If you are over the age of 40 and wear contact lenses, you might notice that close-distance reading is more difficult than it was in your 20’s and 30’s.

Everyone develops “presbyopia” sometime after or around their 40th birthday.  “Presbyopia” is the natural process that occurs when the lens inside your eye does not focus as efficiently, causing near items to become blurry.  This can be quite frustrating for new presbyopes.  Over-the-counter “drugstore” readers can solve the problem, and usually results in acceptable vision, but putting them on and off throughout the day can be annoying or cumbersome.

“Monovision” is a contact lens option that has worked very well for many of our presbyopic patients.  Here, we use one contact lens for distance vision, and the other for near.  It’s not for everybody, but works great for most of our patients.

Perhaps soft, disposable, bifocal contact lenses might be the answer for you.  They can allow you to see equally well with each eye in the distance and at near.  Both options can allow you to throw away your reading glasses (or at least need them less often) well into your 40’s and 50’s.

If you would like to discuss bifocal contact lenses or monovision with Dr. Alden, simply ask during your eye exam.  She’ll be glad to demonstrate with trial lenses and discuss your options to help you decide which is best for you.  To schedule an examination, call our Casper office at (307) 472-2020.