How to Prescribe Monovision Contacts

Being fitted for monovision contact lenses can free you from the hassle of wearing reading glasses and bifocals or trifocals and can end the annoyance of eyeglasses slipping down the nose, being misplaced, or getting scratched. Visit your ophthalmologist or optometrist and have your eyes examined to determine if you are a candidate for monovision contact lenses. Monovision contacts provide you with one lens to correct nearsightedness and another lens for viewing objects in the distance.

Instructions

Testing

• 1

  Make an appointment for a binocular (both eyes) vision test to evaluate the effect of monovision contacts on your depth perception and near vision. The test utilizes the procedure followed for single contact lens prescriptions, but in addition evaluates the eyes individually for single-vision contacts.

  On EyecareContacts.com, Dr. Larry Bickford states the dominant eye is fitted for a monovision lens to correct distant vision; the weaker eye is fitted for a near vision lens. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, clarity and accuracy of distance vision is a vital point of consideration in prescribing monovision contacts.

• 2

  Correct Presbyopia with monovision contact lenses. Presbyopes, the largest group of monovision contact lens wearers, have a visual problem that develops as the result of aging. The American Academy of Optometry states this condition causes the lens of the eye to become less flexible and unable to change focus from distant objects to things nearby. Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, blurs your distant vision but enables you to focus clearly on nearby objects. Monovision contacts also correct this problem without the need for glasses. If your degree of nearsightedness is minimal and close-range vision is not affected, you will only require a contact lens for one eye to correct distance vision.

• 3

  Adapt to this new way of seeing in two to six weeks as your brain adjusts to the visual changes of single-lens viewing. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states problems like blurred vision or headaches during this period are mitigated by reversing the placement of your near- and distance-viewing lenses. Because you are no longer seeing objects equally with both eyes, perception of details in objects viewed at a distance is slightly less acute than it would be with single-vision lenses, but this is not a serious detriment. In situations where attention to fine details is critical, such as night driving, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends wearing eyeglasses with your lenses.

• 4

  Eliminate the need for eyeglasses and improve personal appearance with monovision contacts. According to the American Academy of Optometry, monovision contact lenses offer the wearer the ability to see both near and distant objects without the need to wear eyeglasses. They offer the greatest advantage with a difference of +1.25 to +2.00 diopters, the unit of measurement signifying the amount of correction needed to adjust close-up vision.

• 5

  Take caution while driving or working. Diminished quality of visual perception occurs when wearing monovision contacts. Both eyes no longer see equally as they did with corrective eyeglasses or single vision contacts. Monovision lenses negatively affect work that requires good distance vision or sharp close-up vision. Driving in inclement weather while wearing monovision contacts can be hazardous. Driving at night also poses a problem for older drivers and those who experience diminished night vision. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits pilots from wearing monovision contacts while operating an airplane.