Suggestions for Good Vision

It is an undeniable truth that with age, the human body becomes weaker and needs external assistance. Similar is the case with eyes - our mirror to the world. Eyes become weak and lose their vision strength with the growing age of a person. This can hamper the quality of life and cause problems in reading a book, newspaper, focusing on nearby objects and several others. This happens because the lens in the eyes becomes less flexible and causes a condition known as presbyopia. 

While some people adjust to it with over-the-counter lenses and glasses, it is not the ideal solution. Eyes are a valuable organ of the human body. Hence, they deserve protection only with viable, high-quality solutions, such as bifocals and progressive lenses.

How do bifocals and progressive lenses work?

Bifocals and progressive lenses are the new-age solutions for common eye problems such as presbyopia. These lenses are specifically engineered with different vision strengths combined into one lens. This enables the spectacle-wearer to have an adjustable vision for all kinds of needs. As one looks down, the lenses clear vision of the nearby objects. Alternatively, when one looks up in the vast space, the lenses adjust the vision. They allow the spectacle-wearer to see far objects with more precision. 

Bifocal lenses include two different lens strengths in one. This is separated by a visible line in the middle. The upper part of the lens provides clarity of distant objects, while the lower part makes closer things clearer. Alternatively, progressive lenses are an even more advanced version of bifocals. They allow the spectacle-wearer complete vision clarity – upper, middle, and lower, without needing to change the glasses. The best part about these lenses is there is no separating line between different vision strengths. Thus, they overcome the disadvantage of bifocal lenses. Progressive lenses support a more natural vision without abrupt change in vision strength. This further allows the person to maintain a comfortable head and eye posture. Thereby, avoiding headaches, eye-muscle strain, nausea, dizziness, etc., all of which is quite common with bifocal lenses. 

Further, progressive lenses are aesthetically more appealing than bifocals. They closely mimic the natural vision of the person. And support a smooth and seamless progression of power, aiding clear vision for all distances, thereby providing a more natural depth focus than bifocals. To enhance the effectiveness of progressive lenses, the eye-specialist can suggest several customisations and advanced coatings. These include anti-reflective, UV protection, blue light protection, anti-dust, anti-scratch, etc. These coatings increase the performance of progressives, making the vision smooth and free from all possible issues. 

How to adjust to the working of bifocal and progressive lenses?

Even though bifocals and progressive lenses provide a wide array of benefits, users can take some time to adapt to the new lenses. However, the objective is to not give up. Following these useful tricks can support a seamless adaptation:

• Increasing tolerance and adaptability to the lenses by wearing them for a few hours every morning. The wearers can consequently increase the duration each day.
• Not counting on old glasses as a comfortable replacement.
• Ensuring a good fit on the face. Ideally, they should not pinch the nose or be too loose. The glasses should be tailored to aptly fit the person’s face. Progressive lenses also offer compact designs to fit in all three lens powers with style.
• When walking with progressive lenses, ensure to always look ahead and not down at the feet. 
• While looking in different directions, it is essential to move the nose in the same direction as the eyes.
• Trying to keep a distance of 16-inches between the reading item and the eyes and using the lower part to see through.
• Trying to move the reading object rather than shifting the head or eye for reading.
• Ensuring all digital screens are at the eye-level.

These simple tricks can help a person adapt to bifocals and progressive lenses easily. However, the advanced qualities of progressive lenses make them more adaptable than bifocals. For people who do not attain a comfort level or have an issue with vision strength, contacting an eye-specialist can help the case. 

FAQs

How long does it take to adjust to progressive lenses?
Overall, adjusting to progressive lenses is easy because of their specially designed features. Generally, it takes about two to three days to get accustomed to the new glasses. However, in some cases, it can take two weeks for a person to adjust to the progressive lenses. But some easy tricks and guidance from the optician can help speed the adaptability.

Why are my progressive lenses blurry?
Progressive lenses are blurry on the sides because of the three vision strengths - the upper lens that clears distant objects, the lower which increases visibility for closer objects, and the middle that helps in adaptability to these two powers. This trifocal strength causes initial peripheral blurriness. This eventually fades as the wearer becomes more flexible to the progressive lenses. Some adaptability tips for progressives can provide more comfort in this space for the user.

Are bifocals easier to adjust to than progressives?
Bifocals are typically an old version of the progressive lenses. Hence, they are harder to adjust. Bifocal lenses have two varied eye lens strengths combined in one, which makes it very difficult for the user. The wear faces issues because of drastic vision changes. This also tends to impact the general quality of life. Bifocals cause the person to switch between upper and lower lens portions by changing the head position or through the movement of eyes. This strains the eye muscles further and increases headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc. 

Alternatively, progressives are considered an update to the bifocals and allow a seamless and smooth transition of visual strength. These lenses support tri-focus – upper, middle and lower. And ensure the wearer can effortlessly adapt to the enhanced vision strengths. Moreover, no visible separating lines between the lens powers make progressive lenses the ultimate long-term eye-care solution.