How Do Multi-Focus Contact Lenses Work?

Multi-focus lenses are a special type of contact lens. They are intended for users who have poor close vision and are far-sighted, rather than near-sighted.

Function

• Multi-focus contact lenses are meant to eliminate the need for reading glasses in people who have decreased near vision, due to age or conditions such as presbyopia. These lenses allow users to see both near objects and far objects equally well.

Shape

• Traditional contact lenses are round and shaped like a bowl, but multi-focus contact lenses are not perfectly round. Because of their specialized shape, multi-focus lenses are able to have different regions on the lens that offer different magnifications.

Structure

• With a multi-focus contact lens, the center of the lens is meant for near vision and offers a stronger power or magnification than the rest of the lens. As you move out from the center of the lens in all directions, the magnification or strength gradually diminishes until there is no magnification at all on the outer edges.

Significance

• Multi-focal lenses are different from bi-focal lenses in that they do not provide any long-distance vision correction.

Disposable

• Most multi-focus contacts are disposable; they are meant to be worn for 30 to 60 days and then thrown away.