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Many peo­ple over 40 begin to notice that they have become worse at close range. More­over, the clar­i­ty of vision is lost when a per­son shifts his gaze from a dis­tant object to a near­by one and vice ver­sa.^one. At the house­hold lev­el, this con­di­tion is called age-relat­ed or senile far­sight­ed­ness, doc­tors use a dif­fer­ent term — pres­by­opia.

The cause of pres­by­opia is age-relat­ed changes in the lens, which becomes less elas­tic with age. Because of this, the abil­i­ty to quick­ly focus on near­by objects is impaired, a per­son is forced to move text and small objects away from him in order to con­sid­er them.^one. Eyes begin to tire quick­ly when read­ing and work­ing with gad­gets. Mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es are often used to cor­rect pres­by­opia.

What are multifocal contact lenses

Ordi­nary or mono­fo­cal lens­es have only one opti­cal zone, so they can only cor­rect near­sight­ed­ness or far­sight­ed­ness. Mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es have sev­er­al opti­cal zones, thanks to which they help to see well at near, far and inter­me­di­ate dis­tances.². Mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es for the cor­rec­tion of pres­by­opia can be worn by peo­ple with far­sight­ed­ness, near­sight­ed­ness and nor­mal vision.

Types of multifocal contact lenses

Depend­ing on the design, mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es can be con­cen­tric, aspher­i­cal and bifo­cal. Bifo­cal lens­es are the sim­plest: they have 2 opti­cal zones, the upper one helps to see well at a long dis­tance, and the low­er one improves “near” vision. Bifo­cal lens­es must be in a spe­cif­ic posi­tion on the cornea, oth­er­wise vision will be blur­ry. There­fore, they have a cut bot­tom edge, which does not allow them to move. In mod­ern oph­thal­mol­o­gy, bifo­cal lens­es are used to con­trol myopia in chil­dren and ado­les­cents.². Con­cen­tric and aspher­ic mod­els are used to cor­rect pres­by­opia.

In con­cen­tric lens­es, the opti­cal zones for near, medi­um and far dis­tances look like cir­cles that are locat­ed on the lens sur­face from the periph­ery to the cen­ter. Depend­ing on the design of the LCL, the cen­tral zone may be respon­si­ble for cor­rect­ing far­sight­ed­ness or near­sight­ed­ness.². Unlike bifo­cal lens­es, con­cen­tric lens­es cor­rect vision in any posi­tion.

In aspher­i­cal lens­es, there is no clear bound­ary between the opti­cal zones — this is their main dif­fer­ence from bifo­cal and con­cen­tric lens­es. Usu­al­ly the cen­tral zone is respon­si­ble for clear near vision, and the periph­er­al ones help to see dis­tant objects well. Aspher­i­cal lens­es can be placed on the cornea in any posi­tion and do not need to be sta­bi­lized. In addi­tion, they neu­tral­ize opti­cal dis­tor­tions — glare, halos — which peo­ple with a high degree of far­sight­ed­ness and myopia often com­plain about.². There­fore, mul­ti­fo­cal SCLs with an aspher­i­cal design are con­sid­ered the most effec­tive for the cor­rec­tion of pres­by­opia.

Lens­es, glass­es or laser

There are many ways to improve your eye­sight. Lens­es, glass­es and laser cor­rec­tion help in this. What are the pros and cons of each option, we will dis­cuss with the doc­tors

To learn more

On a note

Ranking of the top 8 best multifocal lenses

Our experts — oph­thal­mol­o­gists Vic­to­ria Smirno­va and Ele­na Nam – helped to choose 8 best mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es of dif­fer­ent types. The rat­ing includes bifo­cal, aspher­ic and con­cen­tric mod­els for chil­dren and adults, both one-day and sched­uled replace­ment.

Experts remind that the choice of lens­es, espe­cial­ly mul­ti­fo­cal ones, is a very dif­fi­cult task. Often, lens­es with the same char­ac­ter­is­tics in the eyes of patients with the same pre­scrip­tion and pupil diam­e­ter can­not pro­vide equal visu­al acu­ity. There­fore, before buy­ing mul­ti­fo­cal SCLs, you should def­i­nite­ly con­sult a doc­tor.

1. Pure Vision Multifocal (B&L)

Aspher­i­cal lens­es are designed for 1 month of use and are suit­able for dai­ly, flex­i­ble and extend­ed wear. But before sleep­ing in lens­es or wear­ing them for sev­er­al days in a row, you need to con­sult an oph­thal­mol­o­gist.

The lens­es have two opti­cal zones and a high degree of addi­tion, which pro­vides the clear­est visu­al­iza­tion of near objects. The aspher­i­cal design allows you to see the world around you with­out glare, halos and oth­er opti­cal dis­tor­tions. The ultra-smooth sur­face is well wet­ted and does not accu­mu­late pro­tein and lipid deposits. Thanks to this, the lens­es remain clean for a long time and do not cause dry­ing and irri­ta­tion of the cornea. Light blue tint­ing makes the use of lens­es more con­ve­nient — they are easy to see in solu­tion and in the process of remov­ing / putting on.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

2. 1‑Day Acuvue Moist Multifocal (Acuvue)

Con­cen­tric 1‑Day Acu­vue Moist Mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es pro­vide visu­al acu­ity at dif­fer­ent dis­tances. Thanks to INTUISIGHT™* tech­nol­o­gy, the lens “adjusts” to the size of the pupil and main­tains the cor­rect lev­el of cor­rec­tion.

The man­u­fac­tur­er promis­es good vision and no dis­com­fort dur­ing visu­al stress: read­ing, dri­ving a car, work­ing at a com­put­er. A mois­tur­iz­ing com­po­nent is stored inside the lens dur­ing the day, which pro­tects the eyes from dry­ing out, irri­ta­tion and the sen­sa­tion of a for­eign body. With 1‑Day Acu­vue Moist Mul­ti­fo­cal, your eyes will be pro­tect­ed from UV radi­a­tion: the UV fil­ter blocks up to 99% of type B rays and up to 85% of type A rays.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

3. SofLens Multifocal (B&L)

Aspher­i­cal lens­es have sev­er­al opti­cal zones for cor­rect­ing vision at dif­fer­ent dis­tances. Durable and resilient Poly­ma­con mate­r­i­al retains its shape, is scratch resis­tant, has the abil­i­ty to “repel” lipid deposits and oth­er con­t­a­m­i­nants, so the lens sur­face remains clean and smooth for a long time. With ultra-thin edges and an aspher­i­cal design, the lens­es are not felt on the eyes and allow you to see your sur­round­ings with­out opti­cal dis­tor­tion. The man­u­fac­tur­er pro­duces mod­els with a high and low degree of addi­tion. The term of use of lens­es is 1 month, it is rec­om­mend­ed to wear them only in the day­time.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

4. OKVision® PRIMA BIO Bi-focal design 1‑Day

The task of these bifo­cal lens­es is to pro­vide visu­al acu­ity and slow down the devel­op­ment of myopia in chil­dren and ado­les­cents. The lens­es are pro­duced by the well-known brand OKVi­sion and have prac­ti­cal­ly no ana­logues in Rus­sia. PRIMA BIO Bi-focal design 1‑Day are intend­ed for dai­ly replace­ment, but there are mod­els for longer wear in the OKVi­sion line. They are more eco­nom­i­cal.

Hydrophilic mate­r­i­al with OKVi­sion® 3D mois­tur­iz­ing sys­tem helps retain mois­ture inside the lens and pro­tects the eyes from dry­ing out. Thanks to the round­ed edge, the lens­es fit well and do not irri­tate the cornea dur­ing the day. The UV fil­ter pro­tects against ultra­vi­o­let radi­a­tion and makes sun expo­sure more com­fort­able.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

5. Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal (Alcon)

Spher­i­cal con­cen­tric lens­es with a 1‑month replace­ment peri­od help cor­rect pres­by­opia in peo­ple with near­sight­ed­ness, far­sight­ed­ness and with­out refrac­tive error. The “breath­able” mate­r­i­al pro­vides oxy­gen to the cornea, and the matrix sys­tem retains mois­ture inside the lens and main­tains a com­fort­able lev­el of humid­i­ty for the eyes. Thanks to Smart Shield plas­ma tech­nol­o­gy, the lens sur­face is high­ly wet­table and “repels” lipid deposits and con­t­a­m­i­nants, includ­ing dust par­ti­cles and cos­met­ics.

Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Mul­ti­fo­cal is suit­able for expe­ri­enced users and those who choose their first lens­es. SCL can be worn dur­ing the day up to 12 hours, around the clock and for sev­er­al days in a row, but you can switch to an extend­ed wear­ing mode only with the per­mis­sion of a doc­tor.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

6. Biofinity Multifocal (CooperVision)

Month­ly replace­ment con­cen­tric lens­es are avail­able in two designs — with a cen­tral part for dis­tance and near vision. The LCL has a pro­gres­sive bal­ance tech­nol­o­gy – Biofin­i­ty mul­ti­fo­cal. Accord­ing to the man­u­fac­tur­er, this guar­an­tees clar­i­ty of vision at short, medi­um and long dis­tances. Thanks to Aquaform tech­nol­o­gy, the lens mate­r­i­al has acquired high oxy­gen per­me­abil­i­ty, resis­tance to pol­lu­tion and the abil­i­ty to hold water mol­e­cules on the sur­face. There­fore, the lens­es main­tain cornea hydra­tion, do not cause “oxy­gen star­va­tion” and prac­ti­cal­ly do not get dirty while wear­ing.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

7. OKVision Defocus Control Lens

Bifo­cal spher­i­cal lens­es are designed for chil­dren and teenagers and are designed for six months of wear. The line includes mod­els with dif­fer­ent para­me­ters of basic cur­va­ture (from 7 to 9 mm) and addi­tion, which allows you to choose the option based on the indi­vid­ual needs of the child. OKVi­sion® Defo­cus Con­trol lens­es help restore sharp vision, slow the pro­gres­sion of myopia and reduce the risk of com­pli­ca­tions such as myot­ic mac­u­lopa­thy and reti­nal detach­ment. Due to the exact rep­e­ti­tion of the shape of the cornea, the prod­uct does not cause dis­com­fort when blink­ing and high visu­al load. In addi­tion, the lens does not inter­fere with the pro­duc­tion of tear flu­id and helps main­tain the nat­ur­al hydra­tion of the eyes.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

To the point

How to choose con­tact lens­es: step by step instruc­tions

8. Dailies Total1 Multifocal Lenses (Alcon)

Dailies Total1 Mul­ti­fo­cal Con­cen­tric Dai­ly Lens­es are breath­able and help main­tain eye health. Opti­cal design Pre­ci­sion Pro­file guar­an­tees clar­i­ty of vision at any dis­tance, in any case, so the man­u­fac­tur­er promis­es. The lens­es are made of a water-gra­di­ent mate­r­i­al that absorbs water mol­e­cules and pro­vides almost 100% hydra­tion to the cornea. The mate­r­i­al con­tains phos­phatidyl­choline, a com­po­nent of tears. It helps to pre­serve the nat­ur­al pro­tec­tive lay­er on the sur­face of the eyes and avoid dry­ing out of the con­junc­ti­va, even if you wear lens­es 16 hours a day.

Main characteristics

Pros and cons

How to choose multifocal contact lenses

Vision cor­rec­tion with mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es is con­sid­ered dif­fi­cult, and one can­not do with­out a doc­tor. When choos­ing, they are guid­ed by cri­te­ria such as:

• dis­tance vision para­me­ters;
• addi­tion — an increase in opti­cal pow­er that the patient needs for good vision at close range;
• eye anato­my;
• fea­tures of the visu­al load.

Oph­thal­mol­o­gist Vale­ria Smirno­va adds that it is not always pos­si­ble to achieve 100% dis­tance and near vision with mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es. This is due to the fact that not all eyes cor­re­spond to the stan­dard struc­ture of the LCL. In some cas­es, it is bet­ter to use the SCL for long dis­tance vision, and read with glass­es and the SCL³. It must be remem­bered that adap­ta­tion to mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es can take from sev­er­al days to sev­er­al weeks, and dur­ing this peri­od vision may not be very clear.^1.2.

It hap­pens that users make exces­sive demands on mul­ti­fo­cal SCLs that do not cor­re­spond to real­i­ty. For exam­ple, expect 100% vision at long dis­tances and in the dark. The pos­si­bil­i­ties of lens­es are enough for a per­son to feel com­fort­able dur­ing a short trip in the evening. But on a long night jour­ney by car, such a per­son is like­ly to be a lit­tle dis­ap­point­ed with the way he sees.

This is use­ful to know

We take care of the lens­es cor­rect­ly: 10 best solu­tions for clean­ing

Reviews of doctors about multifocal contact lenses

Oph­thal­mol­o­gist Ele­na Nam con­sid­ers mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es to be an excel­lent alter­na­tive to pro­gres­sive glass­es in those activ­i­ties when glass­es are uncom­fort­able and there is a risk of dam­ag­ing them.

Oph­thal­mol­o­gist Vale­ria Smirno­va says that choos­ing the best mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es is pos­si­ble only with an indi­vid­ual approach. It is nec­es­sary to take into account the fea­tures of anato­my, refrac­tive errors, lifestyle, visu­al needs and expe­ri­ence of con­tact cor­rec­tion of each indi­vid­ual.

Popular questions and answers

Cor­rec­tion of pres­pi­o­bia is required for every third per­son over 40–45 years old. Many peo­ple with this prob­lem would like to learn more about mul­ti­fo­cal lens­es. The most pop­u­lar ques­tions about this method of cor­rec­tion are answered by oph­thal­mol­o­gist Vale­ria Smirno­va and oph­thal­mol­o­gist Ele­na Nam.