I wear bifocals or reading glasses - can I still wear contact lenses?

In most cases, yes! Around the age of 40, give or take, the focusing system of the eye becomes less flexible, a normal aging process called presbyopia. When this occurs, there are a number of contact lens options available to people.

Some people prefer to have both eyes corrected for distance vision and have a pair of reading glasses to wear over the contact lenses in cases where clear near vision is needed. Another option some people are successful with is called monovision. Monovision is where one eye, typically the dominant eye, is corrected fully for distance, and the other eye is slightly undercorrected in order to see up close. Although the eyes aren’t fully working together at all times, the brain learns to adapt, and many people very successfully wear monovision.

There are also bifocal contact lenses available. In general, these lenses provide patients with good vision most of the time, at most distances, and in most lighting conditions. Bifocal contact lenses are available both in soft lenses and rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses. Within these groups there are two basic designs – alternating and simultaneous. Alternating designs work very much like bifocal glasses where the top portion correct for distance and the bottom portion corrects for reading. There is a definite area of the lens for each working distance. Simultaneous designs allow clear distance and near vision at the same time. Some of these lenses have concentric rings of distance and near correction, while others are more like the no-line glasses (or progressive lenses) and the power changes from the center out to the edge of the contact lens.

The process for fitting bifocal contact lenses can be time consuming because the fit of the lenses, the vision in the distance, and the vision up close all must be considered. If you and your doctor decide that this is the best option for you, be patient with lens changes because the final outcome will be worth it.