From about our forties, the lens inside the eye gradually loses its ability to change focus from far to near, so reading and close work get harder. This is called presbyopia, and it is a normal part of getting older. The good news is that today's lenses make it easy to manage, with no visible lines.
Your options
- Reading glasses have one focus. They help up close but blur everything else, so you take them on and off.
- Bifocals have two zones: distance at the top and a reading segment at the bottom. They have no zone for the middle distance, such as a computer screen. Our Invisible Bifocal blends the reading zone into the lens, so there is no visible line.
- Multifocals (also called progressive lenses) correct far away, arm's length and close up in one lens, with no visible lines.
- Mild Add is a single vision lens with a gentle boost at the bottom. It is for eyes that work hard on laptops and phones, and for people who are starting to find reading harder but are not ready for multifocals.
Multifocals: here, there and over there
In a multifocal, the power changes gradually from the top of the lens to the bottom: distance at the top, the screen and the dashboard in the middle, and reading at the bottom. You look up to see across the room, straight ahead to see the screen, and down to read, all in one pair.
All our multifocals are made in our own lab in Cape Town on German precision technology, and each one is calculated for your prescription. We make several everyday designs, from Classic to Premium, our most popular, and Xtra-D, which is personalised to you and your frame. Your optometrist will recommend the one that suits your day.
Is presbyopia the same as long-sightedness?
No. Long-sightedness (hyperopia) is about the shape of the eye: close-up things are harder to see clearly than distant ones, and it can happen at any age. Presbyopia is the loss of flexibility in the lens that comes with age. Over 40 you can have both.
One pair is not always enough
An everyday multifocal is a balance: making one zone bigger makes another smaller. That is why many people choose a second pair for the office or the screen, and another for driving. Like shoes, one pair will not do everything.
Talk to us
At your eye test, tell your optometrist when your eyes are most tired, what work you do, which screens you use and for how long, and how you spend your spare time. That, together with the examination, is what the right lens is chosen from.
Read more on our vision over 40 and lens technology pages, or book an eye test.