As you grow into adulthood, you may notice that you are no longer able to focus clearly on close objects. Reading a book or magazine requires you to hold it at arms length for comfortable reading. In fact, working at close range, say on a computer or writing by hand, may become an effort and even give you headaches. All these are signs of a gradually developing eye condition known as presbyopia. Presbyopia is age-related and inevitable even in people who have otherwise had no problems with their vision. However, solutions like bifocal contact lenses will ensure that you can carry on all your activities including fitness and sports activities, as usual.

Bifocal Lenses and Their Types

Bifocal lenses are essentially contact lenses that have two focus points i.e. they have two prescriptions in the same lens. The way the two prescriptions are fit in the lenses distinguishes the various types.

One type of bifocal contact lenses are known as the alternating bifocals which are designed on the lines of bifocal eyeglasses. They essentially have two parts - one top part for addressing nearsightedness and the lower part for correcting farsightedness. Depending on where you are seeing, far or nearby, your pupils will see through the top or bottom.

The other type of bifocal lenses are known as concentric ring bifocals which has one central ring of a certain power and then one or more concentric rings surrounding the central ring, of varying powers. Usually there will be at least two rings that will be within the pupil area. However, the pupil expands and then contracts because of the different amounts of light that comes in and will cover more rings.

You can find both types of bifocal lenses - soft contact lenses and the rigid gas permeable contact lenses. Some are available as daily disposables, which means that after using it for a day, you can just throw it away without having to worry about cleaning and reusing them. Some contact lenses are also available in the new silicone hydro gel material that allows one to use these lenses continuously for about 30 days and nights.

Determining What is Right for You

If you are growing into adulthood and have difficulty in reading, chances are you are developing presbyopia and your eye care provider will in all likelihood prescribe bifocals for you. If you would like to go in for a bifocal contact lens, the eye care provider will provide proper prescriptions for you and at times even help you determine which type may be more suited for your prescription. There are two important factors that eye doctors normally take into account while determining the bifocal contact lens - the pupil size and the prescription for nearsightedness. Of course, you may need to try out different designs and types of bifocal contact lenses before finding one that is comfortable for you and helps you perfectly with your vision at all distances. However, with many practitioners permitting free trial lenses, this should not be a problem.

So, go ahead and see if bifocal contact lenses really make some sense for you - you may just find the perfect companions for your eyes!