses from the best optical shop: Visio Optical.
Check our our offer of premium progressive lenses, and also our large collection of designer eyewear. And don’t forget to BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT with us today.