Clear Vision at Every Distance with Multifocal Contacts

Multifocal contact lenses are specialized lenses designed to address presbyopia, a common age-related vision condition that affects near vision. They're also ideal for children with myopia as they correct vision and slow its progression.

Multifocal contact lenses contain multiple prescription powers within the same lens, allowing for clear vision at various distances—near, intermediate, and far.

Who Can Benefit from Multifocal Contacts?

Multifocal contact lenses are particularly beneficial for individuals over the age of 40 who are experiencing presbyopia. This age-related condition affects almost everyone as they age, causing difficulty reading fine print or focusing on objects up close. Traditionally, reading glasses or bifocals corrected presbyopia, but multifocal contacts offer a more convenient and aesthetically pleasing alternative.

These lenses are also ideal for children with worsening vision caused by nearsightedness, as they can help slow the progression of myopia and reduce the need for stronger prescriptions over time. By providing clearer vision and greater control over myopia, these lenses offer a proactive approach to managing your child's eye health, ensuring they enjoy better vision both now and in the future.

Main Types of Multifocal Contacts

Concentric Ring Design: These lenses have alternating rings with different prescription strengths. Typically, the center of the lens is for either near or distance vision, with rings around it that gradually shift to the opposite prescription. This design is common in soft lenses and is effective for various vision needs.
Aspheric Design: Aspheric multifocal lenses gradually transition between different prescription powers across the lens surface, much like progressive eyeglass lenses. This design allows for a smoother transition between near and far vision and is often preferred by those who need correction for intermediate distances, such as computer work.
Segmented Design: Segmented multifocal lenses, also known as translating or bifocal lenses, have distinct sections for near and distance vision, similar to bifocal eyeglasses. These lenses are usually rigid gas-permeable and ideal for those needing clear vision at specific distances without blending between focal points.

How Do Multifocal Contacts Work?

Multifocal contact lenses incorporate multiple prescription strengths into a single lens, allowing your eyes to focus at different distances simultaneously. The brain automatically adjusts to the appropriate focal point depending on whether you're looking at something near, like reading a book, or far, like driving.

In concentric ring and aspheric designs, the brain learns to interpret the visual information from the different zones in the lens, which can take a short adjustment period. Segmental designs, on the other hand, work by aligning the appropriate lens section with your line of sight as you shift your gaze between different distances.

Special lenses like MiSight are designed specifically for myopia management in children. MiSight lenses use a unique dual-focus design that not only corrects distance vision but also creates a peripheral defocus, which helps slow the progression of myopia. By managing how light focuses on the retina, MiSight lenses can reduce the rate of myopia progression, helping to preserve better vision for your child as they grow.