The Future Of Progressive Contact Lenses Is Here!

There is a defining moment in the lives of every glasses wearer: that day when you get sick and tired of wearing glasses. There is a very good chance this moment of unease will come after your prescription has become more complex, with bifocal or progressive lenses replacing simpler up-close or long-distance glasses. You feel dependent on your glasses, insecure without them. And, more often than not, wishing there was a simpler, more comfortable and – why not? – less obtrusive and more elegant way to deal with the multiple vision issues that pop up sometime after our 40th birthday. You consider contact lenses, even give them a try… but end up quitting because they’re either imprecise or uncomfortable. 

The good news is – there is a solution. And the even better news is – the solution has been majorly upgraded.

Contact lenses have been with us since 1888 when German ophthalmologist Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick constructed and fitted the first successful contact lens. They were made from heavy blown glass, with a 18–21mm in diameter, and Fick filled the empty space between cornea/callosity and glass with a dextrose solution. Of course they were neither efficient nor comfortable. But Fick’s work (which was actually based on Leonardo da Vinci’s and Descartes’ experiments that, in the 16th and 17th centuries, uncovered the mechanisms of accommodation of the eye) paved the way to a series of discoveries that led, in the mid-20th century to the contact lenses we know now.

The evolution from rigid to soft lenses, and from soft lenses to high oxygen permeable lenses expanded the range of users and possibilities. We now have overnight contacts, daily/disposable lenses, lenses that retain moisture.

But how about multifocal lenses? A later introduction to the roster of contact lenses, multifocal contacts have multiple focal points, just like progressive eyeglass lenses. This is especially useful when correcting something that affects us all after our 40th birthday: presbyopia, a condition that is part of natural aging and affects the eye’s ability to focus on nearby objects, causing them to appear blurry and out of focus. 

Presbyopia is made more difficult to address with contacts due to another condition of 40+ users: dry eyes. Many contact lens wearers discontinue the use of contact lenses after age 40 due to dryness, discomfort and visual acuity issues.

And here’s the even better news: we can replace our progressive glasses for multifocal lenses with contacts that offer a whole new level of precision and comfort. A brand new generation of multifocal contacts incorporates new technology that reduces end-of-day dryness, with a hydrophilic (water-loving) surface that is almost as soft as the surface of the cornea. 

Ready to ditch the glasses? Hoping you could have a choice for the gym, sports, special occasions? Your eye doctor is the best person to evaluate your chances of adapting to the new generation of multifocal contacts. Make an appointment now and get ready for a whole new world vision. At Ooh LaLa Optometry Dr. Ana Vargas will fit you with the new, state of the art bifocal /multifocal contacts – and you get a free trial pair with the fitting!