Lippman recommends that only properly motivated people who understand the limitations of these lenses consider using them as an alternative to conventional bifocals or trifocals. Contact Lenses Those who prefer contact lenses to glasses may not have to give them up when presbyopia strikes. Many people find they can continue to wear their regular contacts for distance vision and put on reading glasses for close work. Because the prescription for these glasses is determined, in part, by the prescription for the contact lenses, the reading glasses alone cannot provide good close vision. Hard, gas-permeable, and soft contact lenses are all available with bifocal corrections.
Bifocal contacts come in a variety of designs.
Working with an eye-care professional, consumers can decide which option will work best for them based on individual vision needs, eye shape, and other factors. It is harder to adjust to multifocal contact lenses than to multifocal eyeglasses. Fewer than one 1 of 3 people using bifocal contacts, for example, is able to adjust to them, whereas most people can adjust to bifocal eyeglasses. Because of this difficulty, most practitioners usually recommend bifocal contacts only to people who have successfully worn contacts in the past. Multifocal contacts can be double or triple the price of multifocal eyeglasses.