You most likely have a condition that goes by the name of presbyopia. Presbyopia is normally identified when the ability of the eyes to focus on near objects is reduced with age. This is due to reduced elasticity of the lenses of the eyes.



People are often born with either nearsightedness or farsightedness. The first occurs when the eyes can see nearby objects clearly but distant objects are blurred, and the latter is where distant objects are focused more clearly than near objects.

Presbyopia on the other hand, is a condition normally associated with advancing age. You may become aware of the condition when you find you have to hold the restaurant menu at arms length to be able to read it.

Presbyopia affects the majority of people in their 40s and 50s, but some privileged men and women may only experience it at a much later age.

All is not lost for people with presbyopia. A number of options are available to manage the condition. You may consider wearing bifocal spectacles, but technology has given you the altogether better option of using bifocal contact lenses.

Bifocal contact lenses have been around for around 70 years; they first became available in the 1930s. The original bifocal contact lense were similar to the early bifocal spectacles, where a distinct line could be observed between the lenses.

The materials and techniques used to manufacture those first generation contact lenses were far inferior to what is available today.

Bifocal contact lenses made especially rapid progress after the early 1980s. Daily wear bifocal soft contacts became available for commercial use in 1982 and disposable bifocal soft contact lenses were first introduced in 1999.

An exciting development is that hybrid lense, that have a rigid gas permeable center and a soft outer skirt, have made their appearance in the summer of 2006. A hybrid lens for presbyopia is amongst the first of these modern generation lenses to become available.

Contact lens technology has now evolved to the point where bifocal lenses are not difficult to use at all. If you at first find them problematic you can rest assured that you will soon get the hang of them. It will become second nature to put in and take out your bifocal contact lenses, and forget about them in between.