Progressive glasses

The days of switching between pairs are over!

15. May 2021, Author: Zuzka Tvarošková

After 40, life brings not just healthy confidence and wisdom – glasses often join the party too. It's completely natural. The eye's lens loses elasticity over time. Suddenly our arms feel "too short" and we struggle to focus up close. This is called presbyopia. When we strain to focus, we tire our eyes needlessly and can end up with headaches or fatigue.

So suddenly, besides distance glasses, we need reading ones too. To avoid juggling two pairs, progressive (or multifocal) glasses exist.

What are progressive glasses?

It's a gradual change of prescription within a single lens. This means one pair of glasses lets you see far, mid-range (computer), and close up (book, phone). Pretty great, right?

The gradual prescription change in progressive lenses creates a corridor, which causes some distortion at the edges. The wider the corridor, the more comfortable your view of the world.

Before you start wearing them

With progressive lenses, thorough examination matters. So does choosing the right frame and taking precise centering measurements at the optician's. They don't suit very narrow frames – you'd be limiting the space for that gradual prescription change.

Your first days with multifocals might be demanding. After all, it's a highly individual correction that takes getting used to. But there's no need to worry – with the right approach, your world will be sharper and lovelier in the blink of an eye.

When choosing a frame for multifocal lenses, face shape matters. The lens height shouldn't be too narrow.

My neighbor says he can't get used to them...

We hear this prejudice fairly often. It's very hard to compare yourself to someone else. Perhaps your neighbor didn't get the right prescription or centering measured, chose cheaper and lower-quality lenses with a narrower corridor, the frame wasn't properly adjusted, or the usage wasn't well explained to him. Or maybe he simply didn't give them enough time.

My colleague has them and can't praise them enough ...

If everything went as it should and someone explained well how to adapt to this new feeling on the eyes, we're not surprised at all. :) Our Zitka and Ľudka have worn them for years and wouldn't trade them for anything.

"Progressive lenses are sadly and undeservedly associated with prejudice and fear of wearing them."

Tips for adapting to multifocal glasses at first

To use multifocals to their full potential, you need to look through the lens area meant for each distance. For distance, we look through the upper part of the lens, for mid-range use the middle area, and for close-up the lower part.

- start using them at home in a calm setting so you can get used to specific distances
- ideally put them on for the first time in the morning when you're rested
- when looking into the distance, tilt your head slightly down
- when looking at close range, lift your chin slightly up
- put your old glasses in a drawer and don't alternate them with your new multifocals – you'd only drag out the whole adaptation process.

After a few days, you'll stop noticing these movements and using multifocal glasses will feel natural.