Eye problems are a common occurrence. Whether a person is nearsighted, farsighted or suffering from other problems, eyesight needs some corrections. Thankfully, there have been ways to correct eyes for a long period of time. Spectacles and monocles were developed to assist. This continued to lead to other advances in glasses including bifocals. Eventually, contact lenses took the lead.
Contacts provide all of the vision correction of glasses, but don’t change the look of a person’s face. For most people, it’s completely indistinguishable to tell that they are wearing contact lenses. This appeals to people who do not like to wear glasses. Their appearance is exactly how they want it to be, while there’s no fear of losing or breaking their glasses. Contacts are a vital part of eye health for many people.
Types of Contact Lenses
Despite what many people think, there are actually a large number of different types of contact lenses. The type of contact that a person wears will usually come down to personal preference. All of them can provide vision correction, but some are more convenient to purchase or wear depending on your routine. Types of contacts include:
- Disposable Soft Contacts - Typically, disposable contact lenses are intended to be worn for a maximum of one month. Some are supposed to be worn for just one day. Ones that last longer than a day need to be cleaned after each use. This is the most common form of contacts currently sold. These contacts need to be replaced on a schedule.
- Daily wear contacts - These contacts are designed to be worn during the day and then removed before sleeping. They are kept until the next morning and then placed in again.
- Extended Contacts - These contact lenses are a bit more rare because they can be worn at night. It’s noted that there are some risks for people who wear extended contacts. They may see other side effects.
- Spherical Contacts - These contacts are very specific. They are designed for people with myopia, hyperopia and presbyopia.
- Toric Contacts - These lenses are cylindrical. They actually rely on a person’s eyelid and gravity to rotate around to the angle that’s needed.
- Multifocal Contacts - These will be discussed further in the next section.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Just like a person can get bifocals when they require more than one prescription, multi focal contacts offer that same convenience in a contact lens. When it comes to a person’s eye, prescriptions will typically focus on three different areas of vision. One prescription is for short range, one for long range, and the third prescription is for intermediate distances. Multifocal lenses can include these all into a single lens.
Multifocal lenses tend to offer a number of benefits. Typically, it provides better vision. There is less of an abrupt switch between prescriptions as these lenses work gradually. It’s unlike bifocals in this way. While these are benefits, it’s not perfect.
There are unfortunately downsides to multifocal contact lenses as well. Since they change gradually between prescriptions, there’s additional glare and shadows while they are adjusting. Also, some people find the experience disorienting when going from short to long range viewing (or vice versa). Finally, multifocal lenses are more expensive. Some people prefer to get contacts with longer range prescriptions, then just use some reading glasses for short viewing situations.