Astigmatism Bifocal Contact Lens

Astigmatism bifocal contact lenses were once a far-off dream. Now, they are finally available to many who suffer from this eye condition. Astigmatism occurs when the cornea develops an oblong shape instead of the round shape of a normal eyeball. When light enters the eye, it focuses in more than one place because of the curvature. One eye is considered the dominant and the other non-dominant.

People with this disorder used to have a more difficult time wearing and using contact lenses. Nowadays, the technology has progressed to where astigmatism patients can wear soft toric lenses or the rigid gas permeable lenses. Both do an excellent job in correcting the problem. The deciding issue in determining which type of contact to use is usually a choice of personal comfort. If the extent of astigmatism is very high, bitoric contact lenses may be used.

Bifocal contacts work much like bifocal eyeglasses, they have two powers on one lens: one to correct distance vision, the other to correct near vision. At the top of the lens a prescription is used for distance vision and at the bottom the near vision is focused. Some bifocal contact lenses are similar to some bifocal eyeglasses where the line separating the two parts is blended seamlessly. These types of contact lenses are available in disposable versions now as well as the ones mentioned earlier. You can get daily disposable bifocal contacts, which are disposed of at night and then put in a fresh pair the next morning.

Bifocal contact lenses come in three district styles. Simultaneous designs focus on the pupil area of your eye in both distance and near vision. In concentric designs, the center part of the lens concentrates on distance and the outer portion is for near vision. Alternating designs work in the same manner as bifocal eyeglasses without focusing on the pupil area.