Advantages and types of progressive lenses

Progressive lenses for presbyopia have some advantages over traditional bifocal lenses and trifocals, all of which belong to multifocal lenses. There are no visible lines on progressive lenses, which attract certain group of people in their 40s who care deeply about their appearances. Furthermore, progressive lenses provide clear and comfortable vision at all distance including intermediate zone that is beyond bifocal lenses.

As the name reflects, a bifocal lens has only two focal points: one for close reading and the other for distance vision. Bifocal lenses provide very little help in dealing with computer work, which requires special intermediate vision. Some bifocal wearers try to see objects in intermediate range by bobbing their heads up and down. In this way, long period of computer use is much more likely to cause computer vision syndrome. Bifocals force computer users to maintain an unnatural posture, resulting in muscle strain, neck pain and so on.

Progressive lenses provide a smooth, seamless progression of many lens powers, bringing comfortable vision at truly multiple distances. Presbyopic patients just need to look straight ahead to see in the distance, move eyes slightly downward to get intermediate vision and lower their gaze a bit further to manage near tasks. They never need to bob head up and down or keep uncomfortable postures.

“Image jump” is a bothersome vision problem commonly aroused by bifocal or trifocal lenses because of their separate, sudden power gaps. Moving sight across these visible lines of bifocals or trifocals, a wearer is probably to experience an image jump. In addition, trifocal and bifocal lenses only provide clear images within a specific range of distances. Beyond that, burry vision may occur. Progressive lenses avoid all these problems by providing a comfortable prescription transition. Discomfort of progressive lenses can be burry peripheral vision in some first-time wearers.

The wide spread of progressive lenses in the United States has promoted the advancement of lens technologies. Today, progressive lenses with wider intermediate and reading parts are available. And special occupational designs especially for computer work are also provided. Modern progressive lenses bring fewer peripheral aberrations by applying wavefront-guided technology. New progressive lenses are also compatible with smaller lens frames, which was unfeasible in the past. These small lens designs offer more fashionable options.

Materials such as high-index plastic and impact-resistant polycarbonate have been used to produce progressive lenses now. Anti-reflective coatings on progressive lenses reduce distracting lens reflections and provide more attractive appearance. Progressive lenses are also available in photochromic and polarized types.

With such a wide range of options, you may ask a professional optician for advice.