Whether you are short sighted (Myopic) or longsighted (Hypermetropic), as you age your eyes find it more difficult to focus close up, that’s why so many older people wear reading glasses, but getting old is no reason to give up your contact lenses.
Traditionally, once a contact lens wearer reached about 45 years of age and starts to have problems reading with their contact lenses in, the only option for the Optometrist was to prescribe reading glasses to be worn over the contact lenses - hardly an ideal solution, when the whole point of contact lenses is NOT to wear glasses!
To address this issue, and to provide customers with a convenient way to read with their contact lenses, without having to wear glasses over the top, all of the major contact lens companies like Johnson & Johnson and Alcon put huge amounts of money into the research and development of Multifocal contact lenses.
Manufacturers worked on the innovative technical processes to incorporate two separate powers - distance and reading powers - into ONE contact lens.
The result of all this research was that in 1998 Ciba Vision (now Alcon) were the first to release a daily disposable multifocal contact lens - Focus Daily Progressives -
The research didn’t stop there, manufacturers soon started to incorporate the advanced silicone hydrogel material to bring a wide range of Multifocal contact lenses on to the market, such as Johnson and Johnson’s 1 Day Acuvue Moist Multifocal and Alcons Air Optix Plus HydraGlyde.
Unfortunately you cannot just switch to Multifocal contact lenses, they require a specific prescription, they can be more complex to get the powers exactly right, and it is strongly recommended that you have a full sight test and multifocal contact lens trial with your Optometrists before buying these lenses. Even a small error in distance or reading powers can make it difficult to see optimally with multifocal lenses.
You may find that although multifocal contact lenses are as comfortable as your regular contact lenses, you will need to allow a little time to adjust using them , many people take just a few days, other take a couple of weeks and a few people find they can’t adapt to them at all.
You will notice differences in your multifocal contact lens prescription than in your regular prescription, this is because a multifocal contact lens prescription needs to indicate the amount of additional power required, this is normally referred to as the Add power - this can ether be a number preceded with a sign, i.e +1.25 or may be indicated as Low, Med or High, you may also see a N or D, this stands for Addition Dominance and is an indication of which eye requires Near and which Dominant powers.
All contact lenses prescriptions require the measurements for
A prescription for Multifocal Contact lenses will also include
Your Multifocal contact lens prescription will look similar to this, but may differ slightly depending on the brand of contact lens prescribed
Name of Contact Lens |
BC | DIA | SPH | ADD | D or N |
Left Eye | 8.6 | 14.0 | -2.25* | +1.50 | D |
Right Eye |
8.6 | 14.0 | -1.75* | +1.50 | N |
*If you are long sighted this will preceded by a + sign and if you are neither short or long sighted the value will be 0.00
**D or N is not required or all multifocal contact lens prescriptions
* | * | * |
For People who need Reading glasses but don’t want to use them. | Great for making you look younger for longer. | Available as daily, monthly and extended wear lenses. |
Types Of Multifocal Contact lenses
Our Customers Top 5 Multifocal Contact lenses
How Much Do Multifocal Contact Lenses Cost
Why Are Multifocal Contact Lenses Different To Regular Contact Lenses
Getting The Best Out Of Your Multifocal Contact Lenses
Best Multifocal Contact Lenses For
FAQ’s
Multifocal contact lenses are available in a wide range of fittings and can correct short sightedness and long sightedness, they are available as
They are also available in different wearing modes
1 Day Acuvue Moist Multifocal | 1 Day Acuvue Moist Multifocal With LACREON technology contain a moisturising substance that helps the contact lenses retain moisture from morning to late evening. Made from breathable etafilcon A, with a unique, eye inspired back-curve design to help keep the lenses in place. Our customers award them 4.5* |
|
Dailies AquaComfort Plus Multifocal | Dailies AquaComfort Plus Multifocal feature a Precision Profile Design for clear vision but also blink-activated moisture for outstanding comfort, refreshing your eyes after every blink. Our customers award them 5* |
|
Air Optix Multifocal Plus HydraGlyde | Air Optix Multifocal Plus HydraGlyde is a silicone hydrogel contact lens with enhanced Oxygen capabilities. Their HydraGlyde Moisture Matrix Technology is an innovative reconditioning agent that embeds in the lens and means the contact lenses retain moisture for longer.(2) Our customers award them 5* |
|
PureVision Multifocal | Purevision multifocals are a silicone hydrogel contact lens so have been approved for overnight wear** Made of a unique material called AerGel that lets natural levels of oxygen reach your eyes so that they stay comfortable and healthy. Our customers award them 4.6* |
|
Proclear 1 Day Multifocal | Proclear 1 Day Multifocal contain PC Technology, a material that attracts and maintains moisture, especially useful in multifocal contact lenses as presbyopic contact lens wearers often find their eyes get drier with age. Made to imitate the cells of the human eye resulting in a more natural visual experience. Our customers award them 5* |
**It is advisable to check with your eye care professional as to suitability before wearing overnight contact lenses.
Multifocals are slightly more expensive than regular single prescription contact lenses, this is due to their complex nature of manufacture, as they need to correct multiple vision issues within one lens, plus the extended time required to get the right fit for the customer.
The price you pay will depend on the type of lens you wear, for example hydrogel or Silicone hydrogel, how many lenses are in a box, plus whether you wear dailies, monthlies or extended wear.
Daily disposable Multifocal contact lenses start at £28.75 that's £57.50 per month or just £1.91 per day, and monthly disposables start at £46.99 for 6 lenses so that's £15.66 per month or 52p per day, not including solutions. You can by monthly contact lenses with just 3 lenses in the box which do work a little more expensive but means you can payout less but more often.
Regular contact lenses are designed to correct one vision problem such as short sightedness or long sighedness but multifocal contact lenses are designed to correct multiple visual needs, near, middle and distance, they eliminate the need for reading glasses as you get older.
Multifocal contact lenses come in two main designs
Your Optometrist will select the multifocal contact lens best suited for you. Many people adjunct to multifocal within a few days, some may take a couple of weeks and a small proportion of people are not able to tolerate them.
Multifocal contact lenses can take a little longer to fit and adapt to, be patient and you will reap the rewards
You may need 2 or 3 visits to your Optometrist to get the best fit and vision, then you will need to be patient, when first worn people can experience 3D vision or shadows, but this normally disappears once your brain adapts to the new way of seeing things.
Multifocal contacts lenses do not require any special handling, so treat them as you would any other contact lens, make sure you wear them, and care for them, as recommended by your Optometrist, so if you are wearing
Daily disposable contact lenses -you can simply throw the lenses out each evening and insert a fresh new pair each morning.
Monthly or Two disposable contact lenses - need to be removed every night, cleaned with an approved contact lens solution and stored in a contact lens case with fresh solution using this procedure:
Morning
Evening
Dispose two weekly contact lenses after 14 days and monthly contact lenses after 30 days
Extended wear contact lenses - remember to set a reminder to remove your lenses after 30 days, or less, if recommended by your Optometrist.
Sensitive Eyes | Dry Eyes | Active Lifestyle | Best Value | Best UV Protection |
Biofinity Multifocal | 1 Day Acuvue Moist Multifocal | Dailies AquaComfort Plus Multifocal | Purevision Multifocal | 1 Day Acuvue Moist Multifocal |