Bifocal contact lenses are a fairly new innovation giving those with the need for two vision prescriptions the opportunity to do away with eyeglasses. Twenty years ago, those needing two prescriptions had to settle for eye glass lenses that had that horrid two lens division, which for many spelled out the fact that someone was "over the hill." It was at least as telling as the person that had to wear the half eye glasses frame but then came the miracle of the combined eyeglass lens. No more could anyone tell that someone was over the hill by their eye glasses. Now all they could do is just decide that was true by their hair color! Such a relief to have the horrid divided lens gone forever. Really, who could think that gray hair meant someone was aging?
But then even the person who once needed bifocals could now look twenty years younger with bifocal contact lenses. At least that is what the ads said for them and who can argue with advertisements? With the advancements in lens manufacturing, the ability to carve a small zone of gas permeable plastic has created the opportunity to dump those forever slipping down the nose frames. There is no longer wandering around the house looking for the place those glasses were laid, now a person can get on their hands and knees and search for that little thing no bigger than a dime and blends into any background. Life does get better with bifocal contact lenses. Our hope is always that life will get a little better with that new car, those new contacts, that new digital TV or that automatic coffeemaker, but sadly, they usually lose their aura after the honeymoon. Jesus Christ makes this promise: "...I am come that they may have life and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10b)
So you have made the decision to go and get bifocal contact lenses, and the next choice is to settle on the doctor who will do the examination. The choice will be between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist. An optometrist is a doctor who has had four years of training beyond a college degree. He or she is licensed to diagnose vision problems and can prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses and test for things such as glaucoma and other diseases and are permitted to administer drugs in the pursuit of a diagnosis of eye diseases. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who has specialized in the treatment of all eye issues and most do surgery at least occasionally with such procedures as LASIK. It is possible that an exam may be more expensive with an ophthalmologist, but this is not written in stone and in almost all cases, exams for bifocal contact lenses will cost more than exams for glasses alone. And most of the exams that a person receives as part of getting bifocal contact lenses will be performed by both doctors.
Standard tests will first be given to discover one's level of myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and perhaps presbyopia. Those medical terms, meaning nearsightedness, farsightedness, all over blurry vision and vision problems caused by aging will be evaluated and then a decision will be made as to whether or not bifocal contact lenses will be effective with the patient's prescription. There may be some prescriptions that do not respond well to these kinds of contact lenses, but it is rare that these situations would arise. In fact, even those who wear trifocals can be prescribed vision correction in the form of contacts. But there is one option to wearing bifocal contacts for many persons.
Some patients may react more positively to what is called monovision than to both eyes wearing bifocal contact lenses. Oftentimes it takes a longer period of time for the wearer of contacts that are bifocals to adjust to the different powers on the lens. For people who have presbyopia, the answer may be two differing contacts; one eye for farsightedness and the other one for myopia. The distance vision contact is usually worn in the dominant eye. And while most bifocals in the form of contacts are more efficient in the gas permeable form, myopia lenses can be effective in the softer silicon type, even the ones that are disposable. Some people find this monovision set up as a comfortable alternative to the bifocal form of contacts but some people may find that depth perception is negatively affected and others may have to turn their head more often to get a comfortable view of certain objects.
It may be that some people may have a permanent alternative to contacts that are designed for those that need bifocals. For some forms of presbyopia, that is age related vision problems, there may be a form of LASIK monovision surgery that can address those issues. But a consultation with a LASIK surgeon will be important in order to make a correct diagnosis for one's candidacy for LASIK. In the late 1700's Benjamin Franklin put together the first pair of bifocals in the form of eyeglasses and began a revolution in vision correction. Today he would be amazed at the incredible soft discs that can go on the eye and correct the vision that so often drove him crazy in the years before his genius found an answer. We live in a pretty amazing time in history.
But then even the person who once needed bifocals could now look twenty years younger with bifocal contact lenses. At least that is what the ads said for them and who can argue with advertisements? With the advancements in lens manufacturing, the ability to carve a small zone of gas permeable plastic has created the opportunity to dump those forever slipping down the nose frames. There is no longer wandering around the house looking for the place those glasses were laid, now a person can get on their hands and knees and search for that little thing no bigger than a dime and blends into any background. Life does get better with bifocal contact lenses. Our hope is always that life will get a little better with that new car, those new contacts, that new digital TV or that automatic coffeemaker, but sadly, they usually lose their aura after the honeymoon. Jesus Christ makes this promise: "...I am come that they may have life and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10b)
So you have made the decision to go and get bifocal contact lenses, and the next choice is to settle on the doctor who will do the examination. The choice will be between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist. An optometrist is a doctor who has had four years of training beyond a college degree. He or she is licensed to diagnose vision problems and can prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses and test for things such as glaucoma and other diseases and are permitted to administer drugs in the pursuit of a diagnosis of eye diseases. An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who has specialized in the treatment of all eye issues and most do surgery at least occasionally with such procedures as LASIK. It is possible that an exam may be more expensive with an ophthalmologist, but this is not written in stone and in almost all cases, exams for bifocal contact lenses will cost more than exams for glasses alone. And most of the exams that a person receives as part of getting bifocal contact lenses will be performed by both doctors.
Standard tests will first be given to discover one's level of myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and perhaps presbyopia. Those medical terms, meaning nearsightedness, farsightedness, all over blurry vision and vision problems caused by aging will be evaluated and then a decision will be made as to whether or not bifocal contact lenses will be effective with the patient's prescription. There may be some prescriptions that do not respond well to these kinds of contact lenses, but it is rare that these situations would arise. In fact, even those who wear trifocals can be prescribed vision correction in the form of contacts. But there is one option to wearing bifocal contacts for many persons.
Some patients may react more positively to what is called monovision than to both eyes wearing bifocal contact lenses. Oftentimes it takes a longer period of time for the wearer of contacts that are bifocals to adjust to the different powers on the lens. For people who have presbyopia, the answer may be two differing contacts; one eye for farsightedness and the other one for myopia. The distance vision contact is usually worn in the dominant eye. And while most bifocals in the form of contacts are more efficient in the gas permeable form, myopia lenses can be effective in the softer silicon type, even the ones that are disposable. Some people find this monovision set up as a comfortable alternative to the bifocal form of contacts but some people may find that depth perception is negatively affected and others may have to turn their head more often to get a comfortable view of certain objects.
It may be that some people may have a permanent alternative to contacts that are designed for those that need bifocals. For some forms of presbyopia, that is age related vision problems, there may be a form of LASIK monovision surgery that can address those issues. But a consultation with a LASIK surgeon will be important in order to make a correct diagnosis for one's candidacy for LASIK. In the late 1700's Benjamin Franklin put together the first pair of bifocals in the form of eyeglasses and began a revolution in vision correction. Today he would be amazed at the incredible soft discs that can go on the eye and correct the vision that so often drove him crazy in the years before his genius found an answer. We live in a pretty amazing time in history.
0 коммент.:
Отправить комментарий